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Old 11-23-2010, 08:14 AM   #1
jbcohen
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A question for Sony ebook owners

What do you think is the biggest advantage of the Sony ebook readers as oposed to the Amazon Kindle, Jet Book and the Aluratek Libra Pro? For example the advantage of the Libra Pro is its price tag, $100 and the advantage of the Jet Book is the ability to support just about every possible ebook format available.
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Old 11-23-2010, 08:29 AM   #2
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What swayed me over was

Touchscreen, swyping makes for a more book like experience, plus the dictionary on double tap is priceless.

Screen is just as good as the kindle, wich kept me from buying the 600, and decided me on the 650
Open Format I like it to read anything I throw at it

The biggest factor was the memory card, as I want to be able to read manga, and want to be able to use the expanded storage. Kindle has no such option. I may have overlooked the rest, but no way to expand the memory was a deal killer for me.

Bonus ... Its prettier than the kindle personal bias, but still.
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Old 11-23-2010, 08:34 AM   #3
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What do you mean by saying "the dictionary on double tap"? What's swyping? Jet Book has the format feature so there has to be something more then just being able to read every format under the sun. I can see the screen quality and the and the touch screen, none of the readers I mentioned can boast that.
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Old 11-23-2010, 08:40 AM   #4
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Device: PRS-650, PRS-505
Swiping = Turn pages by swiping (moving the finger in a sideward motion) the touchscreen left-to-right or vice versa.
Dictionary Double Tap = Looking up a word in one of the included dictionaries by double-tapping (moving the finger in a fast, downward motion) the word on the touch screen. Word definition the appears in a window.

Both features really make a difference in handling. Kudos to Sony!

Last edited by rasbadar; 11-23-2010 at 08:43 AM.
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Old 11-23-2010, 08:46 AM   #5
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another advantage (if you want it) is pocketability of the 350. I have it in a case and it fits in either front or back pocket of my jeans. No way you could do that with the kindle, though of course the extra inch is nice for reading. but from what I can tell the 650 which would compete more evenly with the k3 is a smaller form factor as well. Many people seem to fee that the k3 hardware keyboard is just a big space waster.
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Old 11-23-2010, 08:53 AM   #6
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The Sony is thicker (and colder) than the Kindle to hold. I wouldn't want to read the Sony without its cover (especially in our bedroom!). The Kindle has a nice feeling.

The Sony is smaller though, due to the lack of keyboard. If you like to write whole novels on it, I'd not get the Sony, but the Kindle. If you prefer a smaller device, get the Sony.

I love the touchscreen of the Sony. Because it's not a touchscreen, you don't have to touch the screen, it's very light (how much force does it take to swipe the air?). And you can use every single object you want (though, I'd keep sharp tipped object away from the screen )

Disadvantage of the Sony: it won't activate the dictionary when I'm reading my home-generated PDF's. I haven't tried it on the Kindle yet (I'll try tonight).

The memory card is nice but the Kindle has a lot of internal memory. But I do like the ability to switch cards.

Formats, I don't care about, I reformat all my books to PDF anyway. Made up specifically for a 5" screen (so it'll look great on a 6" as well), so no need to reflow or anything of that kind. And the same source creates epubs and mobipocket books as well, so any device would do for me.
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Old 11-23-2010, 10:01 AM   #7
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The reasons for me to choose a sony are:

1. Size...I love the size of the pocket editions. Great for fitting in a small purse.

2. No keyboard...I don't like having a keyboard at the bottom it just makes it bigger.

3. Library books...this and the no keyboard were the deciding factor on my first sony I bought (the 300)

I bought the 350 because of the screen, holds more books and it's smaller, lighter and thinner. Plus I love the quality of the Sony's.

Last edited by laughingdragons; 11-23-2010 at 10:25 AM.
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Old 11-23-2010, 10:25 AM   #8
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As people have said, it depends on what you plan to do. I read science fiction, and either I know the words (English) or the author made the words up (all the other planets). I don't search around, I just go from page to page. My Sony, with leather cover and polycarbonate hard case, are lighter and cheaper than paperbacks. With Calibre and it's many plugins I can read any book format I've ever found.

I have a 505, the 600 and 650 haven't convinced me that the touchscreen is worth the smudges. If you don't touch the screen, by using the buttons, you never have to clean the screen.

My wife has a Kindle 2, and the keyboard isn't a good handle. It's bigger than it needs to be (though the Kindle 3 diminishes that a little). The radio is just a waste of battery, it's always off. Turning on the radio is no less work than plugging a Sony into your computer.

