Finally at the end of "the" decision and a thank you

Ripplinger · 01-26-2011, 07:59 PM

I've been reading thread after thread after thread and researching ereaders for about 4 months now. I was down to either the Nook, Nook Color, or Sony PRS-650.

Kindle was out for me because of no epubs (although I know you can convert with Calibre), and no expansion slot. But then the $139 price put them back in the running for awhile. I really wanted expansion room though.

Nook... I almost ordered one last week when I found out about several locations selling refurbished Nooks. Compared to the Sony 650, it was bigger and weighed more, and didn't like losing 1" of screen space at the bottom of each page and thought that dead space would annoy me, and clunkier use of the dictionary. But for that price, the drawbacks for me seemed livable. Then I ran across more info pointing out that Nook is still using first gen e-ink screens and that made it far less attractive to me and I ended up not ordering it. I had looked at it at a Barnes and Noble store, but with a salesman there trying to convince me their ereaders are the greatest, I didn't get much hands on time with it. Today I got to look much closer at one at my local Best Buy and found that horrid glossy white frame to be the most annoying thing they could have done. Even though the glare wasn't on the text area of the reader, it was distracting enough that while reading I found myself unconsciously tilting the Nook constantly trying to eliminate that glare. The page turning buttons also seemed really stiff and hard to press. The 1" color area at the bottom of the screen also did annoy me, I found it distracting. My eyes are very sensitive to light, which probably made that glare worse for me than others, but I was very glad I didn't order it.

Nook Color... heavier, bigger, short battery life, not as good for reading outdoors, and more expansive... yet I still found myself strangely wanting this device, probably because of the flashy color. Even though I want it primarily to read books and not much else, it was always there tempting me to buy it. Thankfully I resisted that impulse purchase.

Sony 650 seemed ideal for me. Expansion room, great screen, great everything, but so pricey, especially when there's no wi-fi for that price (nice to have if it's there, but again not something I need). But I just couldn't justify the price.

And yesterday I read about the Sony 350s on sale for $50 less at quite a few locations and decided to give it a try for that price. True there's no expansion room, but I wouldn't trust all my ebooks in one location anyway, so it's really not an issue to just keep a "mere" thousand books on the reader, and transfer others from my PC as needed. I realized how crazy and totally unnecessary it was to want to keep 20,000 books on the reader.

I absolutely love it. The size and weight is so perfect for my small hands, flipping a page with just a slight thumb movement is so effortless, it's perfect. The option of listening to audio books was always something I thought I wanted as well, but I honestly can't remember the last time I actually listened to a book instead of reading, and I have 3 PCs I can use for that or my cell phone, and knew it was just one of those "nice to have" options that in reality I'd probably never use.

If I could find the Sony 650 somewhere still for $199, I might still be tempted to get it for the larger screen. It's less than 1" taller and about .5" wider, and only 2 oz heavier, but still smaller and lighter than the Nooks or Kindle, so don't think that size will bother me at all. But I'm perfectly happy with the 350 for $100 less than the 650.

Maybe my search and final decision will help someone else in their quest for their ideal ereader, it seems like I've been trying to decide forever. And I have to say this forum is the greatest aid I've found in helping me make the decision.

And yes, my first post also, I thought the final decision was fitting for it!

SeaBookGuy · 01-26-2011, 11:47 PM

I'd say you made the right call -- I use an SD card, and have loaded some audio (short stories mostly), but could do without them -- I mean even for a trip around the world do you really need to have more than a few dozen books loaded?

Please keep us informed at the Sony forum how you're doing!

GA Russell · 01-27-2011, 12:16 AM

Welcome Ripplinger!

Since prices are falling and new models are being released, I believe that one should spend as little as possible for one's first eBook reader. With some experience you will learn what features you want, and by that time the price will have come down.

Poppaea · 01-28-2011, 06:06 AM

Congratulations Ripplinger,

you made a perfect choice! I love mine like crazy

. And I do not miss all of those features mentioned. My first reader had all these fancy things like games, audio and SDslot and I almost never used them and up to now never missed them. The reading experience on a Sony is so awesome I am contemplating buying a second bigger one. But on the other hand this is just greediness as I am comfortably reading the XSfont and am thus lacking no screen space at all.

