PRS-600 DigitalDolf's first impressions with the PRS-600

digitaldolf · 02-14-2010, 08:48 AM

Before buying the PRS-600.

Last Thursday, the 11th of February 2010, I went out to buy my first e-reader: the Sony PRS-600. I had decided on this model after weeks and weeks of surfing; watching youtube movies about e-readers; visiting forums; checking websites from the different brands available and checking on conversion software for PDF's and other files. I tried out the freeware application Calibre by converting PDF's and html files into epub and then opening them in the already downloaded Sony software. It worked well.
I then started shopping around. Argos, a chain in Ireland and the UK, offered the Sony PRS-600 for 368 Euros. Rediculous because I had already noticed that in the Netherlands I would be able to buy it for 299 Euros and I hadn't even looked for cheaper ones there. Then I found out through an Irish forum that an electronics chain called Power City sold them as well. When I checked them out I was happily surprised to see they were selling it for 249.95. But they are based in the east of Ireland and I'm in the west. So I phoned a retailer in the city near where I live. They were selling it for 286 Euros but were willing to match the price of Power City so I got it for 249 Euros in the end. It shows that it pays to shop around.
Last September I had tried out a PRS-600 when I was over in the Netherlands for a visit and I wasn't impressed with the contrast in comparison to other readers. I'm still not impressed with the contrast.
However: there are a few reasons for buying this reader despite the lack of contrast. I really like the dictionary function because I read a lot in English but English is not my first language. The touch function is nice too. The build quality is another reason: the reader itself is very sturdy. The casing is metal and so are the buttons. Some other readers out there are too plasticy.

The PRS-600 in use.

When I got home on Thursday night I hooked it up to my computer straight away. After a few minutes charging it was able to communicate with the computer. Previously I had removed the Sony software from my computer and reinstalled the software from my reader. Worked fine. I then let it charge away for a few hours. I located the reader on my computer and found the user manual zip file as indicated in the quick start manual that comes with the reader. I dragged it to my desktop, unzipped it and found reader manual PDF's in different languages.
I made a few folders in the reader and just dropped books in ePub format in there. I knew already that the folders wouldn't show up on the reader itself but only on the computer. It just makes it easier to organise the books while you have it linked to the computer. The books showed up in a list on the reader when I tapped on "books" after disconnecting it.
You can probably synchronise the library to work with the reader etc. but I don't really see the need in that. I have my own system where I have books organised in folders and it works for me. Drag and drop works fine. I haven't bought any books on-line yet so I don't have any experience there.
Since Thursday I've read on it every night in bed and this morning, Sunday morning, in bed for about an hour as well. The size makes it easy to hold. The contrast is quite low and I found that increasing the size of the font helps a lot. In good light I normally read with the font size set to medium but this morning in bed I set it to large and found it way easier to read.
The dictionary function works well, although the double tapping on a word needs a bit of practise.
At first I thought that I would use the stylus a lot because I didn't want to get fingerprints all over the screen. In practise though I soon abandoned the stylus and use my fingers mostly. Fingerprints are not a problem. Swiping the screen to turn the pages is almost like turning the pages in a book. You can change the direction in the menu and I have it set to swiping it from right to left to go forward and the other way around to go back a page; like you do with a real book. The buttons are also easy to use.
You can also write on the screen with the stylus but I found that hard. The reader is a bit slow and a fraction behind in showing what you write. I'm lefthanded and I found it very hard to keep my hand off the screen while writing which resulted in unintentional lines on the screen. Making bookmarks by double tapping in the righthand corner needs practise as well. Highlighting text; circling a word or underlining is easy but you first have to go in the note function. While in note function you can't turn a page by using touch. You have to use the buttons. Erasing notes and highlights is very easy too.
The glare that so many people are bitching about when you google this reader + reviews, is not really a problem. You just hold the reader at a slightly different angle and it's gone.
To me, the lack of contrast is not really a problem either as I just increase the font size in low light. I also used it in daylight and in a restaurant section of a shop for a while and had no problems reading with it.
It would be nice though if they would improve on the contrast. It would make reading on this device even nicer. Adjustable contrast would even be better. It also fitted nicely in the inside pocket of my coat. I could see how a bigger reader would give problems here. A smaller reader would not be an option for me either. I think 6 inch is as small as I would go with a screen in relation to being able to change the font size and not having to flip the page every few words.
I started reading Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet but then I got a thriller as an e-book through a friend. It's the second part of the milennium trilogie by Stieg Larsson in Dutch and I was dying to read it so I'm going between the two now. That works really well. You can just stop reading one book and start in something else. The reader will remember where you left off. For me this is an extra bonus as I often have more then one book on the go.
All I want to do now is get a seperate charger so I can charge it from the mains instead of always having to use a computer. I was also thinking of a seperate protection cover, maybe the one with the inbuilt reading light.