The iPad is bigger yet. While it's massively chic, and color, my books are still black and white except for the covers. Sat next to a guy reading one on a plane last week, it was OK. A little glare off the shiny glass and he had to clean it with a cloth to get the fingerprints off.

Price is the remaining issue. Sony is adding "features" like the touchscreen rather than pushing down the price. That will be up to other companies I guess.
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Old 11-23-2010, 11:43 AM   #9
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For me, portability is everything. . .

And the PRS350 is the smallest, most portable dedicated eReader I have found. I am VERY happy with my choice and I am one of those people who mistrust Sony because they have pulled some of the most boneheaded anti consumer stunts ever.

But this time, they got it right! Kudos to Sony.
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Old 11-23-2010, 11:55 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RSaunders View Post
I have a 505, the 600 and 650 haven't convinced me that the touchscreen is worth the smudges. If you don't touch the screen, by using the buttons, you never have to clean the screen.
I have had my Sony 950 with touchscreen for nearly a month now. I have been averaging 4.5 hours a day of use and have not yet cleaned the touchscreen. Before responding to this post, I checked the screen for fingerprints and smudges. There is a very light smudge in the top right corner where I regularly doubletap to insert/remove a bookmark. Other than that, there are no fingerprints or smudges requiring cleaning of the screen or that interfere with the reading. I think this is because it really isn't a true touchscreen. Once you get used to how it works, you really swipe your finger in the air above the screen rather than on the screen itself. Anyway, my point is simply that the screen has stayed as clean as the screen of my 505 for the month I've had it.
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Old 11-23-2010, 12:12 PM   #11
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Well, I don't have my 950 yet () but the reasons I decided on it rather than a different reader:
1. Touchscreen. Much more intuitive for me, and keeps the extraneous buttons at a minimum.
2. Not as proprietary as the Kindle.
3. Latest e-ink screen with snappy refresh rate.
4. Wireless.
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Old 11-23-2010, 12:51 PM   #12
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I picked the Sony 650 over the Kindle wifi because of the touch interface (specifics mentioned already) and overall size. I liked the touch system on my 900, though not the screen. The 650 is the best of both worlds, and I love E-ink displays. Worth a premium to me.
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Old 11-23-2010, 01:20 PM   #13
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I've got the 350 and 950 as well as the Kindle WiFi (K3). I like the 350 for its portability. It will fit into my shirt front pockets when I go places. I like the 950 for sitting at home reading with its bigger widescreen that works great in landscape mode with two columns. But I hate the Sony PC software (Sony Reader Library) and the Sony website for buying books.

I like the K3 for its simplicity and reliability and the fact that I can read MOBI without converting, tho converting is fairly easy. The K3 is a bit better for the PDFs I read and the Amazon Kindle book website is way better than Sony's.

I had an Aluratek Libre. Yes it has so-called support for many formats, at least non-DRMed formats. But two things were a turn off. It had a crappy LCD monchrome screen that looked metallic in certain lighting and had very low resolution. And most of the formats were presented like a text file with absolutely no formatting. The Sonys and the Kindles can view text files too, so no big advantage for the Aluratek. It should have to use true formatting to claim those formats!

Last edited by jswinden; 11-23-2010 at 01:27 PM.
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Old 11-23-2010, 01:40 PM   #14
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Unfortunately folks the Pandigital Novel also has the swipe function as well. My Aluratek also has the pocket feature as well. I can see the double tap for the dictionary and the screen quality.
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Old 11-23-2010, 02:07 PM   #15
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For me it was screen size (larger, not smaller, though), features, and build quality.
I had an Astak EZ Reader before, and a Sony 600. I loved both, except for the screen on the 600. I loved the format support on the EZ Reader; that and Robert B's participation here are the reasons I chose it for my first ebook reader. But I fell in love with the Sony's quality build and found I love Collections even more than I loved folders. I had already settled on ePub as my format of choice, so all my purchases for the last year or so have been ePub, and what wasn't before, is now! So that took out supporting a lot of different formats as a desired feature for me.
I can read the 950 in places where I could never have managed with the 600, due to the screen quality of the 950.
I love the standby screens on the new Sonys, as well. That little bit of personalization goes a long way with me.
Yes, it was expensive. But I read all the time, I have always been a reader, so the cost for a product that I'm going to enjoy reading on (and still not have to have the walls lined with bookshelves) is very worth it to me.
I know I answered more questions than you asked, but... well, there you go.
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