Sony PRS-505/LC Blue Digital Book Reader Reviews

• Stil long way to go but it's best eBook reader on the market

  
  By AEU6X8F3WKB75 on 2007-11-22
  Reviewing this device is a bit hard - why is that ?
  Because it is the best eBook reader on the market currently BUT it has problems , but again on the other hand it has less problems than any other device :)
  So let's begin :
  
  
  First you need to know about it is that it's NOT LCD screen. Why this important ? - Two reasons:
  
  a) I and many people can't read from LCD , the back lighting gives me a headache and my eyes get tired after several minutes , with this device I can read as any paper book. It has just white (well actually bit gray) screen and text looks black on it.
  b) The battery holds much longer, and I mean really longer, with regular PDA or cell phone it runs out after 3-5 hours (depending on device and battery) but here it can sustain the device for month. How this happens ? - well this eInk technology does not require power to keep image on screen, just to draw it so battery get used mostly only when you turn the page and believe me you can finish several books with one charge.
  
  
  I previously owned earlier version of this device called PRS-500 in this version they had fixed several issues I had with previous one.
  
  - They made it appear as "Mass storage device" when connecting to computer so you can just drug-and-drop files there.
  
  - They moved page turn buttons to the right side of the device so now you can hold it with both hands and pressing the buttons right hand is more intuitive.
  
  - They moved the menu selection buttons from bellow the screen to the right so they match software menu positions - a much welcome change also since the right hand is closer to them and it's more intuitive, like in some ATM machines :) Also "Size" button (controlling the text size) moved to more convenient location.
  
  - The bad thing is that dropped the charger from the set, you can still buy it separately but its a downgrade. Anyway , option to charge it from USB is still there :)
  
  - The device use 2nd generation of eInk technology called Visuplex, with it screen looks much whiter , texts looks more vivid, updated much faster and it does not suffer from the "artifact" leftovers problem PRS-500 had (actually it only sound serious, they were visible only if you look for them)
  
  
  The device is light, easy to handle and convenient to use.
  
  It's a book reader, so what types of books can you read on it ?
  
  1. You can read Sony's own .rlf and .rlx format files (books) bought at SonyConnect store.
  
  2. You can read TXT files.
  
  3. You can read PDF files (here there is a small problem since most PDFs are created in A4/Letter page size and displaying them on 6" device even in highest magnification looks too small, but you can hold "size" button for several seconds and it will rotate the screen 90° - now everything fits and looks nicely but amount of text on page of course reduced). Also turning page on PDF a bit slow.
  
  4. You can read RTF and DOC files (DOC files actually only loaded thru Sony's software that convert then in a second to RTF)
  
  Personally I use program called "BookDesigner 5.0" to convert everything I want to read into Sony's .RLF format and there are a lot of other converters. SonnyConnect is not the place with best book prices, at least not yet , may be now with some competition from Amazon's Kindle they might reduce prices. Also there are a lot of free stuff on the internet.
  
  Now what the most impotent things about book reader ? - Well book reading experience :)
  The device provide a very good one, the 6" screen for me when I first read about sounded too small but after actually using it it's a good size, ideal for traveling but at home (to replace paper books totally) I would prefer to have something like 8-9" , but again it's a minimum to feel comfortable even at home.
  As for a negative sides one can mention that when you turn page it kind of "flashes" inverting it content, probably it's a technology thing , that' the way eInk screen clears itself and you do not notice it when reading but if you not reading but reviewing device :) you might notice it.
  Also the page turning could be faster, its not too slow but it touches "bare minimum" of the time one need to read comfortably, especially this true for PDFs.
  
  Device also can show gray images and play MP3 and AAC music (in music case running your battery out pretty fast , I guess no eInk for sound :)
  
  There are two versions of the device - silver and "dark blue" (it's so dark that hard to notice it's blue and not black :) ) Personally I recommend to get the blue one - text looks much clearer in dark surrounding.
  
  The cover also rather good, you feel that it actually protects the device and it feels good in hands.
  
  Also if you are not English user there are firmware modifications to make this device show your languages. It's not thanks to Sony but to community of users (they added a lot of modifications also like clock, different icons, navigating pages with joystick etc) but at least this option exists.
  
  
  
  Bottom line:
  Adding the wireless, increasing speed a bit, supporting full unicode languages range and cutting price by 1/2 :) would make this device ideal.
  Also it would be nice to have it in 8-9" flavor.
  May be having it with touch screen would be nice as well, but sure not with ugly keyboard as on Kindle.
  
  But anyway on my opinion it's the best device for reading eBooks, for example Amazon's Kindle looks ugly with all this buttons,weights more support only rather rare formats and huge page turn buttons that should make it easier to use easily pressed by accident (there is more but we not reviewing Kindle here :))
  
  

• Very nice device, but with some irritations

  
  By AMO1MLSIJSQOF on 2007-11-25
  Sony's 2nd generation digital reader makes some perceptible improvements to the previous 500 model. My thoughts:
  The display is clear but a little darkish under weaker room lighting. It will be great to make the page a little more white, although that is certainly technologically challenging. Although the reader plays pdf files, the small screen and limited enlargement make certain pdf documents such as text and instruction manuals very hard to read due to the small print. I thought the ability to read pdf was a plus but I was personally disappointed by the awkward way I had to read my loaded documents. Landscape reading helps some, but it is non intuitive.
  Although gray scale levels have improved, graphics-intensive pdfs are still slightly not optimal. Page loads and page turning still tend to be a little slow, although not intolerable to the point of irritation.
  
  The eBook library and especially eBook store is a clunky interface strongly suggestive of being designed by some second year engineering graduate with absolutely no concept of marketing and product/user environment packaging. The on-line store is not browser friendly and some title searches seem to go such a long time I wonder if the computer had hung. Overall, the eBook store is not going to be an asset to Sony as they compete with the sexier and more user friendly Kindle environment. There is much room for improvement here. Hint: find another programming team.
  
  Engineering wise, the device is well engineered and very well packaged into a compact light weight design. Dimensional fit of the casing and switches is outstanding. It looks like it will last a long time of use. Definitely not some cheap import stuff. The light weight is comfortable to hold for long periods of time. The fatigue comes mainly from having to angle the book so that room lighting lights the screen optimally. A bit tricky if you have a dim bed lamp next to you.
  
  11 Oct 08: The "clunky interface" of the eBook store is much improved after some upgrading. For example, it is much faster now. So my comments are no longer valid. Thanks!
  
  

• Promising, but not good enough

  
  By A3EI12AOWO9O66 on 2007-11-19
  I got it as a birthday gift. Initially, I was estatic as I just got back from a long trip and had lugged around a few heavy books in my backpack. A thick and heavy travel guide and a couple of equally heavy books to read for leisure. I also had my laptop with me with a few PDF books on it. So I had wanted something light and portable to replace all of them.
  
  So far, not so good. Let's get to the good part 1st:
  1. It is small and thin. Easily portable;
  2. The UI is decent, pretty intuitive;
  3. The file transfer is simple and it reads lots of formats (although it converts all of them). Oh, and the free 100 classic books offer is pretty decent;
  4. Dual memory support: SD and MS pro duo.
  5. decent internal memory;
  6. Massive selection of titles.
  
  Now the bad:
  1. Poor contrast. As you read my review, you can see that your LCD screen is back-lit and the page is white. Thus the black text stands out and easy to read. On the ebook, the screen background is grey and the text is not black enough. It is difficult to read under normal lighting and impossible under poor lighting;
  2. Poor zoom. The PDF books of magazine are displayed too small on the screen. I zoomed in to max and changed viewing preference to no avail;
  3. Small screen. The screen is too small. As such, I think the reader formats the texts to its porpotional size to fit. Even zoomed to max, it is still too small. How about some of that touch screen drag feature or simply make it bigger? Combine this with poor contrast and poor zoom, it will place great strain on your eyes to read from ebook;
  4. Battery is suspect. I had only used it very lightly. Most of the time, I either had it shut down or had the cover closed (it auto turns off afater a bit). Yet I think it drains battery even when turned off. Combined with its size, I think the battery is simply way too small.
  
