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Thanks to the Sony Reader, 2008 may well be remembered as the year of the ebook reader. This seems a little harsh on its competition: as the iRex iLiad will attest, the PRS-505 isn’t the first reader to hit the UK, but it is the first to really enter the public consciousness.
Like its rivals, Sony’s second-gen device has a special ‘E Ink’ screen designed for reading text, something that LCD screens are not very suitable for. And this just in: John Lewis is doing it in red, too.
Stunning screen
The screen itself is stunning. The way the text appears on screen is surreal – it looks like it has been printed on. Consequently, you can turn the Reader all around without the screen losing legibility, and it can be read in bright sunlight.
On the down side, it is slow to refresh when you ‘turn’ pages, and that lack of backlight means you’ll need artificial light to read under the covers.
No book-killer
Despite the astounding screen, the PRS-505 doesn’t read like a real book. It takes a while to get over the novelty; to resist the urge to press one of the buttons and watch it do something.
And you can’t treat it as casually as a book: it can’t be bent, squashed, or thrown in a bag with a sandy beach towel. Plus, your eye doesn’t fall as naturally to the right place after a moment of musing.
Digital library
But at least the number of digital books is growing at a healthy rate. The Reader is the only ebook to be compatible with Waterstones’ DRM’ed library, where there are currently 5883 ebooks, with over 20,000 expected by the end of the year.
They cost roughly the same as their paper equivalents, which will come as a shock if you were expecting the lack of printing costs to be passed on to you. The site navigation also leaves a little to be desired in comparison to the iTunes experience, and Mac users will be dismayed to learn that the bundled Adobe software won’t work on their machine. Still, you can at least drag and drop files onto the Reader via your desktop.
More than words
Luckily, the PRS-505 isn’t all about books. It can play MP3 and AAC tracks, so you can accompany your reading – albeit with a massively negative effect on the battery life. Plus, in addition to the DRM’ed ebooks from Waterstones, it can view PDFs, Microsoft Word files and simple text documents – useful for professionals and students who need to carry and refer to lots of documents.
So, if the Reader isn’t as good as a book, why would you want one? Because you’re a gadget fan and because, in the words of Bowie, it’s a ‘little wonder’. But also because you can carry roughly 160 books in a device the size of a thin paperback; with memory card expansion, thousands. And because the battery will last for 7000 page turns before needing a recharge.
It’s also, by a nose, the best all-round ebook reader currently out there. The new £500 iRex iLiad Book Edition is compatible with MobiPocket but is bigger and more expensive, while the BeBook’s interface is less slick despite its wider format support. So until the Amazon Kindle comes to the UK, the PRS-505 is the best way to get your digital reading fix.
Comments
ddruiam
47 weeks ago
eReader boeken
Zoekt u boeken voor uw eReader, dan zit u goed bij eboekenweb.nl. In onze ebookwinkel vindt u een ruim assortiment eboeken voor uw eReader of iPad. Deze eReader boeken kunt u eenvoudig downloaden in onze eboeken webshop. U kunt ook een ebook cadeau doen.
Dave_G
1 year ago
Great product - shame about the company. Afer developing a screen fault only 20 months into ownership, the attitude from Sony boils down to 'tough luck'. An offer to do a 'fixed price repair' (at £176.25) is ludicrous and to ignore UK laws pertaining to warranty periods is a disgusting attitude from a big-name company. Enjoy your eBook reader while it's working - don't expect Sony to assist when it goes wrong.
machwh
3 years ago
I've been using my PRS-505 ever since the day of it's UK release and I have to say it's good stuff. Whilst the display contrast doesn't compare with that of paper, it isn't bad, and any lack of contrast is compensated by the fact that you can get the book //just so// whilst reading it (propped up in bed for example) -- and once it's just so, there's no problem with reading the facing page or knocking the book over whilst turning the page. A paper book feels quite awkward after using the PRS-505 for a while. People say "Ahh! - but how do you read it in the bath?" but I have that sorted: http://www.markwheadon.com/blog/2009/01/waterproof-case-for-the-sony-prs-505700-book-reader/ All in all, this is one of those devices that, now I've known it, I would find hard to do without -- great stuff. Mark Wheadon
Red Robbo
3 years ago
I wish I'd used my spellchecker!
Red Robbo
3 years ago
The months of waiting after ordering on the first day was worth it, straight out of the box this sleek baby impressed even before powering up. It looks and feels quality. Loading up books from the supplied CD is not a task for your gran but was soon accomplished and the free ebooks are plentiful and at least one or two should allow you time to get used to the readers' functionality before entering into buying ebooks online. Something I've not tried yet. Reading from the reader soon becomes very easy, especially as I tend to read in bed. Sarting to nod of and loosing your page is not a problem as the reader remembers where you left off. And , as for reading in the sunshine (the curse of many a screen toting gadget) this is no problem at all the screen stays crisp and clear. But, one of the best things about the reader is that when showing it off to friends and coleagues the general comment is WOW! Yep it cerainly has WOW factor.