So far it has been a positive experience. Now I'm going back to my book.

Update: 03-02-2012.
It's been almost 2 years since I bought my reader. Since then I bought a Sony cover with inbuilt reading light and a mains charger. I'm still loving it. I also bought books on-line and that worked fine too.
I bought my girlfriend the Sony PRS-T1 for Christmas. The screen has more contrast and the reader has more inbuilt dictionaries and more on-board memory. It also has WiFi.
In use the PRS-T1 has a lot more issues. My gf had to reset it quite a few times. I never have this problem with the PRS-600. WiFi is not so important to me and the contrast not a problem. I will hold on to my PRS-600 for as long as I can. I'm still very happy with it.

poshm · 02-14-2010, 09:02 AM

Karma for sharing your thoughts - hopefully this will prove to be useful to others who are considering the prs-600. Hope you continue to enjoy your new device

Wetdogeared · 02-14-2010, 09:22 AM

Thanks for sharing your experience. It's great to see someone "do their homework" and "see it for themselves" before buying.

drmaxx · 02-14-2010, 11:12 AM

Nice review of your experience. Expect the buying part (I got mine on a trip to the US), I had pretty much the same experience.
I got a sturdy cover (m-edge) that protects the reader - definitely worth it.

Jan J · 02-14-2010, 03:15 PM

Wonderful review of the Sony 600. I love mine and find all the benefits you described. I got the adapter for charging and have no regrets about that. Waited a couple of months before getting that and I think that's the best thing I ever bought! Also I got a beautiful cover and light from M-Edge. I purchased the platform cover because I can stand the book up while reading at the table or at my desk. Especially handy if you are eating while reading.

Their light works beautifully. It's an investment for sure, but when you spend so much on the reader itself, the adapter, cover and light make it all worthwhile in ease of use and protection.

digitaldolf · 02-15-2010, 01:04 PM

Thanks for pointing out the M-Edge covers. I'm at their webpage now just to have a look and compare prices with the original Sony cover + light.

Quote:

Originally Posted by drmaxx

Nice review of your experience. Expect the buying part (I got mine on a trip to the US), I had pretty much the same experience.
I got a sturdy cover (m-edge) that protects the reader - definitely worth it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jan J

Wonderful review of the Sony 600. I love mine and find all the benefits you described. I got the adapter for charging and have no regrets about that. Waited a couple of months before getting that and I think that's the best thing I ever bought! Also I got a beautiful cover and light from M-Edge. I purchased the platform cover because I can stand the book up while reading at the table or at my desk. Especially handy if you are eating while reading.

Their light works beautifully. It's an investment for sure, but when you spend so much on the reader itself, the adapter, cover and light make it all worthwhile in ease of use and protection.

Jan J · 02-15-2010, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by digitaldolf

Thanks for pointing out the M-Edge covers. I'm at their webpage now just to have a look and compare prices with the original Sony cover + light.

