PRS-300 vs. 505, which one to choose?

[kwailau]

Hi there,

I had sent in a PRS-500 for the ePub upgrade and it turned out that my unit was defective.

Sony has graciously offered to to replace it with either a PRS-300 or 505. I know that the 505 is similar to the 500 which I love but I heard that the 300 is a newer model.

Can I ask for your advice on the pluses and minuses of each device so that I can choose in the next day or two?

Thank you!
Kwai

[omk3]

I would advise you to go with the 505, unless you need the extra portability that comes with the smaller screen of the 300. Other than that, 300 actually has fewer features than all other sonys, older or not. My understanding is that 300 was produced as a cheaper, "basic" device to be used either as a second device to carry around for experiences users, or as a cheaper choice to lure new ones.
You can also consult the reader matrix here on the wiki to see about specific features.

[kwailau]

Thanks omk3!

So this is one of those cases where newer isn't necessarily better! I was wondering if the 300's screen was better but would definitely choose the larger screen, more features and the expansion slots.

I'll hold out for a few more posts in the next couple of days before making the decisions.

[BookCat]

Definitely go for the 505, it's better designed and has the SD slot. The contrast is better and the overall ergonomic organisation of the controls is more usable.
I love my 505. Many peeps have been rushing to buy a back-up one in case their 505 gives up the ghost.
Oh, of course the reading screen is slightly larger, which I prefer.

[grooks]

I posted a response in the other thread you started.

[kwailau]

Thanks BookCat and grooks! Your advice is well received. It's looking like the 505 is the clear winner here!

[gwynevans]

I did a brief summary of the 505 vs the 300 & the 600 on a recent post about the 505 on the on my site here - Sony PRS-505 eBook Reader, but the bottom line is that unless the extra compactness of the 300 is going to be a serious benefit to you, go for the 505!

[kwailau]

Thanks gwynevans. Yeah, I'm going to choose the 505 mainly because I like to have the larger screen. Having a smaller form factor isn't a big issue for me. Many thanks!

[DrMoze]

Originally Posted by BookCat

Definitely go for the 505, it's better designed and has the SD slot. The contrast is better and the overall ergonomic organisation of the controls is more usable.
I love my 505. Many peeps have been rushing to buy a back-up one in case their 505 gives up the ghost.
Oh, of course the reading screen is slightly larger, which I prefer.

Just to clarify, the contrast on the 505 is not better than on the 300. Although very similar, it is in fact very, very slightly less than on the 300. The "whiteness" of the background and "blackness" of the activated pixels are about the same on both. But, characters on the 505 use more gray elements on the borders (as seen under high mag), whereas the characters on the 300 have sharper, better-defined edges, leading to better overall contrast for the characters.

Personally, I also disagree that the 300 is a "cheap" or "second-device" model. I still have a 505, but have been using my 300 daily (even at home) for the past few months. I like the smaller form factor, and the reading experience is just as good. With about 200 novels in my 300 and less than 1/3 of the memory being used, I see NO need for any memory card. Don't miss the slot at all.

That said, the 505 and 300 are the two best Sony devices out there now.

[MickeyC]

I'd go with the 505. I've had one for close to two years now and, if I had to choose today, would still go with it over the 300.

[DrMoze]

Originally Posted by cassidym

I'd go with the 505. I've had one for close to two years now and, if I had to choose today, would still go with it over the 300.

But have you owned both and used them extensively? I have, and if you use your Reader simply for reading lots of books, the 300 is a fine choice. Plus, it is sturdier than the 505, and appears less prone to breakage. I have both a 505 and 300 at home, and I have not used my 505 since I got the 300, evem though I really like the 505 too. Just a first-hand fully-informed opinion based on direct experience....

[astra]

5" is way too small for me.