  The concept is sound. But in reality, it still can not compare with real paperback books. I would buy it if I am going to be assigned to a remote outpost with no computer access. Otherwise, I will stick with the old and true paper books and even read from my laptop screen.
  
  
  

• Best e reader on the market

  
  By AAA9RGAUZFQGH on 2007-10-11
  I just received my ereader and am very impressed with it's compact size, long battery life, and the extensive number of books that are available for download. I both travel and read a great deal. This will be easy to travel with, and reduce the the need for shelf space for traditional books in my home.
  
  Sony is building an e-reader site for Borders books in early 08. I have no idea when it will officially launch.
  
  This is highly recommended.
  
  

• Wanted a Kindle......got this for $199 on Sony's website!!

  
  By A149BIC9NKVP3P on 2008-01-25
  Okay, so I fell into the hype of the Kindle.....I wanted one really badly, but I don't like to wait for things so I did some research and ended up getting this Sony since it is available! I read a lot of the "reviews" for the Kindle and saw that mostly they were people's comments that didn't actually own one. I searched through all star ratings to get a feel of what some of the glitches were with the Kindle and decided that if I were to buy a Kindle it would have to be a second generation Kindle which I DEFINITELY don't want to wait for!! Then I read a bunch of tech articles comparing the Kindle to this Sony device. I decided that although the wireless downloading capabilities of the Kindle are very desirable, I wouldn't use it that often to make it worth the more expensive price tag. If I were planning on having newspaper subscriptions where the Kindle would wirelessly deliver them to me daily, then I would have held out on a waiting list for the Kindle. I would only be downloading probably one or two books a month and I guess a USB transfer would be fine for that little use of the wireless feature. PLUS if you order the sony reader from the sony website it is only $299 right now and with signing up for a new Sony credit card you get $100 back on your 2nd statement which makes this reader only $199 from Sony....they also offer 12 month interest free and payment free financing if you want, and $100 free "classic" books downloaded free. I couldn't pass it up! For that value I will be able to use this Sony until the second generation Kindle comes out or maybe by then I will be desperately in love with this one! (mine is this blue one with a free pink "skin" and 14 free romance novels---probably won't read them, but getting more free stuff is always good!!)
  
  UPDATED: 4/16/08
  Okay, so I've had the Sony PRS-505 for a couple of months now, and I've got to say that I still LOVE it!! When I ordered it, I mentioned that I wouldn't be reading more than 1 or 2 books a month on it, and it is so easy to purchase and download the books from Sony's Bookstore, that I have read 6 books already!! I have a whole bunch of future books to read in my Wishlist! The battery lasts forever! The book I am reading now is 650 pages in small font and I am 2/3 of the way through it with only 1 quarter of the battery gone. I read a couple hours a day and force myself to put it down. I love to take the reader out of the leather case (which it has never accidentally slipped out of) and put it in a ziploc bag and read in the tub! Some reviews were bummed about no AC charger coming with the reader, but it comes with a USB charger which takes no time at all to charge it with my laptop, or I charge it with my iPhone AC charger if I don't have my laptop handy. If I could change the star rating to a 5 I would. I love the Sony and am not regretting choosing this over the Kindle.
  
  
• Some limitations, but the ebook really is awesome
  By A3477AB0GKS6H4 on 2008-02-03
  Well the first thing I have to confess is I didn't have to buy the Sony 505, it was a gift from my girlfriend so I didn't have to spend the $300. But after having used it I can happily say I would have spent the money myself if it hadn't been a gift.
  
  Since there are many other reviews on the various features I'm just going to touch on some of the key areas that I think are important.
  
  Pro's:
  - The Prs-505 is only slightly larger than a paperpack book, which means it feels very much like reading a paperback and you can easily hold it one-handed while reading.
  - The controls are pretty intuitive so using the reader is very straightforward
  - The leather case is good quality and thick enough so you don't have to worry about easily damaging the reader.
  - There are buttons for turning the page on both the left and right sides of the reader, which is great for us left handed people.
  - You can set things in landscape mode if you want even larger fonts and wider margins.
  - Even though the reader is about the size of a paperback the screen still gives you about 80% of the area of a page. This is a nice tradeoff of size vs space. (And yes the screen could always be larger, but it works well when comparing it to the paperbacks I read.)
  - There is enough internal memory to store 100+ books, which even on the longest of trips should be enough.
  - The battery life is phenomenal! I don't have a single other handheld electronic device that lasts near as long (cell phone; PDA; laptop; etc. etc.)
  - The reader can read many other formats besides the Sony LRF format (see cons and additional notes below for more on this).
  - Depending on the format there are multiple zoom levels. With the standard LRF format there are 3 font sizes, with the largest being large enough for just about any eyes.
  - There are now thousands of ebooks so you're not limited to only a few titles now.
  - It can play mp3's as well, which means one less device to carry around. also the sound quality is excellent if you have some decent earbuds.
  
  Cons:
  - The screen is not black-on-white, but more of a very dark grey on a slightly greenish-white tinted page. Very similar to the pages in a paperback that's a few years old and has aged a bit. Addendum: I've been using the reader in bright daylight while walking and it's sharp and even easier to read then a paperpack.
  - The reader may handle many different formats, but doesn't handle .lit which is a popular format
  - Even though the reader supports many formats it definitely has limitations. PDF is an example of where it supports it, but you'll find that the font sizes are too small (even zoomed), and when turning pages it is very slow.
  - The leather cover doesn't have any way to secure it closed, so it's much easier to damage the screen accidentally. Addendum: Actually I was surprised to find that the cover has some very light magnets to keep it closed. They aren't powerful enough to to keep it shut if you shake it, but enough to to keep it shut under ordinary use.
  - The Sony ebook site isn't very slick and is a little hard to navigate at times. Also their prices are a bit high considering there is zero printing costs. i.e. Many of the new books are almost as expensive as a buying the paperback it is replacing. Also even though they are currently giving away 100 free "classics", these are public domain and most can be downloaded for free elseware. (Plus if you have to buy one of the classics off their site they want $1.99, which is just gouging in my opinion)
  
  Additional comments:
  - So there are a lot of complaints that the reader doesn't handle PDF's very well, and that is very true. But the easiest answer to that is to convert the PDF into a different format (the Sony .LRF format of course is optimal). There are many 3rd party programs/utilities that convert PDF's into different formats.
  - If you are trying to convert a .Lit format file to .Lrf I highly recommend the (free) "libprs500" program. It does an excellent job of converting the files, and also recognizes the sony reader so you can manage and directly upload files to the reader.
  - Since the Sony reader is suppose to replace paper books (though hopefully it will never fully replace them!), expect the same lighting requirements to read it that you would a paperback. If you're in a dim room and would have problems reading a paperback, you'll have problems reading the sony.
  - If you buy additional memory for the Sony Reader (great for music files), don't leave the memory in the reader when you wont be using it. With the add-in memory inserted,the Reader seems to drain power faster.
  
  Well I hope this review will help in your buying decisions.
  
  
• Expensive, but a good idea
  By A1CCZZVBXYJB6N on 2008-01-22
  I bought the sony prs-505 digital reader because I like to travel and I like to read. I have taken some longer trips and had to find something to read because I couldn't carry along enough books, and in some places it is difficult to find books in English. So I thought the digital reader would be a good idea for me. It costs more than I wanted to pay, but I finally talked myself into it.
  
  Point one, a good point in my opinion: One thing that some readers found annoying but I think is good is the fact that the screen is not backlit. I have tried reading from my PDA and from my laptop and the backlighting irritates my eyes after a while. I work on a computer all day long and my eyes don't seem to suffer, but I have other things to look at besides my computer screen, whereas if I am reading a book I concentrate wholly on the screen for quite a long period of time. The sony reader is not backlit so it is more like a real book. If it is dark you will need a light if you want to read. In my opinion, the contrast between the page and the letters on the page is almost as good as a book. Not quite, but almost.
  
