Impressions of the PRS-700 as my first eReader

JayBoy · 11-21-2008, 12:38 PM

I had a Sony PRS-700 on pre-order from SonyStyle.ca (I live in Toronto) and just received it yesterday. While waiting for my reader I was reading these forums on a daily basis, especially the debate over screen quality between the PRS-505 and PRS-700, and was wondering whether I had made the right decision. While many of the impressions about the 700 are from people who have owned the 500 or 505, I thought that feedback from someone who has never owned and eBook reader before might be useful to those of you that are new to eBook readers as well.

The elephant in the room: The screen
After reading much of the debate on the screen quality when I finally got the package from Sony I was expecting the worse. Low-and-behold its actually pretty good! Completely readable. However, the contrast could be a little better, and in some lighting conditions the edges of the text do not appear 100% sharp. A lot of people have speculated this has to do with the touch screen, I've noticed that if you hold the screen on a very sharp angle under direct sunlight you can actually see a very slight speckling on the surface of the plastic over the eInk screen. This makes me wonder if this is really due to the touch screen or an anti-glare coating Sony put on the touch screen. This would explain why so many of the photos taken of the 700 next to the 505 on an angle look so bad (any light hitting the screen on an angle is meant to be diffused and therefore will not make for a decent photo). If you are expecting the screen to be just like paper you will be disappointed, but if you see this is an electronic alternative its pretty good (once again I'm not comparing to other eBook reader models as I have never owned one before).

PDF support, Search
These are the features of the 700 which ultimately got me interested in buying the eBook reader. I am a programmer, so many of my reference books are 1200-1500 pages. Many of these come in PDF version as well, so good PDF support was a must. As I often find myself going to the index of one my reference books to find sepecific information, the search feature on the 700 is a dream come true! I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the 700 understands the native PDF table of contents and allows you to select items and jump right to the page! From what I understand the 700 is the only Sony model that allows zooming on PDF files (which is great for all the charts I have), but I also heard that there is firmware upgrade for the 505 that increases it support for PDFs as well. Do any of the Gurus on this forum know what the differences in PDF handling on the 505 with the firmware upgrade and the 700 out of the box are? (I'm curious).

Other features
The touch screen is nice, it wasn't a big selling feature for me as I am just as happy pushing buttons, but the interface is intuitive and I would rather have a touch keyboard for searching than a clunky mass of buttons appended to the bottom of the device. The light is simply put "okay". Its nice that its there when you need it, from what I understand none of the clip-on alternatives are anything to write home about either, and I'm not in the habit of reading in the pitch dark to begin with so its not a big deal. I usually do not write in the margins of my books or highlight them either so the annotation feature was not a big selling point for me but after trying it out and realizing its potential I can see this as something I could make a lot of use of!

All-in-all I am very happy with my 700 (and its had some nice surprises I didn't expect). The debate about the screen is still something that bothers me not because the 700's is bad, but because I've never seen the 505's in real life and am curious if it really is that much better. Besides that all the other features are great, functionality is intuitive, speed is very snappy. Great product!

Jason

Wetdogeared · 11-21-2008, 12:52 PM

Nice unbiased review. I got my PRS700 yesterday and am still checking it out. When I find the right words to describe my experience, as you have done, I'll get back and leave my impressions.

Thanks and welcome to the forum.

Shunt1 · 11-21-2008, 01:23 PM

The PDF support is the reason I ordered the PRS-700.

Like you, I am a software engineer and depend upon these manuals to earn an income. I have fallen in love with my Kindle, but the ability to read PDF files has been very frustrating. Oh sure, you can convert PDF files to images, but then they are almost impossible to read.

I can not thank you enough for your review, since I am getting rather sick and tired of hearing that the PRS-700 is not as "sharp" as the PRD-505.

PDF support is why I ordered this darn thing! Otherwise, I would have obtained another Kindle.

Yes or No?

Can I zoom into an image based PDF file with the PRS-700 and enlarge the image? Can I use the touch screen to move the enlarged image for better viewing?

That is something that was impossible to do with my Kindle.

