Sony Reader Owners: What Are Your Initial Impressions Of The PRS-T1?

[sun surfer]

Actually, anyone can answer the poll (obviously), but I was curious what Sony Reader owners think of the PRS-T1 so far.

Personally, I'm not thrilled. I often try and update my electronics to the newest, so I'll probably be getting a new reader by year's end with all the new models coming, and sell my 950. Before the announcement, I really thought I'd get the next generation Sony. Now, I'm not so sure. Unfortunately, I may be jumping brands, or there's a chance I may stick with my 950 for another generation.


The pros of the new reader:

-Lighter weight. My 950 is lighter than my previous reader, but even still I'd love an even lighter reader.

-Probably/maybe a little faster than the older models. I would definitely like a faster reader, not really for page turns which seem fast enough for me, but for when I connect to the internet or am using the menu or highlighting, etc.

-Longer battery. This one I couldn't care less about. My 950 already lasts plenty long enough.

-Dual-touch screen. Big plus for me, the biggest pro I think. Don't know how much I'd use it in practise but it just seems cool and sounds useful. There have been a few PDFs I've read where this would've made things go much faster I think.


The cons:

-Only one size. The only reason I got my 950 over the 650 was for internet and 2-page landscape mode, but I've grown to like the size. I could easily live with a 6" though, but less options are always a con.

-Plastic. This one I don't care too much about, but after having the 950 I admit I am partial to the metal.

-Stylus does not fit in reader. This one is important. I could see this easily annoying me.

-Probably no landscape 2-page mode. Actually I'm not sure if it has landscape or not, but only the 7" 950 had it before, so I'd guess not. I know most people wouldn't care about this, but I read in 2-page landscape almost exclusively so it'd be annoying to switch.

-The cases look cheaper than the previous gen's cases.

-Is it true we can't use the reader store with the wifi? You could with the 3G 950. That'd be a big con for a 950 user who did buy books from the reader, like me.


So right now I'm lukewarm on this new model. I'm still curious to hear more as more hands-on reviews come out and see one for myself. It is definitely NOT one I will have to pre-order or run and get first thing (which I would've been willing to do if it had excited me). It's thrown my expectations out the window, as I was expecting an exciting new model that I'd get, and now I'll be shopping around and maybe even just keeping my 950 over a new one.

[khalleron]

Originally Posted by sun surfer

-Is it true we can't use the reader store with the wifi? You could with the 3G 950. That'd be a big con for a 950 user who did buy books from the reader, like me.

You can access not only the Reader Store over WiFi, but also Google Books and your public library - so that's a big PRO.

[Ashjuk]

To be honest I am very happy with this new Sony reader.

I bought a 600 last year and shortly afterwards the 650 was announced. Having replaced the 600 with a 650 only a few months ago I am relieved to find that the new T1 is, in my opinion, a step backwards.

I have no need for WiFi on a reader, I get my book from a number of sources non of which need WiFi.

I find my 650 more than fast enough loading books and turning pages so the extra speed would be of no use.

Like Sun-Surfer has pointed out the battery life of the 650 is more than adequate. I recharge mine on a regular basis, which, if you read all the technical stuff, is the best way to look after these lithium polymer batteries.

Weight is not an issue for me. If I am going to pay a premium price I expect it to be manufactured from premium materials. Whilst modern plastics are very good it still won't have the feel of my 650.
The dual touch screen, again in my opinion, is a waste on a reader. All I ever do on my reader is load books, turn pages and highlight the odd word, all of which can be done easily with single touch. I do not find the need to keep zooming in either. I set the size when I first open a book and it stays that way until I have finished reading it.

Also I have no need for a browser on a reader, I have my iPhone for that.

But probably the biggest NO for me is that horrible glossy finish - GHASTLY!!!!

So all in all for me there is absolutely no reason to buy a T1. In fact if this is the way Sony are going the 650 I have now will probably be the last one I own. If Sony are going to be making cheap Kindle clones why not just buy a Kindle and save yourself a heap of money. Even if it sells at the rumoured £159 this is still a lot more than current Kindle prices.

[Asawi]

I am somewhat excited. Not sure how I feel about the new look. It's OK, but I really loved the look of the red 650. Not sure about the new red.
Features seem fine for me. It may not be drastically different to the 650, but actually I don't want it to be! The x50 series had a very good user interface that suited ME very well most of the time.
When trying out the new Nook and Kobo I like both of them a lot, but I keep thinking "if only had better user interface... like the Sony..." (especially I think that with the Kobo).
The price sure sounds good! I did not expect to come down this much in price without stripping it of features.

