SONY | SONY STYLE.COM

My E Reader

Cons: Does not yet have a color format.

I compared it with the kindle and the Kindle did not impress me as much as my reader. What sold me was the backlight. i read in bed a lot and this is simply awesome. I am looking at the new PRS900 and I really do hope it has the backlight feature as i will be askig for it for Christmas.

Not even close to what it claims

Pros: Lightweight, High storage capacity

Cons: poor battery, not comfortable to hold or read

Compared to the Rocket eBook and eBookwise eBook the only thing the Sony eReader has going for it is it's lightweight and it has higher storage capacity. Here are some of the major comparison points. <br><br> Ergonomic design - Rocket and Ewise both have the page buttons on the side with a screen that will rotate 360 degrees so it can be read from either hand. It's also has curved edges so it fits comfortably in your hand without digging in anywhere. Sony has the buttons on the bottom and will only rotate to landscape meaning you have to hold it in your left hand. It also has hard square edges that dig into the hand between the thumb and forefinger and into the palm. The square edges and poor placement of the buttons cause my hand to cramp after awhile and I have to hold it with two hands. Actually to comrtably press the page button I have to hold it with two hands anyway. Or even better I can hold it in one hand and use the stylus to 'draw' a line across the page to change the page. I thought I was reading a book not using an etch-a-sketch. <br><br> Battery life - If you never use it the battery might last two weeks. Or if you only read 1 hour a day. It also annoys me that when you turn the screen off it's still using battery life, it's not actually off. And if you do turn the Sony completely off it takes 5 minutes for it to turn back on. Both the Rocket and the Ewise last an average of a week with a backlight constantly on. Plus when you turn off the screen the whole unit turns off preserving battery and will turn back on instantly. When the Sony is in actual use I've had the battery last a day, maybe two days. The primary battery hog is the side LCD lights but since I don't read my Sony just when it's bright and sunny out I frequently need the lights to be able to read the screen. And even then they cast odd shadows on the screen that causes eye strain - something E-Ink was much lauded as preventing. <br><br> Readability - Let me state upfront that I don't wear glasses nor do I need glasses. The Rocket and the Ewise are both backlit so I can read them any time of the day or night at any font size and have absolutely no problem. They also turn pages instantly, maybe a 2 second delay once I've hit the page button. I've never had an issue with eye strain and I've been using the rocket or the Ewise religiously every day for probably 10 years now. I am an avid reader. The Sony, using E-Ink technology, is the worst thing I have ever tried to read. If I have bright, direct light then I can usually read the Sony with the text magnified once without feeling any strain. If I don't have bright, direct light I have to use the LCD lights which cast odd shadows and I have to magnify the text at least twice to be able to read for more than five minutes without feeling like my eyes are going to burn holes in my skull from the strain. The fact that every time I turn the page the screen flashes black for several seconds doesn't help either as it means my eyes try to adjust and then readjust. Considering I read an average of 3 standard pages a minute and I have to magnify the text to the point that there's barely half a page on the screen that means I'm changing the page roughly every ten seconds. It takes me less time to read a screen then it does to change the screen page. Plus I'm staring at a black screen every ten seconds. How is that supposed to reduce eye strain? <br><br> Value: For $350 I expect to be able to read my ebook anywhere at any time of day in pretty much any light. I expect to not get hand cramps from turning pages. I expect the battery to last the advertised two weeks with the backlight on. Sony delivers none of this. Sadly neither does Kindle or any of the other poser ebooks I've seen on the market. I'll stick with my Rocket and my Ewise and the rinky dink little 128mb memory cards the Ewise uses. I guess I just bought myself a $350 coaster/paperweight.

John Can Read!

Pros: text re-size, notes, booklight, removable media, & 20 online book stores

Cons: booklight drains battery a little faster than I would like

the 700 eReader is an excellent product! I'm very pleased that it has built-in booklights as well as expanded zoom and text resizing - it makes reading a breeze. The screen is clear and sharp and looks remarkably like paperback print. The touchscreen is perfect, giving it the right feel and adding extra functionality. The ability to highlight and take notes and search not only a book, but the notes & highlights is great - the fact that it syncs with my laptop is awesome! I'm very pleased with the expandable memory options and the ability to buy books from over 20 different web stores - I'm not locked in to one bookstore! I'm also not locked in to one format - and it's easy & free to prepare my own reading materials to keep at hand! Overall - it's my favorite purchase of the last 2 years. It gets more use than any other single purchase (besides my car and my phone).

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Ok, but needs improvements

Pros: Extra functionality (e.g., backlight, highlights) are a plus.

Cons: Lots of glare, slow processor

The eReader has a lot of nice functions. However, the recent Kindle release probably has the 700 beat. The Kindle offers a built in dictionary and most of the same functionality. The eReader does have a backlight but it comes with a cost of added glare on the screen. Also, the inner screen seems to get a lot of dust built up inside between the outer glass and the actual reader screen. This is very noticeable with the backlight turned on. Finally, where's the Mac support?

PRS-700bc

Pros: touch screen, access to free classic books

Cons: no mac support, display, UI

Because this requires a PC, especially Vista, I don't see value in this product for me. As a mac user with no intention of changing operating systems they've lost me as a customer. I was attracted to the product because of its support for classic titles. I will be returning this for a Kindle.

Get a Kindle

Pros: device works well

Cons: can't find 80% of the books I want in sony version.

I got the Sony digital book and love how it functions. the pages are easy to read and turn. My challenge is most of the books I want to read are not available for the sony. I can find almost all of them on Amazon though in Kindle version which does not work on the sony. So while I have this great device, I am still buying paper books and my sony is collecting dust. If you mostly read fiction you can probably find those, but the nonfiction books are few.

Excellent Reader

Pros: Ease of reading and day to day use.

Cons: Software integration and functionality has a lot to be desired.

I've waited for a decent reader for awhile. This is one of the better readers. Reading is easy and the lighting, with three levels is adequate for different conditions. If there was anything that hinders this reader it is the software. Making collections of books requires he Sony Software which is only available for Windows machines, and I prefer the Mac. Trying to load Adobe Digital Reader was also a problem for the Mac. The inability to work effectively with the Mac is a hinderance. In order to download books from the library requires a Windows machine and will not work with a Mac. You can upload pdf files from a Mac that do not have a time limited use. Also using the additional data cards for storage is cumbersome. The software treats them as separate drives and not an increase in overall memory.

Great cruise additive

Pros: very little weight to carry lots of reading

Cons: battery life is shorter than advertised

I was hesitant to buy this, but decided to try it anyway. I could not figure out how to get books into the reader, but after callling for some help, it became very easy. I love my reader and it will be a great asset on my cruises because now I don't have to carry 10-15 books along.