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Originally Posted by Ler0y Jenkins
Let me start off by saying that I don't currently own an e-reader and have never owned one either. I was in Arlington, VA this weekend and was able to check out the Sony Style Store in Tyson's Corner Mall. Here are my impressions:
1. The Screen. Yes, the contrast on the 700 is noticeably inferior to the 505. To me, the 505 looks almost fake because it is so crisp and clear. In fact, when I first saw a 505 in Borders, I thought it was a fake demo unit with a sticker depicting what the screen was supposed to look like. I was very impressed when I pressed the button and the "sticker" changed.
The 700, on the other hand, looks like a monochromatic LCD screen. It was fuzzy, washed out, and had poor contrast. I know some people have speculated that the difference in contrast is caused by the plastic (or whatever) cover that houses the lights and/or touch-sensors, but to me the contrast was so lousy that it seemed to be a completely different screen. I really can't over emphasize how noticeable the difference in screen quality was between the two units. This is a deal-breaker for me. Unless people post pictures showing that the actual production units are substantially improved, I will be buying a 505.
Also, the 700 suffers from really bad screen-glare. I imagine the lights in the store made this worse that it would be reading at home, but I had trouble even seeing the screen due to the glare problems. It's like the screen has a glossy finish, rather than a matte finish like the 505. Why Sony would switch from matte to glossy, I have no idea.
Overall, the display on the 505 was significantly better than on the 700. Even my brother, who has never seen an e-reader before, thought that the 505 was the newer model because of how much better the screen was.
2. The Touchscreen. The touch screen worked really well. I didn't really have a chance to do much other than a few page changes, but it seemed really responsive.
3. The Built-in Lights. The lights are a nice touch. In the store it's hard to tell how effective they are but they seem to do their job. You can see light and dark areas along the edges where the lights are situated, but this isn't a big deal to me. Some people might get annoyed with it, but for me it's similar to my lightwedge and that never really bothered me.
4. The Speed. Some people have mentioned that the 700 changes pages almost instantly. That's an exaggeration. The 700 is noticeably faster than the 505, but there is still a small delay.
Overall, the 700 is a nice machine but the screen quality is a deal-breaker for me. I can see myself getting eye-strain trying to read from the 700's screen for long periods of time. I'm very disapointed by this becuase I was set on getting a 700. I liked the increased speed and the built-in lights but those features are overshadowed by the poor quality screen. Anyway, that's my .02. Before you buy, I suggest you go and check it out for yourself.
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Thanks for the impressions, these are my thoughts on the 700 as well. Great potential, but the screen really ruins any chance of the 700 being the reader I buy.