(I'll start with saying I am not going to talk about the software in this post just now. Maybe in a post later in the thread)
I think I got my e-reader on about 20th of December. And I thought I would leave it a few weeks before I wrote up any thoughts on the wee device.
Now, first up, because I had never used an e-reader before, I wanted to try one in a shop before purchase. This limited me to the Sony 300 and 600, since at the time, no stores near me stocked other readers in-store (I had wanted to look at the iRiver Story, but couldn't).
After trying both the 600 and the 300 in my local Waterstones, I did prefer the 600 a lot more, but I was struggling to find a reason to make the £80 premium sound worth it. After reading reviews online stating about the screen glare on the 600, I decided I would get the 300 as my first device, and upgrade to a touchscreen version near the end of 2010.
Originally I was going to buy the Black 300, with a case. This would have cost me £180 (£150 for the device, £30 for the leather case), I spotted a small poster for a limited edition Midnight Blue PRS-300. After asking about it i found it came with:
PRS-300 (Dark blue, Purple trim)
Blue leather Case
James Patterson - Cross Country & Worst Case
£10 Waterstones Credit
All for £169.
Anyway, enough rambling :P the "Review"
Hardware, Look & Feel:
The device itself feels lovely, just the right weight and size. I like to hold it in my right hand with my thumb on the button in the center to change pages. After a 5 hour reading session on a bus, my hand was not aching at all.
All the buttons have a nice feel to them, and make audible clicks when pressed.
Looks wise, I think it is stunning, but that is just my personal opinion :P
The unit itself is very dark blue, and in some lights looks black. Even though it is the "Limited edition James Patterson edition", there is no branding on it except "Reader" on the back. Around the edges is a plastic strip, this is coloured Purple and goes well with the blue. The style of this reminds me of the Plastic strip around the PSP, and some of Sony Ericsson mobile phones, which is good I suppose.
The leather case that comes with it is very nice. Exactly the same as the official Sony leather "Book Styled" Case, except it is blue and has James Patterson written in the bottom right.
Pictures:
The whole set of high-res pictures is available here -
Flickr