PRS-900 Conflicted

[yessirrom]

I have had my 900 for two days. I am a bit conflicted on my new toy. I may even return or sell it.

Background: I have been reading ebooks on various devices for years. I started with Handspring Visors, moved to pocket pc (Axim X51v using mobipocket software), and have been reading on windows mobile phones for the last little while. I currently have an HTC HD2 and still use mobipocket.

I have used three sony devices, 505, 600, and now 900. The benefits of these readers for me are outdoor visibility, battery life, size, and organization of reading materials. (Collections and such are great for keeping track of things)

I am admittedly a tech gadget addict. I enjoy tweaking and playing with electronics. I often will run user developed software and hacks.

While I was waiting on the 900 to be released, I started reading on my phone again. It has a 4.3" capacitive LCD screen. I enjoy reading on it and have never suffered from eye strain. The back-light adjusts automatically and can be tweaked endlessly.

After getting all of my books loaded and started reading on the 900, I found that I was getting annoyed with having to find good lighting. When lying in bed or sitting in a chair I have to position myself so the light shines on the device. This is not very convenient when lighting is directly over head. I am always trying to get a light behind me. A book light just adds to the bulk and management of batteries, cases etc. I have become accustomed to reading in almost any environment. I read in the theater before the movie starts. I read while waiting in line at the cafeteria and such. I read lying down, sitting up, and standing. I even read in the (gasp!) bathroom.

It is not very convenient to carry my reader to all these places either. My phone however is always in my pocket waiting.

I also was annoyed buy the swipe gesture to change pages. On my phone I just touch the screen ever so lightly to change pages. On the Sony you have to apply a little pressure to register input. I know, I have become spoiled.

Long story short, I find myself annoyed when reading on the 900. I have become spoiled by my go anywhere, do almost anything, converged device.

I would welcome your thoughts.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by yessirrom

I have had my 900 for two days. I am a bit conflicted on my new toy. I may even return or sell it.

Background: I have been reading ebooks on various devices for years. I started with Handspring Visors, moved to pocket pc (Axim X51v using mobipocket software), and have been reading on windows mobile phones for the last little while. I currently have an HTC HD2 and still use mobipocket.

I have used three sony devices, 505, 600, and now 900. The benefits of these readers for me are outdoor visibility, battery life, size, and organization of reading materials. (Collections and such are great for keeping track of things)

I am admittedly a tech gadget addict. I enjoy tweaking and playing with electronics. I often will run user developed software and hacks.

While I was waiting on the 900 to be released, I started reading on my phone again. It has a 4.3" capacitive LCD screen. I enjoy reading on it and have never suffered from eye strain. The back-light adjusts automatically and can be tweaked endlessly.

After getting all of my books loaded and started reading on the 900, I found that I was getting annoyed with having to find good lighting. When lying in bed or sitting in a chair I have to position myself so the light shines on the device. This is not very convenient when lighting is directly over head. I am always trying to get a light behind me. A book light just adds to the bulk and management of batteries, cases etc. I have become accustomed to reading in almost any environment. I read in the theater before the movie starts. I read while waiting in line at the cafeteria and such. I read lying down, sitting up, and standing. I even read in the (gasp!) bathroom.

It is not very convenient to carry my reader to all these places either. My phone however is always in my pocket waiting.

I also was annoyed buy the swipe gesture to change pages. On my phone I just touch the screen ever so lightly to change pages. On the Sony you have to apply a little pressure to register input. I know, I have become spoiled.

Long story short, I find myself annoyed when reading on the 900. I have become spoiled by my go anywhere, do almost anything, converged device.

I would welcome your thoughts.

I totally understand your thoughts.
I've started reading on Pocket PCs in 2000, until about 2005. I've always been fine with the screen size, never did have any eye strain. In 2007, I wanted to start again, but simply didn't find a suitable Pocket PC anymore. So I ended up with iRex iLiad.
I love the iLiad (still one of my favorites), but I never did share some of the praise ("no more eye strain", "way better contrast", ...). I think, it simply does its job. It does it well, but so did the Pocket PCs before.
And, while on a training in Italy this summer, I've used the Kindle app on iPhone and have been absolutely fine.
Although I own quite a bunch of eInk devices, I wouldn't say it's a must-have-technology.
Those are nice gadgets, but so can be iPhone or Netbooks. I'll probably go for the Apple tablet. But I'll probably buy Plastic Logic as well.

If I don't have to care about weight or measurements, I prefer Sony 900, Kindle 2 or even Cybook Opus over iPhone anytime. I don't need iPhone's color screen for reading and I usually don't need any extra light as well.
But when on the train, or for a quick read, I'm absolutely fine with iPhone.

The advantages to me are quite simple:

eInk: Battery (in my opinion, always has been a disaster on iPhone) duration, readability in direct sunlight, screen size.

iPhone: To me, it's not a gadget but an instrument of daily usage. So I don't care about scratches or sun oil or something like that, which I'd hate on my toys.
So I'm using iPhone anytime and anywhere. My gadgets I only touch when my hands are clean and when it's "riskfree".

[chainring]

Ok, first off, stock up on some good antiseptic wipes. That's of major importance!

While I don't entirely share your feelings of the go anywhere, do almost anything, converged device, I understand where you're coming from. Actually, I do like converged devices, just not in my primary reader. I have a BlackBerry 8900 and that's the all in one productivity tool. A regular iPod takes care of music.

Having all that power in one small device is quite nice and very convenient. For me though, and I've never been a big book reader, mostly magazines, but my 600 keeps attention from being diverted like a mini-computer can. If I see an email notification, I check it. If a calendar entry pops up a reminder, I'll check it. Having the web right there is always tempting. However, the 600 lets me settle in and read like I've never done before. If you don't have that kind of problem (distraction?), kudos to you.

I also don't like reading on a rinky dink screen even though my eyesight is perfect, and without glasses or contacts. I actually prefer the purity of the greyscale screen, at least for normal books.

As for light, I seem to have no problems with a slight adjustment to get good lighting anywhere.

I say give it more time, and use it as your sole reader so you can adjust. If you don't like it after a couple of weeks, return it. You might be a good candidate for one of the new tablet devices coming out soon.

[krighton]

what are the antiseptic wipes for....does it help the screen?

[yessirrom]

I am sure the wipe comment is in reference to my reading in the bathroom. I would say that reading is done without any cross contamination. Go in, sit, remove device from pocket, read, finish, put device back in pocket, clean up.
I have figured that in my office (private bathroom), the most contaminated item is the air freshener. People do their business, flush, spray and then wash hands. Can never gets cleaned. Think about it. I do keep sani-wipes in the bathroom for everyone to use. I am a surgical nurse and very concerned with hygiene.

Now back to the reader. I will give it more time. I do like to read in direct sunlight and it is great for that. The extra real estate is nice as well.

I would really like a system to synchronize my windows phone and the 900. I understand that the kindle and iphone will do this but only with amazon purchased titles. I am not willing to give up my phone or reader just for that feature.

[tank4141]

If you decide o sell your 900 I'll buy it. I desperately want one & don't want to wait for the backordes to fill.

[yessirrom]

Well, I decided to sell my 900 to tank4141. He should have it tomorrow. I just could not get used to the reflective surface on the screen. I kept going back to my 505 and how nice the screen was. Had I never used the 505 or Kindle, I would probably have been fine. It is a great device but I crave the sharpest screen possible. I have decided to try the Boox 60. It has the stylus and with the sensor behind the screen. This might satisfy my needs for a touch screen and best screen clarity possible. As a bonus it will support mobipocket files natively.