Which cover did you buy?

ProfCrash · 01-28-2011, 09:15 AM

Enjoy your e-reader!

jocampo · 01-28-2011, 01:34 PM

Good choice

Ripplinger · 01-28-2011, 08:30 PM

Yes, I'm absolutely loving it so far and I'm certain I won't miss the lack of audio or expansion slots at all. I thought I'd mind the 5" screen though compared to the 6", but I'm finding it's not been an issue at all. It's so extremely portable because of its size and so effortless to hold, it's perfect. And considering the long wait for restock on the 650s now (I think I heard March as the earliest shipping dates), I get to enjoy it now rather than waiting 1-2 months for the 650, and again I still can't justify the price of the 650.

I ended up ordering the Sony case with light from B&H Photo, they have them on sale for $37.99 and free shipping. I'll probably also get another smaller case for when I take it with during the day and don't want the bulk of the light. The M-Edge would do (even though I realize it won't be a perfect fit for the 350), but if I can get one custom made from KreatedbyKim, I love the idea of the metal ring and clip, that would be ideal for me for the summer months.

Donnageddon · 01-28-2011, 08:35 PM

You have made a very wise choice Ripplinger.

You have passed the first test of wisdom.

Wordeater · 01-28-2011, 10:19 PM

Good choice. The display on the 350 is tremendous.
Myself, I went for the 650 for more text per page, and it's display is great too. Only in a side by side comparison do you realize the 350's higher DPI.
There are no flies on the 650 display, IMO.
I have NO regrets about getting the 650, and looked at everything out there, including the 950. (I did like viewing two pages in landscape on the 950, but just didn't want it's larger size. My 2nd choice was the 350, BTW)
Got my 650 from Sonystyle US and had it shipped to a friend's home in Oregon and picked it up there. They have the 650 in stock at SS.....or at least they did when I was down in OR.
Picked up a black Saddleback leather sleeve and a Decalgirl skin while I was at it. (Skin since removed)

I know you will love your 350. Enjoy.

WE

Wordeater · 01-28-2011, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GA Russell

Welcome Ripplinger!

Since prices are falling and new models are being released, I believe that one should spend as little as possible for one's first eBook reader. With some experience you will learn what features you want, and by that time the price will have come down.

Super advice. Your never know what features you'll use and end up 'needing' in the future 'til you use any device for awhile.
I have never looked in a dictionary for meanings of words I didn't know until my 650. I have looked up definitions of 'German language' words on my 650.
Cool.

WE

NorthernPines · 01-29-2011, 02:24 PM

Congrats. I'm in the exact same position right now. The more I look at the Nook the more I realize I hate the thing, just ergonomically speaking. It's heavy, it's clunky, and the LCD touch screen didn't work in the store where I tried it. I really, really like the Kindle, but no epub...eh, not crazy about that. Then I'm told Kindles don't do pdfs very well, which I'm like, "what DOES it do?" So I dunno...I'm really considering the Sony PRS-350 but I'm really scared of the 5inch screen. I LOVE the idea of the touch screen and how it does pdfs better than most, but that small screen....and then Sony's book store is more expensive. It seems like every device does one thing really well, but none of the big 3 does everything. (Kindle does NOTHING apparently). The whole thing is really frustrating. I'm glad you've made a decision and feel it was the right one. I still need to check out a pocket reader in store to see if that size screen is just too small, but I'm don't have my hopes up. Sadly.

Ripplinger · 01-29-2011, 03:08 PM

I would suggest you pick up a 350 now while they're still on sale for $129 where you can return it if you find the screen is too small. Except for no audio and no expansion slots, everything operates identical to a 650, touch screen included, so even if you decide you can't live with the small screen, you'll know if you will like the 650 or not.