Wetdogeared · 11-21-2008, 01:31 PM

I believe you can zoom in on image based PDF files, using the slider bar on the upper left corner. Navigation is by arrow keys located at the edge of each side of the screen. You can also drag your finger or stylus around to navigate within the image, it's a bit crude but sounds like what you're looking for.

I checked this out on a PDF book with graphics on cover page. Works great.

Shunt1 · 11-21-2008, 01:35 PM

Here is test PDF file from Goggle Books.

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&...um=1&ct=result

The table and graphics are very important to me, and trying to convert this book into something that the Kindle can use, has been very frustrating.

Give this file a test with the PRS-700 and let me know your results.

Liviu_5 · 11-21-2008, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shunt1

The PDF support is the reason I ordered the PRS-700.

I agree that PDF support is unbelievably good on the 700 as opposed to any "small" device out there.

I have not read math books in a while so cannot comment on how technical books work so far at least, but I receive pdf arcs from authors/publishers and until now I had to extract text, process it, and even then sometimes the results were less than satisfactory so I would go more for print arcs than insisting on pdf's which would be more convenient for everyone.

But now with the 700 I am finally reading the pdf 's directly, just put them onto it from my pc, no preprocessing necessary and if the zoom does not reflow the text nicely - some do, some don't - horizontal half-page reading works nicely.

But that was a quite unexpected bonus for me

Shunt1 · 11-21-2008, 01:50 PM

My comments were intended for JayBoy, but Wetdogeared has been very helpfull also.

I need to know if anyone can read that PDF book from Goggle Books on the Sony PRS-700.

If not, then I MUST cancel my order, since that is the only reason why I ordered the darn thing.

If that book can be read, and the images viewed, then I made the wise choice.

If not, then I will cancel and order another Kindle.

Wetdogeared · 11-21-2008, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shunt1

Here is test PDF file from Goggle Books.

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&...um=1&ct=result

The table and graphics are very important to me, and trying to convert this book into something that the Kindle can use, has been very frustrating.

Give this file a test with the PRS-700 and let me know your results.

I downloaded this to Adobe Digital Editions then copied it to my reader. The reader took about 4 minutes to digest it but eventually it looks as it should. I found some graphics, could zoom in and maneuver with arrow keys and with finger. Hope this helps you out.

Text is very small but ledgible, upping the font size doesn't seem to do anything but the zoom and maneuver works good. All text and images are ledgible using zoom function.

Shunt1 · 11-21-2008, 01:55 PM

You were able to view the ship images and still read the text?

With the Kindle, I could only do one or the other.

THANKS!

Shunt1 · 11-21-2008, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wetdogeared

I downloaded this to Adobe Digital Editions then copied it to my reader. The reader took about 4 minutes to digest it but eventually it looks as it should. I found some graphics, could zoom in and maneuver with arrow keys and with finger. Hope this helps you out.

Text is very small but legible, upping the font size doesn't seem to do anything but the zoom and maneuver works good.

This is what I was expecting, but I needed someone to verify that capability.

With graphic based PDF files, changing the font size will never work. I was hoping that the touch screen zoom and maneuver would make books like this possible to read on the Sony PRS-700.

If this can be done, then who cares about screen contrast?

ewiplayer · 11-21-2008, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shunt1

If this can be done, then who cares about screen contrast?

People who read novels and are used to paper books.

Shunt1 · 11-21-2008, 03:26 PM

Ok, now I am rather confused.

The ability to read a book AT ALL, in any format, is not as important as screen contrast?

Again, please try to read this test book and let me know how well you can read it.

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&...um=1&ct=result

ewiplayer · 11-21-2008, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shunt1

Ok, now I am rather confused.

The ability to read a book AT ALL, in any format, is not as important as screen contrast?

No it's not. I'm in the same boat as you, and want to read all of those wonderful PDFs that I have on architecture, design, and programming languages. But I'm in the minority. Most people couldn't give two shakes about that stuff - they're only interested in reading the same type of fiction books they read today, but on an eReader.

I couldn't care less that my bicycle weighs more than one pound... I don't compete in triathalons... I ride around the neighbourhood. What I do care about is that in order to get that bike that weighs one pound, I have to have a seat that is in serious danger of entering my butthole.