  Point two, mostly a good point: the reader is about the size of a paperback so it fits easily into almost any sort of carrying bag or jacket pocket and, although heavier than a paperback it is much lighter than a hard cover book. The bad thing about this is the size of the screen. I would like it a little bigger but that might make the reader a little too big.
  
  Point three, some good some adequate: there are free electronic books available on the internet. Three sources that I know of right off hand are sony's free books that come with the reader, Baen books www.baen.com, and Project Gutenberg www.gutenberg.org. The books that come with the reader are all classics, many are very good classics, but nothing modern. These books are usually top quality and seem to be made for the sony reader. Project Gutenberg books are all out of copyright. There are lots of them and it will take a long time to see what is available. Baen Publishing offers their authors a chance to offer a free electronic version of their books, but the down side is that some of the free books are part of a series and you might have to purchase other books from the series. The bad part of the free books is that, other than the sony classics, the books are not formatted for the sony reader. The Baen books are pretty good, but the Project Gutenberg books, although very readable, could be better. There are probably other sources for free books, but I haven't had enough time to search for them yet.
  
  Point four, a pretty good point: I have so far only used .txt, .rtf, and .pdf files in the reader. The .txt and .rtf work pretty good, turning the page is about as fast as if you had to turn a paper page. The only .pdf I have looked at is the user guide and the pages sometimes take several seconds to turn. I don't have enough experience with the .pdf to say whether they are all like that or not.
  
  Point five, something necessary: You have three different font sizes. Some free books are pretty good and the three font sizes work very well, but some free books have a very small font so even at the largest size offered, it could be difficult for some people to read.
  
  Point six, a very good point: you can add memory with memory cards, there is a slot for an SD memory card and a slot for a Memory Stick Duo. I don't use these for the books because I have had just under a hundred books on the reader with pleny of room left on the internal memory. What I use the extra space for will be explained in:
  
  Point seven, a very good point IMHO: You can listen to MP3s while reading. This is where I use the extra memory cards.
  
  Point eight, an unnecessary feature IMO: you can look at pictures in black and white on the reader. So what.
  
  Point nine: I recommend buying the extra charger so you don't have to use the USB plug to charge it. I think charging it with the USB plug is a pain in the neck.
  
  My final analysis: I would probably give it four and a half stars rather than five, but I would recommend the sony reader to people that can afford it and that would use it. And buy the extra charger.
  
  ADDITION TO THE REVIEW: Okay, I have had the PRS-505 for quite a while now. I still say it gets five stars.
  
  Ed Burkhead wrote a comment for this review regarding the font size. Read it.
  
  Sony has an update available that the Sony ebook software on the PC will suggest installing. Do it. The one thing that I really noticed is that it helps with the PDF format. Note, however, that your ebook must be attached by USB and it should be fully charged before downloading the update.
  
  www.baen.com has started putting their free ebooks into several formats including Sony's .lrf format. It helps make them easier to read.
  
  There is some free software available that converts several formats into the proprietary .lrf format. It is called calibre and is available at http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net. I have used it with PDF files as well as files with the .lit format and it does a pretty good job. It also works with files from the Gutenberg.org site, .txt, .rtf, and .htm files. Using the .htm files you can also get pictures when available. The pictures are black and white, but sometimes they add quite a bit to the story. There might be other software available, but this was the first I found and it does the job for me.
  
  If you search the net you can find free copies of copyrighted books. They might be in the wrong format, but Calibre might be able to help with that. Keep in mind that it is illegal to download free copies of copyrighted books without the author's permission. Also, earlier I mentioned project gutenberg. Australia and Canada also have their projects gutenberg. If you are from those countries, check them out. They have different copyright laws than the U.S. so they might have some books that the U.S. doesn't offer.
  
  
• Tom S
  By A1DAW6PE9E6X8L on 2007-12-24
  Do not purchase this product... I purchased this product for my wife... but because of my systems OS (Windows XP 64-bit) I can not download any books to it. In the requirements/description it does not specify that is is non-compatible with 64-bit systems. I have a $300 useless device. Here are some other reasons not to purchase it also:
  
  1. You can only read/download proprietary books from Sony Connect. They will not let other on-line ebook stores sell books for their device in their format.
  2. You may only download books with their Sony connect software.
  3. It will support various file formats including PDF... but not copyright'd PDF which most books are.
  4. I contacted technical support and they could care less...
  
  This is the last Sony product I purchase.
  
  
• Lots of Bang for My Buck
  By A27DDHWHE540I5 on 2007-12-06
  I first found out about ebooks via a forum question at CNet. Hadn't really known about them before that thread. Read all the responses, got curious, came HERE and read all of the responses (both on Amazon's reader and Sony's) and ordered my blue Sony Reader on Thanksgiving Day. I received it yesterday afternoon and within the hour was reading a book I'd always wanted to read but kept forgetting to buy.
  
  The newer model #505 is completly responsive and there is NO lag in the page turning feature. Yah, the contrast could be more black & white vs. pale grey/dark grey but when you read the ebook by a window or light (like I would a paper book) there is ZERO problem in reading it.
  
  The hardest thing for me to do is to get used to NOT TURNING A PAGE!!! Silly, I know; it's like driving a stick shift for years and then switching to an automatic...you continue to reach for the shift lever by default.
  
  I travel extensively and can be away from home for up to 2 months at a time. I like to travel light so that means a back pack and a computer case. Most of the books I enjoy reading are big thick novels and they simply took up too much space in my backpack. And although I read that many people enjoy reading books from their laptop...I spend hours a day at my laptop designing landscapes, the last thing I want to do is be UPRIGHT at night, reading a book! I want to be cuddled up in an arm chair or flat on my back, in bed, and the Sony Reader allows me to do that luxury.
  
  I'm a dinosaur with technology but the enclosed paper QuickGuide and pdf. file for more advanced features got me through every potential qlitch. I wish EVERY personal electronic device was this simple to install and understand.
  
  Of course, there will be newer and "better" readers in the future, just like laptops and cell phones have evolved. But, I'm willing to accept the few limitations that the current ones have to enjoy the luxury of reading what I want, when I want...and not dragging a Public Library with me.
  
  Also, until February 2008, when you buy a Sony Reader, you get for FREE 100 classic books that you chose, so if you've always wanted to read any Jane Austen books or Walt Whitman and have been putting it off, you dont' have an excuse any longer.
  
  All in all, I'm very, very satisfied!
  
  
• A real WOW! from Sony
  By A27BBSY1DQ63LL on 2007-12-26
  I've had my dark blue Sony Reader for exactly two days now and have been reading books non-stop ever since. It's even better than I expected from all the reviews in these ways: it's lighter, more compact, easier on the eyes, page turning is a breeze, it feels great in the hands, the three different print sizes offer functionality I didn't expect to appreciate...
  
  One HUGE Con: A VERY LIMITED INVENTORY OF BOOKS FROM THEIR PROPRIETARY STORE.
  
  Those of us who chose the Sony over the Amazon Kindle are making a big wager that the selection of books will be greatly expanded in the future. I have no complaints whatsoever about the product, but it's all about inventory, and the Sony selections so far are very disappointing.
  
  Perhaps the competition from the Kindle will force some quick action--or extinction.
  
  
  
  
• A Great B'day Present w/Caveats
  By AODH2WFOREROX on 2008-05-20
  This was a lovely birthday present two weeks ago! Despite many "mediocre" reviews on various websites, I have been quite pleased with my new Blue Sony Reader. I felt compelled to submit my $0.02 because I wanted to clear up one main thing that many people, apparently, are not getting straight -- unless they have since realized the inaccuracy -- please see comment on pdf files [FYI: my true rating is 4.5 stars].
  
