[aceflor]

My PRS-600 arrived yesterday! It was quite an adventure to get one at all, if possible a red one. The first one ordered on amazon.fr (in black) was never shipped, the second one (in red) got lost in San Francisco, the third one (in red) made it safely here in 2 days (thanks to the seller and Fedex).

My first impression was that Sony should really do something about the box, I can't seem to be able to open it without ruining it. Nevermind, I won't use it that much, but if one day I want to sell the Reader it is annoying. Next: the reader itself. I was told the red of the 600 is not exactly the same as the red of the 505, and it is true for the 2 specimens I have. The 600 red is as lovely as the 505 red, but has a touch of blue instead of the orangy streak there is in the 505 (I hope I'm describing it properly). It is a richer red I would say. The feeling of it is different too. The 505 feels very metally and due to this a bit cold, the 600 feels softer, a bit like velvet. I don't know which kind of coating it is, but it is definitely different. Of course there is no case, just a cheap neoprene black sleeve which I will probably never use.

I then turned it on and had I not been prepared, I might have been disappointed by the display quality, it is indeed milkier as the 505. But, thanks to mobileread, when I decided to order it despite some critics I read here, it was because of the specs and knowing the display quality was not as good, so I won't comment further on that, there are plenty of other threads on this subject.

I connected the 600 to my laptop and installed the new version of the ebook Store without any problem. The authorization went smoothly, which was not the case two weeks ago with my 300. I also transferred all the books (epub, pdf, lrf) I wanted from calibre to the SD card in the reader, as well as the few lrx I have on the ebook Store library.

The menu is really easy to follow and 505 users will find their way around without any problem.

The touchscreen does not always react immediately, or did not always yesterday, but I had read one needs to get the feeling for it so I experimented a bit and it went much better today. I changed the direction of the page change and that made a huge difference, plus I am not scared of touching the screen stronger as I would for my iphone. I love that I can bookmark by tapping twice in the right corner.

I have plenty of books on my SD card, so a search function was one feature I missed a lot on the 505. It is brilliant on the 600, whether searching a book or an author or searching a word in a book. It works perfectly well and fast. I also love the dictionary, even though some definitions cannot be found, but most can.

I still have to experiment a bit more with the notes, haven't done that much until now.

I used my mighty bright travelflex with my new 600 yesterday evening and had no reflection problem at all, I orientated the LED exactly as I do when using my 505.

Last but not least, I will be using a medge cover, probably the green one I have, I do not mind the red-green combination as much as I thought. I even kind of like it now, and my 505 is already in the red medge. Purple would be an alternative, but that will make a great present from DH for Xmas.