That was my reasoning when I picked up the 350, really thinking I wouldn't like the 5" screen, but surprisingly found it not to be any problem at all. Instead the bit smaller size made it so portable and light, I take it everywhere with me. It handles text pdf files very nicely. The pdfs that are all images are a bit of a problem, but just use the zoom feature and pan around the image and problem is solved. And honestly, a 6" screen isn't going to make it so you don't need to zoom in on the images, you will still need to zoom to see them.

Like you, I was getting extremely frustrated about it all and no one reader seemed right. I also hated the Nook, and the Kindle as well (no epub and the keyboard at the bottom just made it much larger than it had to be). The Sony feels like a quality piece of hardware in your hand, metal instead of cheap glaring plastic, and no wasted space for keyboards or extra screens you can't read from... it's just about all readable space. The touch screen has been working flawlessly and is my preferred choice for turning pages, it takes literally a very slight thumb movement.

ProfCrash · 01-29-2011, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NorthernPines

Congrats. I'm in the exact same position right now. The more I look at the Nook the more I realize I hate the thing, just ergonomically speaking. It's heavy, it's clunky, and the LCD touch screen didn't work in the store where I tried it. I really, really like the Kindle, but no epub...eh, not crazy about that. Then I'm told Kindles don't do pdfs very well, which I'm like, "what DOES it do?" So I dunno...I'm really considering the Sony PRS-350 but I'm really scared of the 5inch screen. I LOVE the idea of the touch screen and how it does pdfs better than most, but that small screen....and then Sony's book store is more expensive. It seems like every device does one thing really well, but none of the big 3 does everything. (Kindle does NOTHING apparently). The whole thing is really frustrating. I'm glad you've made a decision and feel it was the right one. I still need to check out a pocket reader in store to see if that size screen is just too small, but I'm don't have my hopes up. Sadly.

I just downloaded Calibre and have begun the process of making my Kindle books readable on any device. Apprentice Alf's blog is great.

I would say buy the ereader you want and don't worry about the format. It really is easy to get around the format issues.

Wordeater · 01-30-2011, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I just downloaded Calibre and have begun the process of making my Kindle books readable on any device. Apprentice Alf's blog is great.

I would say buy the ereader you want and don't worry about the format. It really is easy to get around the format issues.

I concur. Just buy the reader you want regardless of format, and get around it.
When I finally decided that was the way to go, the choice of reader was a no-brainer.

WE

Poppaea · 01-30-2011, 01:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wordeater

I concur. Just buy the reader you want regardless of format, and get around it.
When I finally decided that was the way to go, the choice of reader was a no-brainer.

WE

Ah, I see, this is why you have none...