  OK, here is my two cents worth:
  
  PROS:
  
  => it fits easily in my purse; not much taller than a paperback and obviously much thinner;
  
  => w/blue being my childhood favorite color, it is a very sleek looking piece of hardware and coordinates beautifully with the included navy blue cover;
  
  => I s'pose I could be shot for this, but I absolutely cannot imagine reading on my cellphone, PDA, laptop {w/the flickering, ugh}, etc.; hence, my new reader is PERFECT for...well, reading :o);
  
  => for those of us with ~20/20-but-not-quite vision, there is the small/med./large zoom feature for all e-book text AND, if you simply go to Sony's website, you can download the SUPER EASY instructions for creating your own pdf files AND you can ZOOM them...I tested these instructions with an online article after initially pasting into MS Word. Using the simple instructions, I QUICKLY CREATED A 2-PAGE PDF FILE AND WAS ABLE TO ZOOM IT ON MY READER;
  
  => I have had no problems w/downloads; they are quick and painless {e.g., War and Peace (~6mb) took about 35 seconds on my computer. I read a review where the person complained about it taking "65" seconds on his/her PC...};
  
  => while I have not had it long enough to test the 7,500 page turns before recharging {what, about 2-3 weeks or more???}, I will assume this to be the case. I have been reading quite a bit this week, and thus far, the indicator is still "full;"
  
  => quite pleased w/the add'l memory slots. I already had SD cards for my PDA, so this was a nice feature on the reader {I do not use Sony's memory stick, but that is the other option in case you are not aware};
  
  => the navigation is fairly simple & quick. Bookmarks can be set up for where you left off {in SEVERAL books, in case you tend to read more than one @ a time}. Page turning accommodates both righties and lefties. Being right-handed, I like the fact I can turn the page forward/backward with my thumb--barely moving my hand while reading. I also like the 0-9 tabs along the right side of the reader to quickly get to a title, author, etc., and I like the page search feature of simply entering a page number (e.g., 108) and you quickly get to that page. Hyperlinks in any e-book allow for quick navigation, as well. [BTW, if you hold the menu button down for ~3-4 secs., the reader returns to the HOME screen no matter where you currently are {I read a review on some website where the user did not like to continually press Menu to get back home, so he/she was not doing this correctly}];
  
  => SINCE THIS IS SUPPOSED TO MIMIC/REPLACE A BOOK, I do not have a problem with the screen not having a back light. Oddly enough, while I enjoy reading the text on the screen in the three zoom modes as if this were a paperback, admittedly, I slightly miss the cover of the book not being in color on the reader [oh well]; and
  
  => last, but not least, as a subway commuter I was compelled this week to "pretend" I was actually listening to music while reading. Sometimes, folks in the subways [strangers] want to strike up a conversation {on airplanes, too--right, folks?!}, or a guy tries to flirt :o), {or a panhandler begs for money :o( }, and so forth. So I am always doing something on the subways during my commute {reading, logic problems, listening to music, whatever}, so now I can simply put the ear buds in my ears WITHOUT actually listening to music, but I can then read in peace. I have on occasion listened to classical music while reading on the subways, but I decided not to load/listen to music on my reader to maintain the battery life...but who knows in the future. Of course, playing mp3s is still a nice feature and it comes with a couple of songs.
  
  CONS:
  
  => perhaps I would have seen things differently had I not used Microsoft's free reader on my desktop first, but...alas: unlike MS's reader, the Sony portable reader does NOT allow text highlighting, selecting a word to look up the definition {i.e., if you have an e-dictionary(s) already downloaded}, searching for specific words/phrases in your e-book, or adding your very own notes or drawings on a page. Since I used these features on occasion w/desktops, they were somewhat missed on Sony's reader {esp. word search & definitions}. I suppose this would be a bigger problem for students {although, it would certainly be better for their backs and the environment by not killing so many trees for those enormous textbooks}. As far as I can tell, you cannot listen to "regular" e-books {non-audiobooks} w/Sony's reader. While I do not have any audiobooks in MS's reader, there is an audio feature and it works nicely with regular e-books I downloaded {e.g., if/when you are tired, you can press play and a voice starts speaking from wherever your cursor is in these non-audiobooks}. Also, just started using Mobipocket Reader on the desktop and it, too, is a beautiful and seamless [navigation] app;
  
  => similarly to the above, I cannot help but compare Sony's desktop software to iTunes. The navigation is just a wee bit sluggish. Screen changing in the desktop software with those status arrows is slow, even on a fast computer AND even on Sony's own website on the internet [noticeable on several computers around town, etc.]. While I am OK with the way the portable reader turns pages [time in seconds], the desktop software is much slower to navigate. also, it is slightly annoying the way it returns to an author's HOME page instead of just his/her PREVIOUS page when you want to read add'l info about a specific title {using the back arrow}. This is not a big deal if the author has just two pages, but for those with several pages, it is ridiculous to have to page through to, say, the sixth page AGAIN to continue where you left off;
  
  => not sure if this is a software bug, but so far this happens ALL the time on my desktop when I open Sony's software -- I click on "eBook Store," my e-mail address is already there, and I enter my password. But then I get a gray screen that says "Page not available...contact our customer support..." Yet, if I just go to the bottom of this window and click the eBook Store TAB, it goes directly to the home page of the store. Again, so far this happens 100% of the time and there is certainly nothing wrong w/our broadband connection, etc.;
  
  => inventory - this is a strange one. While Sony and Borders Books are in partnership, currently, there still are not as many titles as for, say, Amazon's new reader...go figure;
  
  => while it is only the 2nd gen, @ 300 bucks [much less than Amazon's, obviously] it is still pricey. Also, websites like [...] and others tend to have much cheaper content, so not sure what is up with that. I do hope inventory pricing will come down in the future. We opted to purchase the reader on sonystyle.com because it appeared the other online vendors were NOT doing the free 100 classic titles w/the purchase of the unit &/or any engraving; and
  
  => just a minor pet peeve I alluded to in the other section - I am spoiled by the vibrancy of MS's reader {even its highlights/drawings can be done in SEVERAL colors} so it is a bit to get used to, only viewing things in several shades of gray w/Sony's portable reader. I keep telling myself: "THIS REPLACES BOOKS; YOU ARE READING - READING; YOU COULD NOT PRESS A BUTTON TO LISTEN TO MUSIC WHEN YOU READ PAPERBACKS; YOU DID NOT HAVE A BACK LIGHT; YOU COULD NOT DO A WORD SEARCH WITH A HARD COPY; ETC.; ETC.; ETC."
  
  Folks, I guess if you keep everything in perspective, you will find very strong merits for having this tool--if you read a lot--and for taking back shelf space in your homes/doing right by the environment.
  
  Thx for your time-
  
  MLA
  
  
• Elegance with Purpose
  By A1UHDJ0Z27VBJL on 2008-05-22
  I've had the Sony Reader for about three months now. I'm not sure if they've updated it's practice, but Sony was sold out for quite a long time. I waited about two months for my Sony Reader to arrive. It appears that the entire reader market, including but limited to, Sony, Amazon (Kindle), Bookeen(Cybook), are facing serious supply issues. Many of the products have estimated waiting periods of 2wks to 1mnth. In which, I'll explain, why this isn't as big as an issue as it may seem.
  
  This review will be longer than usual; I think it's important for someone making a $[...] purchase to be properly informed.
  
  Cost: It's expensive. $[...] could buy a second-hand laptop or about 40 best-seller books. (Assuming you buy on Amazon of course!). Frankly, I think a lot of buyers of the Sony Reader should think hard about this issue. Are you buying it because you read? Or because you just want the new gadget in town? However, if you're stuck between this device or others because of cost, don't make a choice based on the cost. It's just not worth it.
  
  Style: Sony (generally) makes elegant products. This was no exception, if not, better than its average product. This picture certainly doesn't do it justice, but once you hold it in your hand, the curves of the device were well-thought of. Perhaps the same could be said of the Kindle, but pictures of the Kindle cannot compare against the design style of the Sony E-Reader. It certainly attracts a lot of attention. I've had a lot of questions about it, especially when I'm reading anywhere. If not, a lot of people still look and try to understand what the device I'm holding is.
  
