[Quicksand]

I really wanted to wait for the Daily Edition, not only because I couldn't imagine reading text on anything smaller, but also because I want to read PDF files too. The only portable device I have ever tried for ebooks before was a PDA (Ipaq) I had which had display large enough to only show few lines of text. That made it basically unusable for me.

But I was in BestBuy few days ago and they had PRS-300 in stock, so I convinced them to unpack one. First, I was really surprised how large it was -- there is no way I could put that into any of my pockets. But the screen looked really good. I also noticed they had in stock the folder with light for the PRS-300 that was shown on SonyStyle, so I had them open one of them and install the reader into it. The combination looked really great and it was very comfortable to hold. I noticed that having the light on produced glare on the reader, but since the light was flexible I was able to position it in a way that would avoid the problem. But that made me think about the glare on the touchscreen readers people talk about -- if I was bothered by the glare of PRS-300 I suspect I would be less than happy with the touchscreen. Unfortunately the store didn't have any of the touchscreens for me to compare.

So I bought the 300 model and the case-with-light with a plan to buy the Daily Edition or another large-screen reader after the reviews are in. I'll end up with two readers, but I think each will have its use.

After using the PRS-300 for few days (ePub books only, no PDF) I am really happy I bought it. The size is perfect just to take with me anywhere. It will not fit in my pocket, but is still small and light enough to put into a bag without much thought.

There are only three type sizes and the small is most of the time unusable to me even with glasses. But the medium size works beautifully.

An important test for me was to be able to use the 300 when reading in bed because I can't fall asleep without a book. :-) The reader worked beautifully -- I actually like it much more than printed book for bedside reading. It is lighter and easier to handle than hard-cover and pressing a button to turn the page is to me faster and less intrusive than turning a paperback page.

I think I am able to even read faster because my eyes can stay focused on a relatively small reading area and don't need to move the way they move with printed book (from left page top to bottom, right page, etc.). With the reader, it is the text that moves when you "turn the page" not your eyes.

I don't need the wireless functionality since there is no book I have to purchase or download immediately -- I have no problem doing that with a computer. But I can see myself using the device to read news, so if Sony releases constantly updated news-feeds, I would probably make use of the wireless.

The big plus is that I can finally minimize purchases of print books. I love having my large library of books, but I hate how much space they take. Ebooks solve this problem nicely.