If you never use any of the features of the 700 that don't exist on the 505, you're pretty pissed off about the fact that you sacrificed screen contrast... and I can totally understand that. Should a person be a rabid fanatic about it? No...

But I can understand it.

grooks · 11-21-2008, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shunt1

With graphic based PDF files, changing the font size will never work. I was hoping that the touch screen zoom and maneuver would make books like this possible to read on the Sony PRS-700.

If this can be done, then who cares about screen contrast?

I think this functionality is one of the features overlooked while everyone is debating 'screen contrast'.

Not everyone uses the device 100% of the time for reading novels.

Shunt1 · 11-21-2008, 03:49 PM

Thanks for your reply. I have been so frustrated this week, that I was about to cancel my Sony PRS-700, and order another Kindle.

Using OCR software, ANY EBOOK READER can display text!

Like you, tables and images are very important and the ability to display them is vital.

For TEXT, my Kindle has been fantastic and I absolutly love it. In the middle of the night, if an idea hits me, I can explore the internet and find an answer.

Driving down the road, my wife has often asked me a difficult question. No problem, I just activate the Kindle's internet capability and find the answer.

Now, why would I want to spend more money on a Sony PRS-700, that does not have this internet capability and costs more?

Goggle Books!

11-21-2008, 12:38 PM	#1
JayBoy Member Posts: 11 Karma: 92 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Toronto Device: Sony PRS-700	Impressions of the PRS-700 as my first eBook reader I had a Sony PRS-700 on pre-order from SonyStyle.ca (I live in Toronto) and just received it yesterday. While waiting for my reader I was reading these forums on a daily basis, especially the debate over screen quality between the PRS-505 and PRS-700, and was wondering whether I had made the right decision. While many of the impressions about the 700 are from people who have owned the 500 or 505, I thought that feedback from someone who has never owned and eBook reader before might be useful to those of you that are new to eBook readers as well. The elephant in the room: The screen After reading much of the debate on the screen quality when I finally got the package from Sony I was expecting the worse. Low-and-behold its actually pretty good! Completely readable. However, the contrast could be a little better, and in some lighting conditions the edges of the text do not appear 100% sharp. A lot of people have speculated this has to do with the touch screen, I've noticed that if you hold the screen on a very sharp angle under direct sunlight you can actually see a very slight speckling on the surface of the plastic over the eInk screen. This makes me wonder if this is really due to the touch screen or an anti-glare coating Sony put on the touch screen. This would explain why so many of the photos taken of the 700 next to the 505 on an angle look so bad (any light hitting the screen on an angle is meant to be diffused and therefore will not make for a decent photo). If you are expecting the screen to be just like paper you will be disappointed, but if you see this is an electronic alternative its pretty good (once again I'm not comparing to other eBook reader models as I have never owned one before). PDF support, Search These are the features of the 700 which ultimately got me interested in buying the eBook reader. I am a programmer, so many of my reference books are 1200-1500 pages. Many of these come in PDF version as well, so good PDF support was a must. As I often find myself going to the index of one my reference books to find sepecific information, the search feature on the 700 is a dream come true! I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the 700 understands the native PDF table of contents and allows you to select items and jump right to the page! From what I understand the 700 is the only Sony model that allows zooming on PDF files (which is great for all the charts I have), but I also heard that there is firmware upgrade for the 505 that increases it support for PDFs as well. Do any of the Gurus on this forum know what the differences in PDF handling on the 505 with the firmware upgrade and the 700 out of the box are? (I'm curious). Other features The touch screen is nice, it wasn't a big selling feature for me as I am just as happy pushing buttons, but the interface is intuitive and I would rather have a touch keyboard for searching than a clunky mass of buttons appended to the bottom of the device. The light is simply put "okay". Its nice that its there when you need it, from what I understand none of the clip-on alternatives are anything to write home about either, and I'm not in the habit of reading in the pitch dark to begin with so its not a big deal. I usually do not write in the margins of my books or highlight them either so the annotation feature was not a big selling point for me but after trying it out and realizing its potential I can see this as something I could make a lot of use of! All-in-all I am very happy with my 700 (and its had some nice surprises I didn't expect). The debate about the screen is still something that bothers me not because the 700's is bad, but because I've never seen the 505's in real life and am curious if it really is that much better. Besides that all the other features are great, functionality is intuitive, speed is very snappy. Great product! Jason Last edited by JayBoy; 11-25-2008 at 01:18 PM. Reason: Updating title from ereader to eBook reader.

