Silver, Pearl and the Aesthetics of Reading

[ronya]

I used to think the silver metal of Sony 350 would be distracting, and I would prefer black device if there was choice. But it turned out to be ok! While i was waiting for my sony to be delivered to me, i was thinking of buying a decalgirl skin. However, the silver of the device matches the original sony cover (blue) so perfectly, I don't think I'll ever need anything else!

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

Hi, Prestidigitweeze! Here are the requested photos. Sorry it's taken me awhile to respond. I was sick for several days, and then I was attempting to be sensitive because I knew you were mourning the unfortunate loss of your 350. . . . The red of the cover is actually much darker. The red of the flowers on the skin doesn't match the cover as exact as I would like, but it was the best option at the time and my primary concern was a black background. One thing I have noticed recently is that the skin is starting to show a small wear mark on the upper-right hand corner from the elastic strap.

Bookworm Girl:

Thanks for the detailed reply. No worries as to the timing of your response, as my own daft timing demonstrates (he said several weeks later).

That's a lovely option, though I personally couldn't see myself walking about with flowers. But the combination of red and black is nice and the Oberon cover is succulent, strap stress notwithskinning.

I should probably submit a design to decalgirl that combines red and black in the simplest and least florid way possible -- perhaps with red used as a gradient, but more likely as minimal edge shadowing with or without fading effects, or to outline or block the edges of the 350's screen borders.

Designing a specific skin for the 350 would mean you could do the thing decalgirl's fits-all-sizes patterns do not: Incorporate the details of the actual device you're using.

[Prestidigitweeze]

Welcome to Mobile Read, Ronya, and thanks for your reply.

Glad the silver worked out for you. However, the compliment of the case's blue to the device's silver is precisely why I chose a custom blue-laquered skin in matte. Slight accents of silver are still visible, but they don't catch the light overwhelmingly as the naked silver once did.

It all depends on how often one reads in direct sunlight.

I ride buses endlessly every weekday and Amtrak trains every weekend, which means I'm exposed to the sun constantly. I also live in New York, where owning a car would mean providing a disassembling exercise for scavengers with orange crates and a source of revenue for those who like to write arbitrary tickets.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

That's a lovely option, though I personally couldn't see myself walking about with flowers. But the combination of red and black is nice and the cover is lovely.

I don't think I'd expect you to walk about with flowers anymore than I'd expect you to walk about with a pink 350. I'm glad you finally found a good deal on a silver one.

I think that a custom skin as you propose sounds like a great idea! They only had about half the options as they do now at DecalGirl when I bought mine. I had thought about doing something custom at the time since typically I prefer abstract or geometric designs. For some reason I was just feeling like birds and flowers were right for my 950.

[EldRick]

Even worse than the silver color are the mirrored buttons below the screen, which flash reflections of the sun directly into your eyes when reading outside.
This generation of Sony was obviously "designed" by someone who never had to use one.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Well they didn't learn much when they released the T1 series with the glossy housing. I had to use a DecalGirl skin with that too! At least the buttons were less shiny. Glad the T2 has a matte black option, but I'm sad the red and white are still glossy because I prefer those colors to black.

[Ripplinger]

While the shiny buttons never really bothered me, what I did when I applied my DecalGirl Skin was to apply the button cutout on top of the buttons. I had read that someone did it before so figured I'd try it, but said they had to cut the strip for each button. I found that wasn't necessary, I just applied the full strip across the buttons without cutting them into pieces and all buttons work perfectly, no stiffness, no hanging at all. I liked it so much that I did it to the 2nd spare reader as well.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

Well they didn't learn much when they released the T1 series with the glossy housing. I had to use a DecalGirl skin with that too! At least the buttons were less shiny. Glad the T2 has a matte black option, but I'm sad the red and white are still glossy because I prefer those colors to black.

Having seen the red T1 in action, I honestly don't find the bezel a problem. The black T1 would have been a problem.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Having seen the red T1 in action, I honestly don't find the bezel a problem. The black T1 would have been a problem.

Well, personal preferences. I have a white T1, and it's too shiny for me.

[Prestidigitweeze]

It will be interesting to see whether Sony releases a model that isn't shiny in any color and is competitive with the latest features offered by Amazon, Kobo and -- if the company's incessant hints mean anything -- B&N shortly.

This is probably the first moment in three years when I've contemplated picking up a non-Sony e-reader. My grillfiend's on notice I wouldn't mind the new Kobo Glo as a birthday pheasant. I'm beginning to like the idea of a shine with an off switch.

[graycyn]

Which M-Edge Platform Jacket is it that fits the 950?

I love the Oberon cover I have, but there are times when I'd like something lighter, and I assume the M-Edge jacket would work better with their light, which I already own.