01-26-2011, 07:59 PM	#1
Ripplinger 350 Hoarder Posts: 3,574 Karma: 8281267 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Midwest USA Device: Sony PRS-350, Kobo Glo & Glo HD, PW2	Finally at the end of "the" decision and a thank you I've been reading thread after thread after thread and researching ereaders for about 4 months now. I was down to either the Nook, Nook Color, or Sony PRS-650. Kindle was out for me because of no epubs (although I know you can convert with Calibre), and no expansion slot. But then the $139 price put them back in the running for awhile. I really wanted expansion room though. Nook... I almost ordered one last week when I found out about several locations selling refurbished Nooks. Compared to the Sony 650, it was bigger and weighed more, and didn't like losing 1" of screen space at the bottom of each page and thought that dead space would annoy me, and clunkier use of the dictionary. But for that price, the drawbacks for me seemed livable. Then I ran across more info pointing out that Nook is still using first gen e-ink screens and that made it far less attractive to me and I ended up not ordering it. I had looked at it at a Barnes and Noble store, but with a salesman there trying to convince me their ereaders are the greatest, I didn't get much hands on time with it. Today I got to look much closer at one at my local Best Buy and found that horrid glossy white frame to be the most annoying thing they could have done. Even though the glare wasn't on the text area of the reader, it was distracting enough that while reading I found myself unconsciously tilting the Nook constantly trying to eliminate that glare. The page turning buttons also seemed really stiff and hard to press. The 1" color area at the bottom of the screen also did annoy me, I found it distracting. My eyes are very sensitive to light, which probably made that glare worse for me than others, but I was very glad I didn't order it. Nook Color... heavier, bigger, short battery life, not as good for reading outdoors, and more expansive... yet I still found myself strangely wanting this device, probably because of the flashy color. Even though I want it primarily to read books and not much else, it was always there tempting me to buy it. Thankfully I resisted that impulse purchase. Sony 650 seemed ideal for me. Expansion room, great screen, great everything, but so pricey, especially when there's no wi-fi for that price (nice to have if it's there, but again not something I need). But I just couldn't justify the price. And yesterday I read about the Sony 350s on sale for $50 less at quite a few locations and decided to give it a try for that price. True there's no expansion room, but I wouldn't trust all my ebooks in one location anyway, so it's really not an issue to just keep a "mere" thousand books on the reader, and transfer others from my PC as needed. I realized how crazy and totally unnecessary it was to want to keep 20,000 books on the reader. I absolutely love it. The size and weight is so perfect for my small hands, flipping a page with just a slight thumb movement is so effortless, it's perfect. The option of listening to audio books was always something I thought I wanted as well, but I honestly can't remember the last time I actually listened to a book instead of reading, and I have 3 PCs I can use for that or my cell phone, and knew it was just one of those "nice to have" options that in reality I'd probably never use. If I could find the Sony 650 somewhere still for $199, I might still be tempted to get it for the larger screen. It's less than 1" taller and about .5" wider, and only 2 oz heavier, but still smaller and lighter than the Nooks or Kindle, so don't think that size will bother me at all. But I'm perfectly happy with the 350 for $100 less than the 650. Maybe my search and final decision will help someone else in their quest for their ideal ereader, it seems like I've been trying to decide forever. And I have to say this forum is the greatest aid I've found in helping me make the decision. And yes, my first post also, I thought the final decision was fitting for it! Last edited by Ripplinger; 01-26-2011 at 08:07 PM.

01-28-2011, 10:19 PM	#9
Wordeater Connoisseur Posts: 83 Karma: 48958 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Vancouver, Canada Device: Sony PRS-650	Good choice Good choice. The display on the 350 is tremendous. Myself, I went for the 650 for more text per page, and it's display is great too. Only in a side by side comparison do you realize the 350's higher DPI. There are no flies on the 650 display, IMO. I have NO regrets about getting the 650, and looked at everything out there, including the 950. (I did like viewing two pages in landscape on the 950, but just didn't want it's larger size. My 2nd choice was the 350, BTW) Got my 650 from Sonystyle US and had it shipped to a friend's home in Oregon and picked it up there. They have the 650 in stock at SS.....or at least they did when I was down in OR. Picked up a black Saddleback leather sleeve and a Decalgirl skin while I was at it. (Skin since removed) I know you will love your 350. Enjoy. WE

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01-26-2011, 11:47 PM	#2
SeaBookGuy Can one read too much? Posts: 2,015 Karma: 2487799 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Naples, FL Device: Kindle PW 3, Sony 350 and 650	I'd say you made the right call -- I use an SD card, and have loaded some audio (short stories mostly), but could do without them -- I mean even for a trip around the world do you really need to have more than a few dozen books loaded? Please keep us informed at the Sony forum how you're doing!

01-27-2011, 12:16 AM	#3
GA Russell Montreal wins Grey Cup! Posts: 7,583 Karma: 31484197 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	Welcome Ripplinger! Since prices are falling and new models are being released, I believe that one should spend as little as possible for one's first eBook reader. With some experience you will learn what features you want, and by that time the price will have come down.

01-28-2011, 06:06 AM	#4
Poppaea Lucifer's Bat Posts: 2,536 Karma: 19491715 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Earth/Berlin Device: Kobo Libra 2	Congratulations Ripplinger, you made a perfect choice! I love mine like crazy . And I do not miss all of those features mentioned. My first reader had all these fancy things like games, audio and SDslot and I almost never used them and up to now never missed them. The reading experience on a Sony is so awesome I am contemplating buying a second bigger one. But on the other hand this is just greediness as I am comfortably reading the XSfont and am thus lacking no screen space at all. Which cover did you buy?