I'm sure you will be happy with either one. The reason I went with M-Edge is that the light is separate. If something should go wrong with the light, you still have the cover. They have marvelous customer service. My first light was a little loose in fitting into its base. I emailed them and they immediately replied with a free return label to print out and replaced my light within a week, sending the replacement Federal Express Priority at no charge. I have never had better customer service than that from anywhere! The cover is leather and just beautifully crafted. (No, I don't work for them -

)

Kevin2960 · 02-15-2010, 02:03 PM

Thnx digitaldolf, I don't get to give much Karma, but you get some, I too am getting a 600 in 25 days, your review is final conformation of my choice, and it a very detailed and useful insight into the reader,

Thnx Again,

02-14-2010, 08:48 AM	#1
digitaldolf Member Posts: 11 Karma: 784 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Ireland Device: Sony touch PRS-600	DigitalDolf's first impressions with the PRS-600 Before buying the PRS-600. Last Thursday, the 11th of February 2010, I went out to buy my first e-reader: the Sony PRS-600. I had decided on this model after weeks and weeks of surfing; watching youtube movies about e-readers; visiting forums; checking websites from the different brands available and checking on conversion software for PDF's and other files. I tried out the freeware application Calibre by converting PDF's and html files into epub and then opening them in the already downloaded Sony software. It worked well. I then started shopping around. Argos, a chain in Ireland and the UK, offered the Sony PRS-600 for 368 Euros. Rediculous because I had already noticed that in the Netherlands I would be able to buy it for 299 Euros and I hadn't even looked for cheaper ones there. Then I found out through an Irish forum that an electronics chain called Power City sold them as well. When I checked them out I was happily surprised to see they were selling it for 249.95. But they are based in the east of Ireland and I'm in the west. So I phoned a retailer in the city near where I live. They were selling it for 286 Euros but were willing to match the price of Power City so I got it for 249 Euros in the end. It shows that it pays to shop around. Last September I had tried out a PRS-600 when I was over in the Netherlands for a visit and I wasn't impressed with the contrast in comparison to other readers. I'm still not impressed with the contrast. However: there are a few reasons for buying this reader despite the lack of contrast. I really like the dictionary function because I read a lot in English but English is not my first language. The touch function is nice too. The build quality is another reason: the reader itself is very sturdy. The casing is metal and so are the buttons. Some other readers out there are too plasticy. The PRS-600 in use. When I got home on Thursday night I hooked it up to my computer straight away. After a few minutes charging it was able to communicate with the computer. Previously I had removed the Sony software from my computer and reinstalled the software from my reader. Worked fine. I then let it charge away for a few hours. I located the reader on my computer and found the user manual zip file as indicated in the quick start manual that comes with the reader. I dragged it to my desktop, unzipped it and found reader manual PDF's in different languages. I made a few folders in the reader and just dropped books in ePub format in there. I knew already that the folders wouldn't show up on the reader itself but only on the computer. It just makes it easier to organise the books while you have it linked to the computer. The books showed up in a list on the reader when I tapped on "books" after disconnecting it. You can probably synchronise the library to work with the reader etc. but I don't really see the need in that. I have my own system where I have books organised in folders and it works for me. Drag and drop works fine. I haven't bought any books on-line yet so I don't have any experience there. Since Thursday I've read on it every night in bed and this morning, Sunday morning, in bed for about an hour as well. The size makes it easy to hold. The contrast is quite low and I found that increasing the size of the font helps a lot. In good light I normally read with the font size set to medium but this morning in bed I set it to large and found it way easier to read. The dictionary function works well, although the double tapping on a word needs a bit of practise. At first I thought that I would use the stylus a lot because I didn't want to get fingerprints all over the screen. In practise though I soon abandoned the stylus and use my fingers mostly. Fingerprints are not a problem. Swiping the screen to turn the pages is almost like turning the pages in a book. You can change the direction in the menu and I have it set to swiping it from right to left to go forward and the other way around to go back a page; like you do with a real book. The buttons are also easy to use. You can also write on the screen with the stylus but I found that hard. The reader is a bit slow and a fraction behind in showing what you write. I'm lefthanded and I found it very hard to keep my hand off the screen while writing which resulted in unintentional lines on the screen. Making bookmarks by double tapping in the righthand corner needs practise as well. Highlighting text; circling a word or underlining is easy but you first have to go in the note function. While in note function you can't turn a page by using touch. You have to use the buttons. Erasing notes and highlights is very easy too. The glare that so many people are bitching about when you google this reader + reviews, is not really a problem. You just hold the reader at a slightly different angle and it's gone. To me, the lack of contrast is not really a problem either as I just increase the font size in low light. I also used it in daylight and in a restaurant section of a shop for a while and had no problems reading with it. It would be nice though if they would improve on the contrast. It would make reading on this device even nicer. Adjustable contrast would even be better. It also fitted nicely in the inside pocket of my coat. I could see how a bigger reader would give problems here. A smaller reader would not be an option for me either. I think 6 inch is as small as I would go with a screen in relation to being able to change the font size and not having to flip the page every few words. I started reading Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet but then I got a thriller as an e-book through a friend. It's the second part of the milennium trilogie by Stieg Larsson in Dutch and I was dying to read it so I'm going between the two now. That works really well. You can just stop reading one book and start in something else. The reader will remember where you left off. For me this is an extra bonus as I often have more then one book on the go. All I want to do now is get a seperate charger so I can charge it from the mains instead of always having to use a computer. I was also thinking of a seperate protection cover, maybe the one with the inbuilt reading light. So far it has been a positive experience. Now I'm going back to my book. Update: 03-02-2012. It's been almost 2 years since I bought my reader. Since then I bought a Sony cover with inbuilt reading light and a mains charger. I'm still loving it. I also bought books on-line and that worked fine too. I bought my girlfriend the Sony PRS-T1 for Christmas. The screen has more contrast and the reader has more inbuilt dictionaries and more on-board memory. It also has WiFi. In use the PRS-T1 has a lot more issues. My gf had to reset it quite a few times. I never have this problem with the PRS-600. WiFi is not so important to me and the contrast not a problem. I will hold on to my PRS-600 for as long as I can. I'm still very happy with it. Last edited by digitaldolf; 02-03-2012 at 03:51 AM. Reason: update