11-21-2008, 01:31 PM	#4
Wetdogeared Storm Surge'n Posts: 5,776 Karma: 8213195 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Lobster Capital Device: S0ny PRS-300/350/505/700/T1	I believe you can zoom in on image based PDF files, using the slider bar on the upper left corner. Navigation is by arrow keys located at the edge of each side of the screen. You can also drag your finger or stylus around to navigate within the image, it's a bit crude but sounds like what you're looking for. I checked this out on a PDF book with graphics on cover page. Works great. Last edited by Wetdogeared; 11-21-2008 at 01:35 PM.

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11-21-2008, 12:52 PM	#2
Wetdogeared Storm Surge'n Posts: 5,776 Karma: 8213195 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Lobster Capital Device: S0ny PRS-300/350/505/700/T1	Nice unbiased review. I got my PRS700 yesterday and am still checking it out. When I find the right words to describe my experience, as you have done, I'll get back and leave my impressions. Thanks and welcome to the forum.

11-21-2008, 01:23 PM	#3
Shunt1 Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 112 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Kindle, PRS-700	The PDF support is the reason I ordered the PRS-700. Like you, I am a software engineer and depend upon these manuals to earn an income. I have fallen in love with my Kindle, but the ability to read PDF files has been very frustrating. Oh sure, you can convert PDF files to images, but then they are almost impossible to read. I can not thank you enough for your review, since I am getting rather sick and tired of hearing that the PRS-700 is not as "sharp" as the PRD-505. PDF support is why I ordered this darn thing! Otherwise, I would have obtained another Kindle. Yes or No? Can I zoom into an image based PDF file with the PRS-700 and enlarge the image? Can I use the touch screen to move the enlarged image for better viewing? That is something that was impossible to do with my Kindle.

11-21-2008, 01:35 PM	#5
Shunt1 Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 112 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Kindle, PRS-700	Here is test PDF file from Goggle Books. http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&...um=1&ct=result The table and graphics are very important to me, and trying to convert this book into something that the Kindle can use, has been very frustrating. Give this file a test with the PRS-700 and let me know your results.

11-21-2008, 01:50 PM	#7
Shunt1 Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 112 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Kindle, PRS-700	My comments were intended for JayBoy, but Wetdogeared has been very helpfull also. I need to know if anyone can read that PDF book from Goggle Books on the Sony PRS-700. If not, then I MUST cancel my order, since that is the only reason why I ordered the darn thing. If that book can be read, and the images viewed, then I made the wise choice. If not, then I will cancel and order another Kindle.

11-21-2008, 01:55 PM	#9
Shunt1 Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 112 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Kindle, PRS-700	You were able to view the ship images and still read the text? With the Kindle, I could only do one or the other. THANKS!

11-21-2008, 03:26 PM	#12
Shunt1 Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 112 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Kindle, PRS-700	Ok, now I am rather confused. The ability to read a book AT ALL, in any format, is not as important as screen contrast? Again, please try to read this test book and let me know how well you can read it. http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&...um=1&ct=result

11-21-2008, 03:49 PM	#15
Shunt1 Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 112 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Kindle, PRS-700	Thanks for your reply. I have been so frustrated this week, that I was about to cancel my Sony PRS-700, and order another Kindle. Using OCR software, ANY EBOOK READER can display text! Like you, tables and images are very important and the ability to display them is vital. For TEXT, my Kindle has been fantastic and I absolutly love it. In the middle of the night, if an idea hits me, I can explore the internet and find an answer. Driving down the road, my wife has often asked me a difficult question. No problem, I just activate the Kindle's internet capability and find the answer. Now, why would I want to spend more money on a Sony PRS-700, that does not have this internet capability and costs more? Goggle Books!

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