01-28-2011, 09:15 AM	#5
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	Enjoy your e-reader!

01-28-2011, 01:34 PM	#6
jocampo Layback feline Posts: 3,034 Karma: 6980745 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: USA Device: Oasis 2nd gen, Sony DPTS1, iPad Pro 10.5"	Good choice

01-28-2011, 08:30 PM	#7
Ripplinger 350 Hoarder Posts: 3,574 Karma: 8281267 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Midwest USA Device: Sony PRS-350, Kobo Glo & Glo HD, PW2	Yes, I'm absolutely loving it so far and I'm certain I won't miss the lack of audio or expansion slots at all. I thought I'd mind the 5" screen though compared to the 6", but I'm finding it's not been an issue at all. It's so extremely portable because of its size and so effortless to hold, it's perfect. And considering the long wait for restock on the 650s now (I think I heard March as the earliest shipping dates), I get to enjoy it now rather than waiting 1-2 months for the 650, and again I still can't justify the price of the 650. I ended up ordering the Sony case with light from B&H Photo, they have them on sale for $37.99 and free shipping. I'll probably also get another smaller case for when I take it with during the day and don't want the bulk of the light. The M-Edge would do (even though I realize it won't be a perfect fit for the 350), but if I can get one custom made from KreatedbyKim, I love the idea of the metal ring and clip, that would be ideal for me for the summer months.

01-28-2011, 08:35 PM	#8
Donnageddon Now you lishen here... Posts: 2,494 Karma: 479498 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Seattle-ish Device: Sony PRS-650. Kobo Touch, Kindle Fire	You have made a very wise choice Ripplinger. You have passed the first test of wisdom.

01-29-2011, 02:24 PM	#11
NorthernPines Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: none	Congrats. I'm in the exact same position right now. The more I look at the Nook the more I realize I hate the thing, just ergonomically speaking. It's heavy, it's clunky, and the LCD touch screen didn't work in the store where I tried it. I really, really like the Kindle, but no epub...eh, not crazy about that. Then I'm told Kindles don't do pdfs very well, which I'm like, "what DOES it do?" So I dunno...I'm really considering the Sony PRS-350 but I'm really scared of the 5inch screen. I LOVE the idea of the touch screen and how it does pdfs better than most, but that small screen....and then Sony's book store is more expensive. It seems like every device does one thing really well, but none of the big 3 does everything. (Kindle does NOTHING apparently). The whole thing is really frustrating. I'm glad you've made a decision and feel it was the right one. I still need to check out a pocket reader in store to see if that size screen is just too small, but I'm don't have my hopes up. Sadly.

01-29-2011, 03:08 PM	#12
Ripplinger 350 Hoarder Posts: 3,574 Karma: 8281267 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Midwest USA Device: Sony PRS-350, Kobo Glo & Glo HD, PW2	I would suggest you pick up a 350 now while they're still on sale for $129 where you can return it if you find the screen is too small. Except for no audio and no expansion slots, everything operates identical to a 650, touch screen included, so even if you decide you can't live with the small screen, you'll know if you will like the 650 or not. That was my reasoning when I picked up the 350, really thinking I wouldn't like the 5" screen, but surprisingly found it not to be any problem at all. Instead the bit smaller size made it so portable and light, I take it everywhere with me. It handles text pdf files very nicely. The pdfs that are all images are a bit of a problem, but just use the zoom feature and pan around the image and problem is solved. And honestly, a 6" screen isn't going to make it so you don't need to zoom in on the images, you will still need to zoom to see them. Like you, I was getting extremely frustrated about it all and no one reader seemed right. I also hated the Nook, and the Kindle as well (no epub and the keyboard at the bottom just made it much larger than it had to be). The Sony feels like a quality piece of hardware in your hand, metal instead of cheap glaring plastic, and no wasted space for keyboards or extra screens you can't read from... it's just about all readable space. The touch screen has been working flawlessly and is my preferred choice for turning pages, it takes literally a very slight thumb movement.

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