02-15-2010, 02:03 PM	#8
Kevin2960 YODA's Uglier Twin Posts: 974 Karma: 6295251 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Leicester, UK Device: PRS-600 and 2 Kindle 3's - and now a K4 + HTC Desire HD	Thnx digitaldolf, I don't get to give much Karma, but you get some, I too am getting a 600 in 25 days, your review is final conformation of my choice, and it a very detailed and useful insight into the reader, Thnx Again, Last edited by Kevin2960; 02-16-2010 at 06:26 PM.

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02-14-2010, 09:02 AM	#2
poshm Fanatic Posts: 581 Karma: 1003580 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Cambs, UK Device: PocketBook 360, Sony Reader Touch, Ipod touch & Kindle 2	Karma for sharing your thoughts - hopefully this will prove to be useful to others who are considering the prs-600. Hope you continue to enjoy your new device

02-14-2010, 09:22 AM	#3
Wetdogeared Storm Surge'n Posts: 5,776 Karma: 8213195 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Lobster Capital Device: S0ny PRS-300/350/505/700/T1	Thanks for sharing your experience. It's great to see someone "do their homework" and "see it for themselves" before buying.

02-14-2010, 11:12 AM	#4
drmaxx Connoisseur Posts: 74 Karma: 57808 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: none	Nice review of your experience. Expect the buying part (I got mine on a trip to the US), I had pretty much the same experience. I got a sturdy cover (m-edge) that protects the reader - definitely worth it.

02-14-2010, 03:15 PM	#5
Jan J Enthusiast Posts: 43 Karma: 426 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Lone Tree, CO (Way too far from Disneyland!) Device: Sony PRS600	Wonderful review of the Sony 600. I love mine and find all the benefits you described. I got the adapter for charging and have no regrets about that. Waited a couple of months before getting that and I think that's the best thing I ever bought! Also I got a beautiful cover and light from M-Edge. I purchased the platform cover because I can stand the book up while reading at the table or at my desk. Especially handy if you are eating while reading. Their light works beautifully. It's an investment for sure, but when you spend so much on the reader itself, the adapter, cover and light make it all worthwhile in ease of use and protection.

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