[BrightLight]

I’ve owned a Sony PRS-600 for a few months now, and still can’t make up my mind if I love it or hate it…

I use it mainly for reading articles for research, and general interest, and some of the classics that are available free. The concept is brilliant, a small little device that I can pick up at any time and delve into a range of subjects and reading material as required. And in this regard the convenience and flexibility of having a nice library of books and reading material with me, especially when I working away or travelling for a few days is brilliant, and has definitely made me read more material.

However… the niggles. It’s well documented the Sony Software is not the best, and as a Mac user, I’ve had all the bad experiences of the software temporarily not working at all, and having to dig around on these forums to find the solution to delete all the hidden files and start afresh. – Should it really be that hard? In fact if it were not for this site, I think I would have returned the unit in the first 10 days, after I first experienced the problems.

Likewise, thank goodness for Calibre – I think Sony should be paying that fine gentleman for creating a piece of software that is usable with their product, which gives users the opportunity to not have to battle with their own effort. – again, I wouldn’t have found out about that solution were it not for this site. And again would have probably given up struggling with the Sony software, had I had to fend for myself alone.

e-Ink, Hmm, the jury is still out on this one as far as I’m concerned. I love its clarity, the fact I can use it outdoors, and the battery life. However, indoors, especially of an evening, it can be struggle in a poorly lit room. Worse than real paper, and when I compare with something like my iPhone to check an email or something, it’s like looking at a faded out LCD screen from a 90’s PDA. Maybe a reading light will solve that problem.

But is e-ink really that good? and will it survive long term? On my Sony I’ve noticed a very tiny bit of ‘ghosting’, where for a page turn immediately following using with a lot of ink, such as the home screen, I can see a very fine impression of the previous page. Looking through the posts on here I see that this is an inherent feature of e-Ink displays.

I really wonder what is going to happen when devices such as the iPad become available. Now not wanting to spark off an Apple vs haters debate, but will Joe Public really be turned on by a slow faded B/W display with cranky software, over a device that just works (based on experience with iPods, and iPhone etc), and has a rich display that is more versatile to show many different media?

e-Ink appears to have its fans, but not always does the higher quality product win through in the marketplace. ….Betamax? and surely in 2010, we should be listening to high resolution Super Audio CDs, rather than inferior quality MP3’s? But the marketplace likes convenience it seems.

The Sony PRS has some good potential, but has been let down by awful software, and has irritating things such as non-persistent page zooming, so I really think they need to improve their game to keep in the top flight.

I think for me, there that been several occasions along the line where I would normally have given up with the product, but only through my persistence to want the convenience of the books on the go, which I love, have I been able to cope with some of the struggles in using the technology.

I wonder how much my Sony will get used when I get my hands on an iPad? If there were a 6” iPad, then the answer would be easy. But possibly whilst the 9.7” iPad will be too big for me to take and use in all places, it will still have a use in being a compact and convenient way to read more books, which, when not struggling with the software, has been something I can say the Sony has achieved for me.

BrightLight