Limited edition PRS-300 (Midnight blue/purple) review, from a 1st e-reader owner

King Antonius · 01-10-2010, 04:51 PM

(I'll start with saying I am not going to talk about the software in this post just now. Maybe in a post later in the thread)

I think I got my e-reader on about 20th of December. And I thought I would leave it a few weeks before I wrote up any thoughts on the wee device.

Now, first up, because I had never used an e-reader before, I wanted to try one in a shop before purchase. This limited me to the Sony 300 and 600, since at the time, no stores near me stocked other readers in-store (I had wanted to look at the iRiver Story, but couldn't).

After trying both the 600 and the 300 in my local Waterstones, I did prefer the 600 a lot more, but I was struggling to find a reason to make the £80 premium sound worth it. After reading reviews online stating about the screen glare on the 600, I decided I would get the 300 as my first device, and upgrade to a touchscreen version near the end of 2010.

Originally I was going to buy the Black 300, with a case. This would have cost me £180 (£150 for the device, £30 for the leather case), I spotted a small poster for a limited edition Midnight Blue PRS-300. After asking about it i found it came with:

PRS-300 (Dark blue, Purple trim)
Blue leather Case
James Patterson - Cross Country & Worst Case
£10 Waterstones Credit

All for £169.

Anyway, enough rambling :P the "Review"

Hardware, Look & Feel:

The device itself feels lovely, just the right weight and size. I like to hold it in my right hand with my thumb on the button in the center to change pages. After a 5 hour reading session on a bus, my hand was not aching at all.
All the buttons have a nice feel to them, and make audible clicks when pressed.

Looks wise, I think it is stunning, but that is just my personal opinion :P

The unit itself is very dark blue, and in some lights looks black. Even though it is the "Limited edition James Patterson edition", there is no branding on it except "Reader" on the back. Around the edges is a plastic strip, this is coloured Purple and goes well with the blue. The style of this reminds me of the Plastic strip around the PSP, and some of Sony Ericsson mobile phones, which is good I suppose.

The leather case that comes with it is very nice. Exactly the same as the official Sony leather "Book Styled" Case, except it is blue and has James Patterson written in the bottom right.

Pictures:

The whole set of high-res pictures is available here - Flickr

poshm · 01-10-2010, 05:25 PM

Great review and photos - sounds like you got a pretty good deal

RonF · 01-10-2010, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by King Antonius

The leather case that comes with it is very nice. Exactly the same as the official Sony leather "Book Styled" Case, except it is blue and has James Patterson written in the bottom right.

Alex Cross is on the cover

Like that color scheme, wish it was available in the US. I'm also a Patterson fan. Nice choice

Bilbo1967 · 01-10-2010, 05:33 PM

I was looking at that only today in Waterstones. Looks like you got a good deal to me - congratulations.

King Antonius · 01-10-2010, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonF

Alex Cross is on the cover

Oh yeah, oops :P

Bremen Cole · 01-10-2010, 06:34 PM

Very cool, i didn't know there was such a thing. I have the silver, but a dark blue would have been tempting if I would have had that option.......

TEKWRX · 01-11-2010, 12:32 PM

I bought this "midnight blue" in the US at a Sony Style store. The one I got isn't a limited edition and didn't come with any extras. It is a very dark blue, almost black and it has the same purple trim. The back of the box lists the color as Black, however the website calls it Navy.

Croptop · 01-11-2010, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TEKWRX

I bought this "midnight blue" in the US at a Sony Style store. The one I got isn't a limited edition and didn't come with any extras. It is a very dark blue, almost black and it has the same purple trim. The back of the box lists the color as Black, however the website calls it Navy.

Same here in Canada. I just bought a PRS 300 from Futureshop that they sold me as "Black" but I ended up with a unit that appears to be a very deep blue with the purple trim as seen in the photos above.

Mine didn't come with a cover nor was it identified as a limited edition.

Shemmy · 01-11-2010, 09:28 PM

I specifically waited for a dark blue in my price range, because I thought it looked better

01-10-2010, 04:51 PM	#1
King Antonius Ruler of the lands Posts: 10 Karma: 20 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Sony PRS-300 Limited Edition Blue	Limited edition PRS-300 (Midnight blue/purple) review, from a 1st e-reader owner (I'll start with saying I am not going to talk about the software in this post just now. Maybe in a post later in the thread) I think I got my e-reader on about 20th of December. And I thought I would leave it a few weeks before I wrote up any thoughts on the wee device. Now, first up, because I had never used an e-reader before, I wanted to try one in a shop before purchase. This limited me to the Sony 300 and 600, since at the time, no stores near me stocked other readers in-store (I had wanted to look at the iRiver Story, but couldn't). After trying both the 600 and the 300 in my local Waterstones, I did prefer the 600 a lot more, but I was struggling to find a reason to make the £80 premium sound worth it. After reading reviews online stating about the screen glare on the 600, I decided I would get the 300 as my first device, and upgrade to a touchscreen version near the end of 2010. Originally I was going to buy the Black 300, with a case. This would have cost me £180 (£150 for the device, £30 for the leather case), I spotted a small poster for a limited edition Midnight Blue PRS-300. After asking about it i found it came with: PRS-300 (Dark blue, Purple trim) Blue leather Case James Patterson - Cross Country & Worst Case £10 Waterstones Credit All for £169. Anyway, enough rambling :P the "Review" Hardware, Look & Feel: The device itself feels lovely, just the right weight and size. I like to hold it in my right hand with my thumb on the button in the center to change pages. After a 5 hour reading session on a bus, my hand was not aching at all. All the buttons have a nice feel to them, and make audible clicks when pressed. Looks wise, I think it is stunning, but that is just my personal opinion :P The unit itself is very dark blue, and in some lights looks black. Even though it is the "Limited edition James Patterson edition", there is no branding on it except "Reader" on the back. Around the edges is a plastic strip, this is coloured Purple and goes well with the blue. The style of this reminds me of the Plastic strip around the PSP, and some of Sony Ericsson mobile phones, which is good I suppose. The leather case that comes with it is very nice. Exactly the same as the official Sony leather "Book Styled" Case, except it is blue and has James Patterson written in the bottom right. Pictures: The whole set of high-res pictures is available here - Flickr

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01-10-2010, 05:25 PM	#2
poshm Fanatic Posts: 581 Karma: 1003580 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Cambs, UK Device: PocketBook 360, Sony Reader Touch, Ipod touch & Kindle 2	Great review and photos - sounds like you got a pretty good deal

01-10-2010, 05:33 PM	#4
Bilbo1967 Not scared! Posts: 13,424 Karma: 81011643 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Midlands, UK Device: Kindle Paperwhite 10, Huawei M5 10	I was looking at that only today in Waterstones. Looks like you got a good deal to me - congratulations.

01-10-2010, 06:34 PM	#6
Bremen Cole Wizard Posts: 1,115 Karma: 2718 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Texas Device: iPad	Very cool, i didn't know there was such a thing. I have the silver, but a dark blue would have been tempting if I would have had that option.......

01-11-2010, 12:32 PM	#7
TEKWRX Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: PRS-300	I bought this "midnight blue" in the US at a Sony Style store. The one I got isn't a limited edition and didn't come with any extras. It is a very dark blue, almost black and it has the same purple trim. The back of the box lists the color as Black, however the website calls it Navy.

01-11-2010, 09:28 PM	#9
Shemmy Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Sony PRS-300; Samsung Omnia II	I specifically waited for a dark blue in my price range, because I thought it looked better

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