PRS-350 Why ?

[ceebee_uk]

Just bought a 300 on discount because of the new readers coming out. I cannot understand the logic with the new 350;

• The new functionality is touch screen , The 300 works well and the size sems ideal for button operation.
• To compete with kindle wifi and a link to one or two websites seems to be the way to attract the general public

In short the 350 seems to answer questions about the 300 that no one was asking . Is it just me or do Sony seem to be losing the ereader battle ?

[bmatt]

Yea, I'm not sure. It is faster and has the Pearl display, so I understand that. However I think they made a big mistake not including wifi in at least the 650. I know a lot of people say they prefer not having wireless, why I don't know just turn it off. I'd like the option of having it at least, especially for the price. A 802.11b/g card addition to the device is probably negligible as far as costs. If they had wifi in the 650 I would have ordered mine already, now I'm stuck trying to decide what to get, and the Nook seems to be my best option. I could wait for the 950, but $300 just seems a bit excessive when I can get a Nook or Kindle with wifi/3g for under $200... Although the build quality and features of the Sony are more appealing to me.

EDIT: Though I bet bringing the 350 up to similar hardware as the 650 helped them offset the costs a little, possibly. Though I think they are not concentrating on important factors for an eReader, convenience.

[Avwriter]

The 350 has several other advantages over the 300. Although the screen is the same size, the 350 is significantly smaller and lighter overall. Additionally, the touch screen does allow for functionality that was previously impossible. In particular, it makes it much more practical to look up words in the dictionary. Some will use/benefit form this more than others. Personally, I enjoy it immensely, being somewhat of a word freak. These are the full unabridged Oxford dictionaries, by the way, complete with detailed etymologies.

The added foreign language dictionaries are another new function in the 350. Even if you do not enjoy reading in other languages, many English books include foreign words/terms that may not be in the regular English dictionary. Obviously, this depends on what you read. The 350 also allows you to create collections directly on the device, instead of having to do this on your computer using Caliber or Sony's software. You can also easily highlight, underline, and make notes in your books. All of these features are helpful to everyone, but many appreciate them and will use them heavily.

[Selcien]

Originally Posted by ceebee_uk

In short the 350 seems to answer questions about the 300 that no one was asking.

Not quite no one. Everything that stopped me from buying a 300 was fixed with the 350 (they effectively combined what I liked about the 300 and the 600).

As for why they did what they did, supposedly people have shown more interest in touch screens than Wi-Fi.

Originally Posted by Avwriter

These are the full unabridged Oxford dictionaries, by the way, complete with detailed etymologies.

Does this mean that it'll have a better dictionary than the 600?

[thename]

Call me fickle but the screen difference alone would almost sell me on the 350 upgrade. See here (thanks Squirsier)

[Avwriter]

Originally Posted by Selcien

Not quite no one. Everything that stopped me from buying a 300 was fixed with the 350 (they effectively combined what I liked about the 300 and the 600).

As for why they did what they did, supposedly people have shown more interest in touch screens than Wi-Fi.




Does this mean that it'll have a better dictionary than the 600?

No, the two Oxford dictionaries are the same as before, as far as I know. I was just pointing out that when you look up a word, you get a lot of detail, rather than just simple definitions, like you get on the Nook. Moreover, you have both the British and American versions, which also offer significantly different takes on words. What is better than on the 600 is that you can switch dictionaries on the fly. That is, when you double click on a word, you get a dropdown menu, and if desired you can look up the word in both dictionaries, and or, any of the foreign language dictionaries. On the 600 you had to go into settings to switch between dictionaries, which was a pain. On the 350, and 650, this is very elegantly executed.

[Selcien]

It's just that you said "full unabridged Oxford dictionaries" and while that should have been easily dismissed as being impossible owing to how expensive it would be, I did get my hopes up that Sony might have been able to strike a deal to at least get a decent dictionary since it would be going into all of their Readers. Far too many times I've gone to look up a word on the 600 and got nothing, or a description that barely even defined the word that I was looking up. It doesn't matter how easy it is if you still walk away not knowing what a word means, it's about as annoying as the screen.

Total bummer.

[kartu]

Screen, 300 vs 350 (note that the rendered text is exactly the same):




Original post.

PS
All in all, I think 300 is still a good reader.

[Geppetto]

Originally Posted by kartu

Screen, 300 vs 350 (note that the rendered text is exactly the same):




Original post.

PS
All in all, I think 300 is still a good reader.

You should post this picture in the Pocketbook subforum - I'm thinking of the Pocketbook Fanboys who keep telling there's no difference between their screens and Pearl

[Avwriter]

Do they already have a Russification hack for the 350/650, or do the ones for the earlier models work on the new ones?

[kartu]

Originally Posted by Avwriter

Do they already have a Russification hack for the 350/650, or do the ones for the earlier models work on the new ones?

There are no hacks so far, what you see on screenshots are files with embedded fonts.

[Latinandgreek]

The screen looks fantastic. For me, the upgrade would be worth it for the dictionaries alone. (I read a lot in foreign languages). The form factor of the 350 is lovely, I'm still undecided as to which new Sony model I want to get.

Is this really the full, unabridged, Oxford Dictionary (20 volumes), or the unabridged American Oxford Dictionary that is included with the new Sony readers?

[viviena]

Originally Posted by Latinandgreek

Is this really the full, unabridged, Oxford Dictionary (20 volumes), or the unabridged American Oxford Dictionary that is included with the new Sony readers?

I'm reasonably certain that the Sony's dictionary is the large one-volume version (ODE). In a comparison with the online version of the OED, the two simply don't compare -- the typical OED entry is more detailed than the equivalent in the ODE, plus the former has historical quotations. What the ODE does have is basic etymology, IPA pronunciation, references to derivatives and other related words, as well as the definition of course.

[kartu]

Originally Posted by Avwriter

Do they already have a Russification hack for the 350/650, or do the ones for the earlier models work on the new ones?

Porkupan (aka boroda) says that 350 is similiar to 900 and the way they've used to update 900 will probably work on both 350/650 and most likely 950 as well.

350 even supports card recovery mode, too bad it lacks actual SD/MS card slots...

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by viviena

I'm reasonably certain that the Sony's dictionary is the large one-volume version (ODE). In a comparison with the online version of the OED, the two simply don't compare -- the typical OED entry is more detailed than the equivalent in the ODE, plus the former has historical quotations. What the ODE does have is basic etymology, IPA pronunciation, references to derivatives and other related words, as well as the definition of course.

Thanks! I didn't really expect the OED to be included, but a girl can dream...
Actually, I will be more than happy with the ODE. In fact, I already have the OED (electronic version), the Canadian Oxford Dictionary and the Oxford Etymological Dictionary. (I love to collect dictionaries).