  It is extremely light. It's lighter than most books I hold. Because the product is also extremely thin, it's weight and style give a certain "beauty" to it.
  
  Design: The OS design is well-thought out, but not perfect. You can bookmark, and go through pages easily. But, it's still not perfect. However, to most average users, it'll easily satisfy any requirements.
  
  Reading: The page-flip takes time for each page flip. IE, not instant. I don't know the exact time it takes, but I'm sure it's listed somewhere on this Amazon page. Some have complained about it, saying it's taking too long, but it takes less than the time it takes me to flip a page. Sometimes, I doubt those who are complaining this about the Sony Reader - especially when they say it causes them to lose out of place. I average about 500-600 WordsPerMinute(WPM) on more serious books and 600-700 WPM on novels, and I didn't notice this.
  
  Reading. I find it perfectly fine. I love how it works in any natural environment. IE, just like a real book! Which implies that you cannot read in the pitch-dark. Somebody below complained about the "contrast" of the product. To be frank, I haven't even adjusted that. I just sit and read for the sake of reading.
  
  +: I'm not sure if you enjoy reading on the bed, but I often love to read right before sleeping. Because I don't have to "flip pages" with this device (it's a simple button that I just press), I can rest on one side while reading. You can't really with most books, at least not nearly as comfortable.
  
  Fonts: Small, Medium and Large. They do the task. Nothing fancy, although some have mentioned that you can change it.
  
  Music: I have not tested this. At all. Which may seem odd, but I bought this device to "read."
  
  Support: I have yet to call Sony. However, online communities regarding this device are tight-knit and welcome new members. [...] has massive forums supporting this device, along with Kindle and Cybook.
  
  Battery Life: 7500 page flips. If you're a voracious reader, you should also be smart enough to realize if your battery is low for a few days to charge it.
  
  Page Finding: Perhaps one of the most annoying parts about any Reader is that the flip page is not instant. So, let's say you're trying to find a specific phrase, you cannot just flip and flip pages. This is because the page flip isn't instant (1/2 second wait). This is due to the "ink" technology of the readers, which means that any type of Reader will have this similar issue.
  
  Ebooks Online: I mean, afterall, you bought this product seeing what else you can purchase right? There are numerous stores out there. The costs are similar and are not only limited to Amazon or Sony's bookstores. [...] again will have a list of all of them. You can shop around and find cheap devices.
  
  PDF Support: This is a serious issue. Someone mentioned the size of the Reader, which according to them, was "small." Frankly I was baffled at that statement. The size of the reader is perfect for book-reading. If I wanted to carry a large device, I'd just bring my Thinkpad(Lenovo Laptops) around with me at all times! That being said, it explains why the Reader doesn't read PDFs well.
  
  This is a problem that is addressed by all the Readers. PDF's are designed with a very strict display in mind. (They were designed to transmit electronic documents to ensure that they would look the same, no matter what computer was displaying it.) As a result, PDFs were initially designed to be displayed on computers. The reader's display screen is obviously much smaller than any screen, therefore it doesn't do PDFs perfectly, or sometimes, well at all. However, there been a lot of community support that have written programs to automatically rewrite PDFs so that they are readable. Many of them have made a lot of progress, but are NOT perfect. If PDF support is a huge issue for you, again visit the MobileRead site. Software has pushed so that PDF readability is pretty much the same in quality across ALL the e-book products available.
  
  In short, the Sony Reader is beautiful, elegantly designed, and serves e-book reading well. It's not perfect, and it is expensive. However, if you love to read, and have a little flair of style, the Sony Reader will fit you well. If you're an academic and stuck with 55 PDFs take a second-look at some of the larger products out there.
  
  No internet, but did you really buy a reader to surf the internet? If so, do yourself a favor and realize a)Internet is not perfect and b) get an Iphone instead.
  
  
  
  
  
• fear of commitment
  By A3CRIO6Q6QA2WC on 2007-12-24
  I run a 64-bit OS and cannot install the eReader software or perform firmware upgrades. I bought the first gen device and having read, um, maybe four or five books back during my 32-bit days, my eReader is now a lovely ornament next to my bed. I'll probably use it as a coaster. Anyway, so long as you're committed to staying on 32-bit Windows, you should be okay. (Mac is not supported.) Sony doesn't really seem very interested in the e-book platform and I suspect that this device and all that goes with it will soon disappear, another failure to fill what is a basic need in the market. I'll buy the Amazon Kindle when it becomes reasonably priced.
  
  The Sony store has a good selection of classic books available for download, but if you want anything recent of a slightly academic nature, you're out of luck. You can find some bestsellers and popular stuff like bad sci-fi (a redundancy?) or romance novels, neither of which I read.
  
  The search engine at the store is pretty horrid as well -- someone needs to look into that whole "relevancy" thing.
  
  Ultimately, the quality of the ebooks platform will depend on the stuff that's available for download. For over a year, Sony has worked to add a ton of useless, bland and utterly unappealing material to its library. Go to their Connect site and do a search on Ken McLeod, author of the Engines of Light series. You'll find the last book in the trilogy under the author's profile, but the first two are missing. This is an example of Sony taking some of the few good books they offer and then nullifying everything with a lame library that doesn't recognize sequences and trilogies. It's a shame.
  
  UPDATE: I did find a work around for loading books onto the Mac. If you run Windoze 32-bit under Parallels 3.0 for Mac, you can download and transfer to your device. What a hassel and I can't imagine many consumers doing this, especially when the Amazon Kindle does this all wirelessly from anywhere.
  
  
• No Search, No Light, No Mac - No Deal!
  By A2M5GKAGV88LWD on 2008-10-02
  The screen is lovely, and it's a pretty looking device, but lacking a search function eliminates one of the key reasons for purchasing such a reader. You know the feature could be there, but instead you have to flip through the pages like a paper book. Ick!
  
  No light, so you can't read the book without an external light source. I understand Sony's desire to extend battery life, but I'd rather have a reader I need to charge every few days if it would let me read wherever and whenever I want.
  
  No Mac - unforgivable in this day and age. I refuse to dual-boot into Windows on my MacBook Pro just to use the ugly Sony software the reader requires. I'm sure there will be workarounds, but they'll be just that - something requiring work when it should be easy.
  
  With that said, if a search function, Mac support, and a light were added, I'd purchase this unit in a minute. Actually, even adding the search function alone might encourage me to purchase it. But for now, I'll keep reading e-books on my iPhone. The iPhone has limitations like a small screen, but I already own it and see no reason to "downgrade".
  
  
  
  
• The REAL Truth about PDF files on SONY Reader...
  By AD5DCUFO9N6F1 on 2008-04-21
  Sony Reader handles PDF's blindingly fast if the PDF includes a proper table of contents. If the PDF is created without a table of contents then of course the result will be much less efficient than it could be on this or any other reader.
  
  HERE's THE PROOF...
  
  I took a dense 1500 page book and formatted it with MS Word to suit the Sony Reader (with a bigger font) creating 8,000 smaller PDF pages optimized for the Sony Reader.
  
  Then I used Adobe Acrobat Professional to create the PDF, instructing it to process ALL tags (default is NO tag processing). The PDF creation process took 1 - 2 hours but the result was incredible.
  
  THE RESULT...
  Using the Sony Reader I can now find or reference any part of this HUGE text FASTER than using an actual printed version of the text.
  
  It's beautiful and it works great!
  
  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!
  
  
  
  
  
• Fulfills all requirements
  By A271QHJTH598L7 on 2008-06-02
  I wanted to create a quick review of the Sony Reader as the other Amazon reviews helped me a lot with deciding whether to purchase:
  
  I spent over a month researching and considering the pro's and con's of this device, both as a technology and as in comparison to Amazon's kindle. I spent almost 4 hours each day commuting and was tired of carrying heavy books with me. I decided to buy and ebook as it would allow me to carry around many books in a lighter package than a standard paper-back. I purchased the Sony Reader as it was smaller and cheaper than the Kindle.
  
