08-17-2009, 06:03 AM | #16 | |
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Quote:
Then 1984 happened. Now I'm surely moving off the Kindle and Amazon in general, but, I know I will miss one thing about the kindle, and no, it's not the stupid wireless purchasing, I've never once been able to use that because the interface is painful, worst ever. It's faster for me to just browse amazon.com on my iPhone, seriously. No, it's the damn annotations! I will miss that. So I'm going to consider a PRS-600. That or wait for the Plastik Logic because I'd really like a larger form factor, I'm just worried that with BN involved they'll strip out the useful features like ADE ePub support So anyway, I think there's a few things the 505 could use. It's just a shame that everyone's moving to lower quality E-Ink panels just to get a few more useless shades of gray out of them. |
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08-17-2009, 06:48 AM | #17 |
Wizard
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08-17-2009, 01:12 PM | #18 | |
Bada Bing
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Quote:
What is "1984"? Edit: Oh I know what that is. Them taking back the book electronically. Yeah, that was an issue for me too in terms of figuring out my purchase decisions. |
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08-20-2009, 08:30 PM | #19 |
Bada Bing
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The wait is officially killing me!!!!!
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08-20-2009, 09:49 PM | #20 |
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Hi all,
My Sony store had the 300 & 600 in today - demo models. My wife bought me a 505 last week for my birthday so I brought mine in, thinking that I might exchange it for the 600, paying the difference. The guy at the counter let me take pics and a video with my mobile phone, which was pretty nice of him. This was in Calgary, Canada, btw. The things I was looking for specifically were: - was the text as clear and easy to read as the 505? - is the touchscreen worth the lack of cover and the extra price? - what is the glare like? as in, did they fix it from the 700? In addition, I wanted to see the neoprene sleeve and see the other apps (dictionary), etc. Essentially just play with it a bit. Here's my impressions. - The text is NOT as clear and crisp as the 505. Take a look at the 700 and it's really about that same. - The touch screen is nice and pretty well done. You can change the direction of the page turn motion, which I thought was a nice touch. Frankly, although it seems reversed, right to left seems the most natural (book-like) to go to the next page, not the other way around, which is the default. - The touchscreen for the menus is just slick. For all those that own a 700, you already know this. Well implemented, no tiny click areas, just easy to use. - The glare. Yeah. It is much worse than on the 505. Basically, if you have a harsh light somewhere nearby and it is angled such, you will not be able to read anything on the screen. Now, this is really the case on the 505 as well - if the light is directly on the screen, you still need to shift the reader to continue reading. The difference is with the ambient light. With the 505, unless it is a harsh light, the ambient reflections aren't really noticeable - not so with the 600. It's pretty much like the 700... removing the backlight apparently isn't the issue - it's the touchscreen. Sorry to burst anyone's bubble about that. Still, it isn't awful, so if you were going to/already have bought this, don't stress over it unless the amount of glare on the 700 was a HUGE issue for you and you were hoping it'd be better. It's not, that much. - The sleeve is actually pretty good. Squishy, like they are. Reasonably protective. It won't fall out if you're holding it - it's not that slippery inside. I still prefer the leather (leatherette?) cover - I just think it looks more classy and makes you feel more like you're reading a book, but that might just be me. All in all, it feels a heckuva lot like the 505. Similar dimensions, weight, and menu/UI functionality. So.... I kept my 505. The differences boiled down to better functionality with the touchscreen but with a screen that was less crisp and more prone to glare. It would have cost me $50 to upgrade plus the cost of a cover for $40... so $90 CAD total. Other things of note: - the red version isn't the same red as the 505. It's the only one I got to play with and it doesn't come out so well in the following pics, but it's a pinkier red rather than the rich deep blood red of the 505. Subtle, but noticeable. - The "faster page turns" of the 600 were not noticeable at all to me. I even took a video which I've linked to here. Sorry - it's a cell phone video so you can really just seen the screen flash, no detail, but it gives you the idea. This might be better when viewing PDFs, but for the default LRF book that was on there, it was really about the same as far as I could tell. - The 5 font sizes ... the S,M,L sizes are the same as the 505 - only the XL and XXL are different and they are simply so huge as to be unusable. And this comes from someone with pretty poor eyes that actually reads on L most of the time. Hope this has helped people with a decision. Video: http://www.positivebias.com/prs600.mov Oliver Last edited by Alexander Turcic; 08-25-2009 at 03:14 AM. Reason: added images as attachments |
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08-20-2009, 10:52 PM | #21 |
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Well, I had to have the ability to take notes and highlight. Terribly important. I actually would have went 505 if that was possible. I hope the screen is good.... I've never used a 700. People have said that I will love it, so I will remain optimistic. I have no point of reference . Plus, I need to be able to read it for a while and not feel like I'm reading a computer screen. I read 100's of electronic journal articles and am tired of printing and storing them.
