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Old 04-29-2011, 10:36 PM   #1
Cactusgod
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350 compared to 300? (probably old, I realize)

Hey guys,

I was just having one of those moments where I was loading new books onto my PRS-300 and thinking "Darn I love this thing." So, I was looking to see how much they were going for, because I always like to comfort myself with the thought that if this one breaks I could always grab a new one, and to my surprise, the 350 was released. Not sure when, probably a long time ago, but there it was on the website ;p

At any rate, I was wondering what people who have owned the 300 thought of the 350? Personally, i never liked the 600, specifically the touch-screen film over it that blurred the words too much for my liking. The 300 always had that real crisp book look that I loved. However, I did see people mentioning stylus and things like that. So whats the deal?

Anyone bored who wants to fill me in, I would really love it ;p thanks.
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Old 04-29-2011, 10:45 PM   #2
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I have several friends with a PRS-350 and as an owner of a 300, it was interesting to compare. The 350 has a better screen, crisper, brighter and it is touch. Over 1Gb more storage as well. As far as I was concerned, my 300 is still just as nice to use, regardless of the extra features of the 350.

I would no worry too much about upgrading if you need to, so enjoy your 300
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Old 04-29-2011, 11:25 PM   #3
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IMO, The 350 is the best of the 300 and 600 combined in one package.

Small form factor, sharp screen, quick page turns, touch interface, with a fair sized chunk of memory. The new touchscreen is optical and embedded in the bezel, so no clarity lost. It has the same processor as the 650, so it pulls up pages fast (no more need to pre-turn pages). The touch interface is a mixed bag -- it'll all depend on your preference, but most people land between "prefer" and "tolerate".

The only thing the previous models (300 & 600) have that it lacks are more buttons, larger screen (trade off for small form), audio ports and expansion slots.

If you like your 300, there's little reason you won't love the 350. The question remains: will you like it $120 more than your 300? How much do you value more memory with a speedy touchscreen?
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Old 04-29-2011, 11:51 PM   #4
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Big difference. I, too, loved my 300 and thought it was a sleek piece of high tech. Then I bought my 350. It is much lighter than the 300, faster responding, has a better display, and after only a couple of days of using the 350, every time I tried to do something on the 300, I kept tapping the damn screen and momentarily wondering why it wasn't responding. I took a PDF that was very slow to respond on the 300, recorded how long it took to go through 20 pages on the 300 (1 min 15 sec) and on the 350 (23 seconds-- around 3 1/2 times faster.) And I stopped hating epubs-- before, I couldn't stand them because the 300 doesn't right-justify them, and the smallest font was too large for my taste-- the 350 now does right-justify them, and you have the extra-small option (plus several zoom modes for situations where you need them.)

The 300 quickly started to seem like something that had been dug up in an old cave somewhere. I sold it for 50 bucks.
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Old 04-30-2011, 05:17 AM   #5
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The 350 is worth the upgrade just for the imporved screen display. The screen on the 300 is good, but the one on the 350 really is that much better. I like the touchsreen capability too.

That being said, with 300s going for less than $100 USD. I bought one for my wife who has a vague interest in eBook reading, but isn't sure. I can't think of a better introduction to the whole eReading experience.

Oddly, I think the 350 might not be as good a first time experience. The 350 is every bit as well deigned as the 300 except for the cheap stylus (which the 300 doesn't even have and the 350 doesn't need) Even though I knew it was cheaply made, I was still put off when MINE broke while I was experimenting with it, and even more put off when I discovered that not even Sony sells replacement styluses (styli? What IS the plural form?)

Once you've been around the block once or twice, you know the stylus issue is almost irrelevant to the use of the 350, but a beginner might not. That's why I think the 300 is better for a beginner.
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Old 04-30-2011, 09:10 AM   #6
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Comparision

I owned the PRS 300 a couple of month before I lost it (dropped out of my rucksack during a turbulent thermal fly with my paraglider ;-). Ordered the next 350 I could grasp over the internet and had to pay nearly twice the money compared to the old one.

Comparison:

The first thing I recognized was the smaller size and weight. Despite the same screen size, the 350 is not only thinner. The area for the buttons at the bottom is noticeable smaller, which I like. More area for the most important part of the reader – the screen. On the other side, the 300 feels more rugged, in particular the buttons. The stylus is one downside of the new model as man can read in this forum.

Second to recognize was the better screen. The contrast is better. Especially in low light conditions the 350 is better readable. In direct sunlight fonts on the 300 appear more grey than black.

Third thing was the significantly improved speed! Especially when turning over more than one page you will notice the advantage. You are able to scroll between pages very fast, just with the finger on the touch screen. On the 300 reading PDF files with pictures was a torture, on the 350 it works quite well. Some PDFs on the 300 had been nearly unreadable because partly man wasn’t able to zoom in. That problem is solved on the 350. But that all depends on the formatting and kind of the PDF file.