  I have not been disappointed. Over the past two weeks I have purchased books online, downloaded free books and converted documents and web pages for my Sony Reader. I have found it to be just as easy on the eyes as a paper-back book, but easier to read as there is no physical page turning involved.
  
  Here would be my point of view on the negatives that I have seen in other reviews:
  
  Poor battery life: I have probably allowed the device to charge for 3 hours over the last two weeks, while I have been copying books onto it. Over those two weeks, while commuting, I am yet to see the battery indicator go below Full.
  
  Poor PDF support: This is a valid point. I am able to view PDFs on the reader, but they are slower and harder to read than normal books. However, I am only interested in the text, so export these to normal .rtf files, and they work great.
  
  Slow page turns: It takes me more time to turn the page of a physical book than it does to hit the button and wait for the screen to refresh. I am a relatively fast reader and have not found my reading interrupted by the page refresh time.
  
  Badly designed software: I did not find the software difficult to use at all. There is also some free software which performs a similar role and works very well.
  
  Poor online book selection: I considered this prior to purchasing the reader. However, it is easy to visit the Sony book store and see if they have enough books of your taste to suffice.
  
  Overall, I am very happy with this purchase so far and hope to continue to be so.
  
  
• As advertised
  By A2JEM07JJYMQW1 on 2007-12-22
  This product is one of the coolest I have ever owned. The screen looks so much like paper to me, sometimes I think I am reading an actual book! Its pretty simple to set up right out of the box. It charges right from a USB port in your computer. It also comes with some pre-installed reading material, a few songs, and a few pictures loaded onto it. The pictures look nice but are restricted. (obviously not color) The free offer from Sony for 100 classics is nice, and so far I have loaded several books from that selection onto my device. Anyway, there are VAST amounts of books available that I believe will satisfy any reader. Many are reasonably priced between 4 and 8 dollars. There is enough on-board memory (210MB when I checked properties of the device) to hold many, many books. I have 38 books loaded now and they occupy just over 40MB (including a very large Bible of over 4 MB alone) If you add a memory card (and two types are supported - Sony's Pro Duo and the more universal SD format) then the limits are probably beyond your needs. A one gig card would hold roughly 2000 books at an average file size of 500k each (file sizes do vary) Battery life? Well, its early to say - but I have almost completed two novels and the meter has not even budged off of full. That seems to fall into line with the claim that Sony boasts. As far as the battery running down with no use, I do not consider that a flaw with regular use and every product I have owned with a battery system like this does the same thing. Thats why they tell you to always charge a battery if the product has been sitting for extensive periods (like a camera for instance) The display is easy to read under decent lighting conditions but I did buy the clip-on light as I believe it will compliment this reader quite well. I recommend it! I also did a side by side comparison of an actual book to this device's screen and its difficult to see a difference. Its not bright white but neither is most books pages I have seen. The fact that you can zoom the text is an added bonus. You certainly do not have that option with paper. Anyway, I wanted to get back into reading and wanted one of these for a long time. I am happy I took the plunge with this model. I am a very happy customer! If you want a possible future color model, then waiting is the only option. But if reading many books from one location is what you desire, this product should not disappoint.
  
  Update: After reading a couple of reviews about 64 bit incompatibilities, I wanted to say that it would be a real shame if Sony did not address this issue. I have a 32 bit system so I do not encounter this issue now, bit it could be a serious issue in the future. On a downside, the unit does take extra time to load larger files. My Bible takes 20-30 seconds to load. But that is surely an exception as my experience so far sees most book files much smaller than that. Watch the price you pay and be sure to check Sony's site. A particular retailer here is charging grossly over the normal price. Do your homework before buying!
  
  
• a word for the supplier
  By A17BMUU1A24YXG on 2008-07-03
  I am writing primarily to praise the company that carries this product on the Amazon website. The company is DataVision.
  
  I purchased the Sony 505 e-text reader from them. Unfortunately I suffer from a disease that renders my hands almost useless, so that I can no longer hold a book or turn a page. I'd hoped that the Sony would help eliminate these problems. Unfortunately I did not have the strength to activate the side tabs at all, and could use the wheel only with great difficulty. Reluctantly,I decided I had to return the reader. I contacted Amazon and was told I would have to go through the seller, DataVision. Since I had expected Amazon's easy return process, I was dismayed that I would have to deal with someone else.
  
  My concerns were entirely unfounded. I cannot believe how gracious and understanding the DataVision representative was. The way he treated me, you would think I had called to purchase something rather than to return. He was sympathetic to my condition, and patient as I struggled to write down the return authorization number. He also made an exception that allowed me to save a few dollars on the return. I had expected a cold reception; instead, I got a warm response. So, for excellent customer service, I highly recommend DataVision [...]
  
  Anthony Prete
  Haddonfield, New Jersey
  
  
• Sony EBook reader
  By A28QG6GLZJ6I7M on 2008-07-13
  I currently own several (3) of the PRS-505 Ebooks by Sony, and am generally very pleased. I have purchased many ebooks in the last few months (love to read, any chance I get), and love to brag to others about my ebooks. The book is lightweight, about the same size as a regular (printed) book, and easy to transport in a pocket or backpack. The selection of book on the Sony ebook site is generally OK, with a few authors that are cutting edge, and many that were completely unknown to me before I took a chance on their books. The "Free" 100 classic ebooks is not very valuable, as all of these books are available for free on many internet sites, however you do save a small amount of money and help the environment by buying ebooks verses printed books.
  I would love it if SONY had installed a backlight, but they didn't. I have had some issues with the Sony Ebook though. One of my books had a screen failure, so have had the unpleasant experience of dealing with their customer service department in Larado, Texas. They neither care to hear from you, want to talk with you, or care what your issue is. I sent the broken book to them June 8th ($29.00 + shipping), recieved a recycled ebook from them 2 weeks later that did not work (error 3-013), and sent it back for repair again. As of today, July 13th, the ebook replacement is still not back yet.
  In summary, I love my Sony Ebooks, can't wait for the PRS-510 if it ever comes out (backlight, better book selection, improved customer interface), and personally believe their customer service department is poorly managed and run.
  
  
• Almost excellent
  By A1BOSH8QTZBZ9B on 2008-01-31
  I got my ebook 4 days back, just before a business trip. I quickly registered with the Sony site, bought 3 books, loaded them, some MP3 tunes and some photos of the family (including the cats) and off I went. I sat in the plane for two hours simultaneously listening to my music and reading - and it was fantastic - same for the return flight.
  
  It seems some people just don't understand the electronic ink thing. You HAVE TO have a useful light source to read - just like a real book (surprisingly). On plane the overhead light was perfect and I had no issues with the contrast. So I'm delighted with the ebook.
  
  So far, battery life has been excellent.
  
  The reason for 4 stars?
  1) The Sony CONNECT web site for buying books is pretty awful. It works, but it's a very poor cousin to the Amazon or iTunes site
  2) The screen could be a bit larger. It's like a small paperback and would be perfect is it was half an inch larger.
  3) It would be great if I could pause the music while in the reading mode. Maybe I missed it, but it seems I have to go back to the audio section to do this.
  
  Summary: If you read fair amount but a) don't want to carry around bulky books and b) do something for environment and save a tree or two being cut down so you can read a book once or twice, buy the Sony ereader.
  
  
  
• Great eBook device!
  By A39AN0PCOVX3HG on 2008-02-05
  I purchased my Sony eReader device from Borders, and am very pleased with it. The Sony eBook store has a lot of titles to offer, and after some trial and error on my part I found the best formats in which to import the titles to my device is .rtf, .pdf formats do not import so well, and if you do, they are best viewed in the landscape mode, the reader library software does not tag the pdf files when it imports them.
  I also found a small freeware program online called BBeB Binder which converts text and html files into Sony's .lrf files and it does a great job so I can import all my gutenberg ebooks and the books I have gotten from Baen.com which are in open formats. For me, I find the device perfect. The only problem I had at first with it was after transferring a bunch of titles over and disconnecting it from my computer, was it appeared to freeze up, but then I realized that it was sorting the files by title and author, the more files on the device the longer it takes, but I can put up with that.
  