Thanks much for the info Oliver! * I'm taking it that the resolution on your camera was such that the screens were blurred. |
08-20-2009, 11:13 PM | #22 |
Storm Surge'n
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Thanks Oliver, nice first post.
In Canada, in Calgary, who'd a thought this would be the first live glimpse of the new Sony models? If you're in that neighbourhood again, it would be great to see some pics of the note-taking abilities of the PRS-600, using the stylus freehand, that I thought it is supposed to be able to do. Some members might also like a pic of the PRS-300 if you have any. WetDogEared (WDE) Last edited by Wetdogeared; 08-21-2009 at 12:16 AM. Reason: fixed model number |
08-21-2009, 12:13 AM | #23 |
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I don't think you or anyone will be disappointed with the quality of the screen on the 600. It really is nice and sharp. Unless you have it sitting right next to the 505, you wouldn't even know that there's anything better. I just happened to have them side by side so could tell the difference.
I didn't test the notes and highlighting, but from what I've seen/read online, it looks like it'll do that great. Yep, it was just a camera in my phone, so none of the photos came out very clear or sharp, hence the blurriness. I didn't actually take any of the 300 though did have a pink one on hand. I should have thought to do that. Whoops. If I'm by there on the weekend, I'll try to remember to bring my point and shoot to take some better ones. Oliver |
08-21-2009, 12:19 AM | #24 |
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2 Oliverh72
Where in Calgary? - Deerfoot Mall or Market Mall? |
08-21-2009, 12:40 AM | #25 |
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Thanks for the pictures Oliver. It is a major letdown for me. I was so hoping that Sony was able to solve the screen issues. Especially with them commenting toward that effect. I definitely will check it out personally before making a final decision. If the screen is as bad as on the 700 it will be a no go for me, even though I would really love the dictionary and search functions. I guess I'll find out in another 5 days.
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08-21-2009, 01:21 AM | #26 |
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Thanks for the photos and report. I had the impression that the new red would look a bit washed-out compared to the 'Sangria' red of the 505.
A bit of a shame about the screen. I don't think it would be a problem for me, but I was interested in the 700 because of the build-in lights, and if it's not the light that is problem.... Oh, well |
08-21-2009, 02:47 AM | #27 |
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Thank you Oliver, very nice review I'm so looking forward! And maybe some screen protection will make up for the issues? Let's just hope...
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08-21-2009, 03:08 AM | #28 |
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Thanks, Oliver. You've just saved me some money and made me pissed... I really wanted to like the 600, but if the screen is worse that the 505 it's a no go...
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08-21-2009, 03:37 AM | #29 |
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I'm excited for you newbies. You will love ebooks. And, what a neat device to start out on. My first device was an REB 1100 and it had handwriting recognition and an onboard dictionary as well. Although I love the Sony devices, none of them have offered those features until now. I am anticipating getting my own as well. Looking forward to seeing what you guys think.
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08-21-2009, 08:40 AM | #30 |
Storm Surge'n
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Thanks again for your post Oliver. I was so excited on your find that I forgot to ask all the right questions last night.
The screen clarity was probably the most on peoples minds. Hopefully there is a *bit* of improvement over the PRS-700, just hoping. Maybe the screen problems that were mentioned being fixed were the dust spots, which are no longer a problem without the lighting. The way it takes notes/annotations was probably the next question on *my* mind. I hope you get a chance to have another look at it again on the weekend; and some pics of the PRS-300 would be great. And how could I forget the dictionary lookup? Everyone want to know how how the dictionary function looks, especially those of us who have never had it. Thanks again, WDE. |
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