Customer Reviews

Sony PRS-505/LC Blue Digital Book Reader

5 star:		(82)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

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 :))

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.

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!

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 [...], and Project Gutenberg [...]. 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.
[...]

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.

[...] 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. [...]. 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.
[..]

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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.