I played with 300 in the local store, didn't like screen size.
All my ebooks have base font 10. I would prefer to read it at medium size, but I do it only if I have no other choise, otherwise I read small size. Although, the letters are a bit too small it is still the preferable font size for me because I get more text and a better page look/feel in general. With the medium font size the page "frame" is almost lost, just a bunch of text. That is how I felt about 300 even with small sized text.
Then again, there are people who read on 3" screens and enjoy it.

[MickeyC]

Originally Posted by DrMoze

But have you owned both and used them extensively? I have, and if you use your Reader simply for reading lots of books, the 300 is a fine choice. Plus, it is sturdier than the 505, and appears less prone to breakage. I have both a 505 and 300 at home, and I have not used my 505 since I got the 300, evem though I really like the 505 too. Just a first-hand fully-informed opinion based on direct experience....

Don't own a 300 but have played with one extensively at the Sony store. I prefer the screen size and location of the page turn buttons on the 505 but that is based on my casual observation. Truth is, I don't think you can go wrong with either one.

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by astra

5" is way too small for me.

I played with 300 in the local store, didn't like screen size.
All my ebooks have base font 10. I would prefer to read it at medium size, but I do it only if I have no other choise, otherwise I read small size. Although, the letters are a bit too small it is still the preferable font size for me because I get more text and a better page look/feel in general. With the medium font size the page "frame" is almost lost, just a bunch of text. That is how I felt about 300 even with small sized text.
Then again, there are people who read on 3" screens and enjoy it.

When I set my books, I would really like to have around 60 characters per line, preferably closer to 65. Naturally different typefaces vary a bit in line length, but for the PRS-505's screen with a 1mm margin, a desirable line length to me requires between an 8pt and 9pt font.

Of course, I can tolerate shorter line length and larger fonts (when I started doing my own PDFs, I opted for text as big as 10-11pt), but the effective page height makes it impossible to pull off well, especially when I want to avoid widows and orphans or excessive hyphenation.

I'm not sure how small I'd need to go to fit the text on a PRS-300 with fair results. I just finished Huckleberry Finn in 9pt Arno Pro Small Text. I did, however, set some poetry in larger typefaces as the line length was quite short and I didn't want too much white space. I'd guess a 7.5pt to 8pt font would do for novels on the 300, but I wonder how many people would want to read at that size.

Of course, ebooks generally are not made to be readable, much less beautiful. Most people will have 10-14pt faces stuffed into badly formatted epub or other webpage formats. Some people will read essentially just text files devoid of any formatting at all. If a person is generally satisfied with that kind of ebook quality (they are, if this site is any indication), there's not much disadvantage to dropping to 5 inch screens unless they have serious eye problems or smaller devices to read on. If a person reads on their smartphone, they may find the jump to a 5" screen a little lackluster, but would appreciate 6" or bigger.

For the more snobby, a 7" or 8" screen with a slightly narrower aspect ratio would be close to the sweet spot for portability and readability (close to paperback size, if not quality). Of course, that's assuming it isn't surrounded by a big frame.

So for the original poster, I'd say the 300 is a fine device if you aren't a type snob. If you ARE a type snob, you may want to reconsider an ebook reader in the first place, but you'll probably want the 505 if you need to choose one. The 300 lets you read if your typographic demands aren't high, is cheap, is more pocketable, and sits a little better in the hands. Biggest downside is probably the lack of a card reader, though some here don't care about that.

Neither one is particularly bad, and neither one is particularly good. I'd say consult your wallet first and get whatever's most convenient.

[astra]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

For the more snobby, a 7" or 8" screen with a slightly narrower aspect ratio would be close to the sweet spot for portability and readability (close to paperback size, if not quality). Of course, that's assuming it isn't surrounded by a big frame.

Lucky 6@$&@£d!
You can have it now. PRS-900 is just for you.
Unfortunately, I am out of luck. I want 8" from Sony but with standard aspect ratio. Then I would get as much on each page (widthwise) as on 6" but with base font 10 at medium size. It would very close to a hardback edition page then.