  I initially started looking at the Amazon Kindle before I new the Sony eReader existed. But after meeting someone with one, and holding it and looking at it the clunkiness of the Kindle put me off, there are buttons all over the place, which is a disaster waiting to happen when shifting it from hand to hand. Plus the guy told me it is hard to hold properly, and he is forever hitting a button and changing the page, or exiting the file he is reading.
  
  And yes, you have to use a booklight for reading in the dark, but that is not so different from having to use a booklight for a paperback or hardback novel. I bought a small compact 3 led booklight from Borders and it works great for lighting up the screen. I also have a 2 gig memory stick and a 2 gig sd card installed so I have plenty of room to store all of my future ebooks.
  
  Everyone has different needs and wants for a reading device, so you should really take a long hard look at each device, and if you can, find someone who has one and see if they will let you look at it, hold it and question them about it first.
  Borders had a working demo model of the Sony eReader so I got to use it before buying it, and that was what sold me on it. It had all the features I needed.
  
  
• PRS-505 Review After 4 weeks of use
  By A3DYRB5RNJQJ21 on 2008-10-11
  The following is copied from my blog entry on the PRS-505
  
  This review is based on several weeks of use with a personally purchased PRS-505. I understand that SONY just announced an upgraded reader - The PRS-700, but I feel this review can easily be extrapolated to provide you with an idea of how the 700 would compare.
  
  This review is unbiased and written from the perspective of a middle aged individual who enjoys casual book reading.
  
  I will not dwell on the specs or features of the product. These are easily obtained from the SONY website itself or from the many reviews posted on the web by others. In that sense this is more a discussion of my feelings about the product than a formal review that simply rehashes much of the product literature.
  
  First, some observations about e-ink and the vizplex display that both the SONY and Amazon kindle share. The "paper like" qualities you may hear about are simply somewhat overstated in all the literature and in the many reviews published on the net. The e-ink background is simply not paper "white" like one would expect (or hope for). To me it is more like the color of pages from an aged paperback book.
  
  Advantages to this screen over an LCD device are numerous for sure- it is static (no refresh or back lighting to strain the eyes); can be easily (and perhaps optimally) viewed outdoors; uses very little power. So little that a battery charge lasts up to several weeks (you'll read over and over on other reviews how power is only consumed when a page is refreshed and that a single battery charge will last for over 7,000 page flips etc.); doesn't get warm with use (again typically little or no power is being consumed thus little heat is dissipated; no blinking lights or distracting fans or noise. In short, it is pretty much as passive as a paper book in your hands.
  
  Some disadvantages of this particular screen and technology - The display is only 6" on the diagonal. Keep in mind the entire reader itself is smaller than a typical DVD case. This is something that many perhaps won't fully realize until they have the product in their hands. It does not scroll text. Instead It "flips" pages by refreshing the entire screen at once. The refresh cycle is roughly 1 to 2 seconds from the time a button to flip a page is pressed.
  
  Font size selection is limited to 3 magnification levels, but I suspect this is adequate for most users. The font type itself is fixed. I suspect others might wish they had some flexibility there.
  
  Like with a standard paper book, proper lighting is key to viewing the text comfortably. I would say the display is at its best outdoors in plain dayllight. Unfortunately most of my free time these days happens in the evenings and indoors. I find that my bedroom lighting is not entirely sufficient to allow me to comfortably read the device. I also suspect that the supplied binder blocks some of the light as I hold the reader with it, yet I am hesitant to bend it back all the way while reading since I suspect doing so will, over time, ruin the cardboard that gives it structure.
  
  I have therefore resorted to using a clip-on LED reading light (the PRS700 solves this by including front mounted LEDs integrally into the unit) with the device for my nightly reading sessions.
  
  Since the PRS-505 lacks wireless access, the only way to get reading material into the unit is via the supplied USB cable or by pre-loading a memory card (memory stick and SD- thank you SONY card slots are both available)
  
  The software that ships with the unit to facilitate the loading of ebooks unto the reader is functional if unexciting. It seems sluggish on my PC, but I will assume this is a function of my PC for now.
  
  I have only tried the Sony online book store to download a couple of the classic titles included with purchase (an ongoing promo lets you download 100 classic titles for free with purchase) These are mostly titles that are available elsewhere for free anyways, but gets you to practice the experience of getting a book from the SONY site in the hopes that you will plunk down some cash for a non-free book soon thereafter.
  
  If you are like me then you probably did not buy this reader to then purchase or re-purchase every single book you intend to read on it. You are therefore, likely to spend a considerable amount of time locating, downloading and converting e-book formats to transfer them unto the PRS-505. In fact, I can easily say that I have spent much more time doing just that than actually reading on the device.
  
  I found a free third party app titled Calibre was extremely useful for this purpose. It too seemed sluggish at times on my PC, but it appears that the developer is constantly improving its functionality and overall user experience (based on the number of releases just in the past month).
  
  The bottom line. These e-ink based eBook readers. taken with a broad brush, take a small subset of what a laptop or desktop pc can readily do (in this case display text and play mp3s) and try to approximate the experience to that of reading a traditional book.
  
  I suspect the makers of these products are looking for customers who read voraciously, travel a lot and are looking for the latest titles and can devote a lot of money to that pursuit. Amazon realized this and made it very convenient for that type of individual to keep their Kindle reader current and loaded with material by providing free wireless access to their book store. Sony's USB tether removes much of that spontaneous buying instinct.
  
  These e-ink readers serve a small niche market for now (in a sense, I see them as gadgets for the elite). Admittedly, given their pricing models (these things retail for $300 and up) there is significantly much more bang for the buck to be had with a nice lightweight laptop or even a PMP (personal media player) - the apple iTouch and the new Archos players come to mind.
  
  Before purchasing this product I did research just about every other commercially available ebook reader product. Having said that, once you know what you are in for, I am partial to the Sony reader vs the offerings of the other makers at this time.
  
  For one, the aesthetics of the SONY beat the Kindle with little argument from any sides (pun intended). The products from Irex (the Iliad) in its various incarnations are not as reliable, require shipment overseas for any potential repairs, are much pricier and are simply not as portable or efficient as the SONY and Amazon products. Unless you need pen input capability in a reader I see no reason to go with one of these devices. Bookeen and other similar devices from Asia are essentially "also rans" and in some cases further reduce the already small viewable screen area.
  
  Other devices are simply "vaporware" at this point and we will have to see what comes from them in 2009 (products from ASTAK and Plastic Logic come to mind).
  
  What I (and just about everyone else I know) am clamoring for is something similar to the SONY reader in terms of weight, power consumption and unobtrusive operation (quiet, cool), but with a somewhat larger color display that can be easily viewed under various lighting conditions and can communicate wirelessly via WiFi. Pen and touch input capability would be a plus as well as voice recognition. In short, a lightweight tablet PC that is dedicated to playing/displaying media and browsing/interacting via the web. Steve Jobs will probably rescue me some day.
  
  I welcome your thoughts about the Sony and other e-readers and particularly how your experience compares to mine.
  
  PS - I should mention that SONY offers a $100 to $150 cash back credit from time to time for opening up a SONY Visa credit card and charging your first purchase of $299 or greater making their reader a relative bargain at a net cost of $200 or $250 depending on the deal you grab.
  
  
• Nice product, but weak on features
  By A1K3T7I4YQUUNO on 2007-12-26
  I've been using this reader for a couple weeks now, and am largely satisfied . However, it lacks a few (seemingly simple) features that would make it a much better product.
  