The number of font sizes are doubled up to six. But that doesn’t improve anything because the lager fonts on the 350 are more or less unusable. No improvement over the 300.

And not to forget the touch screen. Not necessary for turning pages but for selecting words to translate. At least for me a key feature since I’m reading English books while not being a native speaker.

The more beautiful interface is just nice to have but no new key feature.
One downside COULD be the power consume. The 300 nearly didn’t consume power when on and not switching pages. On the 350 when on there could be more consume cause of the ir-sensors for the screen which have to work all the time. But that’s unconfirmed.

Summing up I like the 350 more than the 300 for the key features speed, dictionary and better readability.

A.
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Old 04-30-2011, 04:10 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cactusgod View Post
I was just having one of those moments where I was loading new books onto my PRS-300 and thinking "Darn I love this thing." So, I was looking to see how much they were going for, because I always like to comfort myself with the thought that if this one breaks I could always grab a new one, and to my surprise, the 350 was released. Not sure when, probably a long time ago, but there it was on the website ;p
I've used a friends 300 on numerous occasions and now own a 350. Between the two, I prefer the 350 (smaller, lighter, touchscreen, sharper display).

It's a secondary ereader for me as I'm primarily a Kindle user. I got it for guests and library books. I went with the 350 over other ereaders because of the price. I paid $108 on clearance at a closing Borders store.
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Old 04-30-2011, 04:45 PM   #8
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I got it for guests and library books.
One hell of a considerate host!
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Old 05-01-2011, 12:21 PM   #9
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My comparison of the 300 and 350 was at the Best Buy store, and I didn't see the same thing as many others on this thread.
My PRS300 Pocket was MUCH clearer and a better contrast than the touch-screen 350 in the store. Some of the italic printing was very faint on the 350, but not on my 300.
Maybe the store unit was a problem viewer, but there was nothing that made me want to upgrade. I'll keep my older Pocket, thank you.
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Old 05-07-2011, 04:19 AM   #10
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Hey thanks a lot for the responses guys. Im really glad to hear that the screen clarity is even BETTER than the 300...I didnt think it was possible. Reallly loved the 300 screen and hated the 6. Took the 6 right back to the store after I got home.

Thanks for all the opinions ;p I'm going to certainly have to go take a look at the 350 but I'll enjoy my 300 while it lives !
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Old 05-07-2011, 06:24 PM   #11
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Another thing that the 350 has over the 300 is the built in dictionaries. (Analogus touched on this--mentioning the ability to translate.) I have a 650 and absolutlely love the dictionary feature--you can just double tap on a word and presto--at the bottom of the screen a small window pops up with the definition. You can open this up the dictionary into full screen mode for a more in depth view of the dictionary. I find myself looking up words that I'm pretty sure I know the meaning of, and every once in a while I'm surprised by the actual definition.

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Old 05-08-2011, 12:19 PM   #12
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I purchased the 350 coming from the 600. The improved screen contrast is what sold me. I was thinking about the 650, but thought I would try the 350 which I got for $119. Surprisingly I liked the small unit and also the new software over the 600. I absolutely love the fact I can put pictures on the screen in sleep mode. Silly, I know but I have been having so much fun downloading book covers - even covers from my physical book library!
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Old 05-09-2011, 07:19 AM   #13
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Screen contrast difference between 300 and newer "Pearl" screens is overrated, imo. 300's already had a bit better screen than 505s and "Pearl" is again an improvement, but not as drastic as I'd wish. If there is enough light for x50 models, then it's also there is enough for 300 as well. Both are still way behind usual books.

If price difference is only a couple of dozen bucks, 350 is the only choice.

Quote:
Surprisingly I liked the small unit and also the new software over the 600. I absolutely love the fact I can put pictures on the screen in sleep mode.
By the way PRS+ (custom firmware) for 600 allows you to have pictures in sleep mode. Actually it even works a bit better than on x50, as you can use different pictures for landscape or portrait modes. (there is no standard way to rotate images in the reader, unfortunately)
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Old 05-10-2011, 05:36 PM   #14
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Actually it even works a bit better than on x50, as you can use different pictures for landscape or portrait modes.
Not to mention the 600 PRS+ selects them randomly instead of the x50's sequential selection.

BTW, that'd be a nice addition to the x50 CFW . . . Just sayin'
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Old 05-10-2011, 07:16 PM   #15
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I've used a friends 300 on numerous occasions and now own a 350. Between the two, I prefer the 350 (smaller, lighter, touchscreen, sharper display).

It's a secondary ereader for me as I'm primarily a Kindle user. I got it for guests and library books. I went with the 350 over other ereaders because of the price. I paid $108 on clearance at a closing Borders store.
Update or a sad tale of woe...

Today I bid farewell to my 350. It is no more... here at least. My son came over to get some things, including a K3 I was giving to my DIL. Long story short, he saw my 350 and adopted it; including the library book I was half way through. Now I have to finish reading it on my Nook Color.

So much for my guest ereader.
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