Sony Reader Touch Edition - Black (PRS650BC)

by Sony

• Charge and Read for Two Full Weeks
• Paper-like Display for Easy Reading
• Multiple Formats Supported
• Elegant 6" Touch Screen
• Choose More Books from More Places

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 0.4 x 4.7 x 6.6 inches ; 7.8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B003Z97GKK
• Item model number: PRS650BC
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #68,912 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 16, 2010

Product Description

Experience a full touch screen that reads like a real book on the Reader Touch Edition. Turn pages with the swipe of a finger and enjoy fast and intuitive navigation of your favorite books. Choose more content from more places like the online Reader Store, where you can access new releases, or choose from over one million free public domain titles from Google Books or and find links to borrow eBooks from public libraries.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Perfect, But Definitely Deserving of Praise November 1, 2010

By Frank

First off, let's get the biggest con of the Sony 650 out of the way first: no wireless connectivity - an especially glaring omission considering the price (which is the second biggest con). If you go with the Sony, you'll have to load all the books onto it by connecting it to your computer by a usb cord. How old-fashioned! I know, I know, it's a terrible chore. (Just kidding, in case you didn't get that.) So if you want to mainly buy ebooks by wireless from Amazon, then go with the Kindle. If you want to mainly buy ebooks by wireless from B&N, go with the Nook. A third, more minor lack, but one that makes you keep asking why: Sony only gives you one font to play with (though six different sizes). Come on, Sony, even the cheapest ereaders out there give you more than one font option!

These issues aside, I love reading on this little thing. It's a fantastic ereader. Little touches make it so much better to read with than previous readers I've had, like double-tap word lookups (and you can double-tap a word in the definition to look up THAT word), double-tap bookmarking, word and image zoom, quick highlights and notes - especially useful if you like to do the occasional review. Plus of course epub support is a biggie (something the Kindles don't have). If you've any interest in reading books from the library, this is a necessity. And using the Sony will allow you to buy ebooks from just about anywhere EXCEPT Amazon and B&N (because of their proprietary DRM), so you can shop from Borders, Books A Million, the Sony store of course, etc. And NO glare/relection issues with this model, as there was with the 600. The screen is perfectly legible under every lighting condition I've tried it under, including bright sunlight. The touchscreen is very responsive: there's no having to figure out the right amount of pressure to apply, or swiping your finger just so, at just this or that angle. No, it works just as you'd hope it would. Page turns are a simple swipe left or right (although there's buttons for that too). And coming back to the font issue, there is an easy hack to read ebooks with different fonts on the Sony,if you really must, but I think the default is very easy on the eyes. Plus the contrast can be adjusted to make a BIG difference.

If your primary interest is having a device that makes reading ebooks a pleasure, I HIGHLY recommend this ereader.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hands down the best e-reader October 26, 2010

By cody

I've had my Sony Touch PRS650 for about a week now, and already I have read three books. That's a record for me. After doing extensive research, the only valid complaint reviewers had was the price. At $229 it is one of the most expensive readers with the 6 inch screen. Well, sometimes you just gotta get the best product. Page turns are quick and new e-pearl ink display is very clear and easy on the eyes. I highly recommend the Touch if you are in the market for an e-reader.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best upgrade I've ever made. November 29, 2010

By Ruthless

My first Sony eReader, the PRS-500 is still plugging away, albeit with a much fuzzier/blurrier screen around the left edge, but I decided after 6 or so years to upgrade to a new Sony Touch PRS-650, after MUCH research between it, and Amazon's Kindle. I did, at one point, buy and then cancel my purchase of the latest Kindle *because of* the wireless capabilities, and it's limited support of content formats.

Primarily, what niggled in the back of my mind after I had initially went the Kindle, was that this Kindle I had purchased would be "calling home" if I were to leave the wireless capabilities enabled, and whoever is at the other end at Amazon would, essentially, be able to see, or have access to whatever was on it. I like my privacy a great deal, and this did not sit well with me. (Scroogle "Kindle and Privacy") I would be willing to bet that even with wireless off, there would be some "limited" talking back and forth regardless, and there would be no way I could tell otherwise. That was when I decided to go with Sony. This said, I'm not sure this review will even be posted here at Amazon, but such is life.

Granted, each reader has it's own limitations, but I also felt much more secure in the knowledge that were I to, down the road, decide to take my extensive library of e-books to another reader, I would be in much better shape with the Sony (especially since I already have an extensive library that works with my previous Sony reader) than Kindle, with it's DRM restrictions. Here's the list of media formats supported from Sony's website (sonystyle.com):

* DRM Text : ePub (Adobe DRM protected), PDF (Adobe DRM protected), BBeB Book (PRS DRM protected), Text, RTF
* Image : JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP
* Unsecured Audio : Unsecured Adudio: MP3 (Non encrypted), AAC (Non encrypted)
* Unsecured Text : ePub, BBeB Book, PDF, TXT, RTF, Micrsoft® Word, (Conversion to the Reader requires Word installed on your PC)

In addition, my old Sony eReader as well as the PRS-650 both have expandable storage, where the Kindle does not. The Touch has 2 GB of internal space with slots for SD cards up to 32 GB.

I'd also like to note that the reviewer that said that there was NO glare/reflection issues from the screen in any light is mistaken. Yes, the screen surface is somewhat matte, but there are still times when the reader needs to be tilted this way or that when the light is behind you, but this is a very minor inconvenience. I love my Sony Touch for all the reasons he mentioned as well, and more!

If you cannot find a good deal on this item through ebay (because you'll be hard pressed to find an affordable one on Amazon), do go to the Sonystyle.com site and pick one up. I got mine on sale at Sony in Nov '10 for $199, and even now they're $230 (Dec '10), and if you turn in your old Sony eReader for recycling, I guess, it's an additional $75 or so off the new one.

I want to end this by saying that it was a VERY close race between the Kindle and the Touch for me, and if the Touch was not around, I would be leaping on the Kindle in a moment's notice. With the wireless off, or preferably, broken.