  *disclaimer*
  I use this reader primarily for typical mass-market lit but I can see where it would struggle with less mainstream books. It doesn't handle graphic-intensive PDFs very well, and I imagine magazines would be an absolute nightmare. Any text reliant on visual aids would likely suffer as well.
  
  First, the good:
  - Very well sized; easily portable but large enough to not strain your eyes.
  - Adjustable zoom levels.
  - Intuitive interface
  - Good online book selection.
  - User friendly software interface (if you can handle iTunes, you'll be alright).
  - Plays mp3s at a surprisingly good sound quality.
  - Decent onboard memory expandable with SD memory card.
  
  Now, the bad:
  - Contrast cannot be adjusted
  - No backlight (this, to me, is the device's greatest flaw)
  - Opening larger files can take a while (up to 30 seconds in my experience)
  - Page loads will occasionally hang for a couple seconds.
  - Screen sometimes suspect to glare.
  - Interface navigation not optimal for large book collections.
  - MP3 organization stinks (but, hey, its designed for ebooks, not mp3s).
  
  Overall, I'm very pleased with the device, but there is room for improvement.
  
  
• I love it.....
  By A3H0LPIZ544IHL on 2007-12-31
  There's a lot of nit picky things you could say about the e book readers, but over all I love love love it. The battery never seems to die, it's small enough to take anywhere, I have bookmarks in like three books, I can zoom in and out, it looks just like paper and ink, there's so many titles, and you can save money and space on books. The only down side that's hard to live with is that there are still a few titles that aren't on e book yet, but there are so many that are, that I may never get to them all. More are being converted every day, so there's still hope. :)
  
  
• Letter from Gaza
  By A1TVXZG4WAKYHS on 2008-01-14
  I live in Gaza (Palestine) and cannot bring in books too easily from outside because of the blocus. The possibility to download books from the Internet was the main reason I purchased the Sony reader. The screen is good and easy on the eyes. The e-reader is easy to carry and is not cumbersome. To move from one page to the other and from one book to the other is simple. The battery is long-lasting. The possibility to listen to audio documents is a plus. The only drawback is that Sony does not allow people living outside the USA to register to purchase its books. But fortunately there are other suppliers...
  
  
• falls short of expectations
  By A185KBM6WAI6KY on 2008-01-20
  I purchased this item from Sony direct and had it engraved. That was a mistake because the item was broken when I recieved it and they wouldn't return. I shipped it back to repair the screen. They (after shipping time)still have it 15 days and counting. The processor is slow for just a reader. It runs best when using proprietary books from ebooks (Sony). If you want to use pdf forget it, the font is to small to read even after changing orientation and increasing font. My encounter with customer service was horrible. Basic attitude was to bad, should have researched product before buying it. I just recieved a call from a representative. He will take care of matter tomorrow. The only good thing I can say about the product is its a good concept. Its a big screen and its light weight. It is almost like reading from a book.
  
  
• Amazing Little eBook Device
  By A1PY198SUKU359 on 2008-04-26
  Opening
  
  I am going to be moving in the near future. As I was looking at some massive piles of books that were cluttering my room, which would surely cost a lot of money to ship a few thousand miles from Hawaii to Maryland, I thought it might be about time for me to make the jump into eBooks. With that in mind, I went and bought myself this amazing little machine; the Sony Portable Reader System (PRS-505).
  
  Screen
  
  First thing I would like to write about is the screen on this device. The PRS-505 features a 6-inch, 170 ppi resolution, 600x800 pixel, 8-level grayscale E Ink electronic paper screen. Technical jargon aside, this screen looks great.
  
  For those who are not familiar with the E Ink electronic paper technology, basically it is a means of mimicking the appearance of paper on a electronic screen without the use of backlighting; saving battery power. The screen will display one an image of the screen and the image will remain on the screen without using any additional power. If you wanted to, you could display the same image on the screen indefinitely without charging the battery.
  
  Button/Input Layout
  
  I really like the button layout and the layout of various inputs are positioned in a smart way. Flipping through pages is easy. There is are buttons on the right side of the screen or buttons to the bottom left of the device that you can use, depending on how you like to hold the device. min and out is as easy as pushing a single button. Marking bookmarks is that simple s well. Volume buttons, USB, power and headphone inputs (as well as a little slot for a wrist strap) are on bottom of the device, giving easy access to them when you have the include leather book cover on. Power button is on the top of the device along with the SD and Memory Stick Pro Duo slots. The number button on are the side of the decide, which are used for assigning content and jumping to a specific page. Going to page 364 in a book is as simple as hitting `3-6-4-Enter`.
  
  Other Features
  
  Along with the primary feature of reading books, the PRS-505 as a numerous of other features. The Sony Reader does have the ability to display images (JPRG, BMP, GIF and PNG format). Pictures are obviously not displayed in color, but still are very detailed. It also can display text (LRF, PDF, RFT and TXT, as well support for DOC files, which are converted into RFT). It also has the ability to play audio files (AAC and MP3). I have some classical music loaded on my Sony Reader which I like to listen to when I am reading, which works great.
  
  Ease of use
  
  It is a very simple device to use. The eBook Library software makes it very simple to load up books, files, pictures, or audio onto the device. I have it setup right now so each time I plug in my Sony Reader, it will automatically sync any music and book files I have added to my library. You can turn off any setting you wish in that respect. You can tell it to sync all files, some files or no files.
  
  The eBook Store content is easy to navigate and easy to purchase. I have already bought and downloaded a number of books. If you happen to accidentally delete any content from your computer, getting that content again is as simple as logging in and redownloading your purchased content from your Transaction History (no charge of course). You can also have your purchased content on a total of 6 authorized computers or Sony Reader devices.
  
  Closing
  
  I am very happy with my purchase of the Sony Portable Reader. I would highly recommend the purchase of it to anybody who likes to read or anybody who might read more thanks to this convenience.
  
  
• little screen
  By A352BC3MR50T23 on 2008-05-31
  I wanted this device to read scientific papers, and the screen resulted too small to be confortable, I think this device is only ok to work with big font size documents, so I wouldn't recommend it
  
  
• Good product, horrible battery
  By A152JH62ABFS5X on 2008-06-20
  I have no issue with product, if the battery had held up. 4 months have past, and the battery no longer holds a charge. I have it fully charged, don't use it at all. Next day, battery is dead. Sony expects me to pay for the dead battery...which after four months, is a little annoying.
  
  So, great product that is now a high tech brick.
  
  
• Caution urged for those with astigmatism or unusual lens Rx
  By A2WBJCUK776FKY on 2008-08-21
  After doing a tremendous amount of research, I asked for & received one of these readers for my birthday. I had heard nothing but rave reviews about e-ink and e-paper, readability and the low/no eyestrain produced by this great technology. In all fairness, I will say that is seems like a wonderful device and thus far, it operates as advertised.
  
  Unfortunately for me, I had not read my new ebook for more than 15 minutes when I experienced massive eyestrain, a migraine-level headache and nausea so extreme it was almost debilitating. I tried again several days later with the same results. I have an unusual glasses prescription w/an acute astigmatism and even with corrective lenses, apparently this format just doesn't work for everyone. I had not read of this reaction in any other reviews or I would not have risked asking my family to order one before viewing one in person.
  
  Other family members (with better eyes) are able to use it and although they say it isn't as crisp as real print on real paper, they were not affected in such an immediate & negative way.
  
  If anyone intending to use a reader with e-ink and e-paper (of any brand)has vision issues or an unusual prescription, I would strongly advise attempting to find one of these readers for a live demo before purchasing (or at the very least, double-check the return policy).
  
  Because it had been engraved for me, it is not returnable. Expensive lesson learned.
  
  
  

• Sony Electronic Book Leather Cover (Black)
• Ac Charger for PRS505SC and PRS505LC
• Mighty Bright XtraFlex2 Clip-On Light (Black, Kindle Compatible)
• Kindle: Amazon's Wireless Reading Device
• Sony PRS-505 Portable Digital e-Reader System (Silver)