[Flip Martian]

Looks nice. And 6" is sensible enough. And the pricing seems more sensible to appear closer to Kindle pricing. But I only bought my 350 a few months back and am not looking to upgrade. And my 350 looks a great, quality piece of kit with the metal case.

Originally Posted by Ashjuk

I have no need for WiFi on a reader, I get my book from a number of sources non of which need WiFi.

This. Quite happy without wifi. Maybe I may upgrade to the one released after this but to be honest I'm still looking forward to/hoping for colour e-ink in a year or 2.

[Analogus]

I voted in the middle. For my type of using an ereader, following points are important:

• Long lasting energy.
  I got troubles with my PRS350 this year when being on a pacific island for 10 days. The reader gave up after one week. So the T1 has an advantage over the former models.
  
• Possibility to charge the reader without using the USB connector.
  The T1 doesn't allow this. No advantage
  
• High resolution of the E-Ink display.
  I'm short sighted and without my glasses my eyes work like a microscope ;-) and I even see pixels on high resolution displays while reading.
  The T1 has the same amount of pixels (800*600) like the even smaller PRS350. Against the 350 the T1 has thus a small disadvantage: lager screen but less resolution.
  
• Dictionaries.
  I guess the T1 will have the same dictionaries as the PRS350 and PRS650. So no advantage. There is to wait for future releases of PRS+ which maybe will bring support for user dictionaries.
  
• Good haptics and material.
  I guess the plastic doesn’t the job for me. So rather a disadvantage. I presume at least the red model will lose its color on edges and corners over time and become ugly because (so I guess) the plastic is colored just on the surface. Same as in most other Sony products I owned.
  
• No glossy surface.
  Clearly THE (personal) disadvantage over the former models. I like reading in bright sunlight.
  
• Replaceable battery:
  Maybe not the big point. But if you want to replace the battery yourself, the plastic case could be an big disadvantage (breaking anchor parts).

Other points I doesn’t care:

• WiFi:
  Could be an advantage concerning battery life span. No charging on the USB-cable when copying new content onto the reader. Besides that point, you have to live in an area with accessible WiFi for using the internet. Which I don’t do.
  
• External card:
  In my case not even the internal memory is used more than 50%. But if there would be a possibility to use the Wikipedia offline, an external card is a must.

I'll stay with my PRS350.

A.

[vxf]

No 3g is a big step down for me. I travel a lot and like being able to get newspapers delivered in the morning, everywhere. Especially considering how clunky the wifi seems to be on my 950 - it works only sometimes, after all.

The external stylus is another big disappointment. Really not practical.

Only one size - I like the 7" for newspapers and the 5" for books. That's why i have a 950 and a 350. 6" is ok for both, but not great for either... also a step down, for my purposes.

No metal casing... kind of disappointing... not a big deal.


On the other side, I am excited about the higher range of font options. Weight.... meh.... don't really care, never had a weight issue with the current model.

The readers look cool, the covers look cheap. At least in pics.


I am, overall, somewhat disappointed.

[vishcompany]

I quite like it.

Everybody was asking for wifi (me too) and now - as it is finally there - people keep saying "It's not a big deal". I don't get this. To me it is important. I like being able to surf casually, but I don't want (yet) to get a tablet. I like eink and I don't surf heavy pages with an eink device. So to me this is the one feature I was waiting for. (And yes, I do own a PB302, which can do this, but the display is so utterly bad, I just can't be bothered with it).

The often repeated argument, that you have to be near a wifi hotspot does not count for me. I always can turn my mobile phone into a bluetooth-modem or wifi hotspot. Pretty much any smartphone can do this nowadays, even nokia (which is, what I have).

So I guess, I will check it out. I just cant see myself parting with my 350. It's a great little device.

[prsita]

For me there are no innovating features, so far:

a) WiFi was alredy aviable on the PRS 950, and it was (with the wrong price) a big mistake not to implement it on PR650; with the WiFi on the T1 they have corrected an error of the PRS 650; the second error of this last model was, as alredy said, the price, not even comparable with the Kindle and more evident after the Nook touch and the Kombo touch; after these two models, the PRS 650 was, for its price, out of the market;

b) font size choices are alredy possible installing PRS+ on the PRS 950, 650, 350 and other models (that allow to use not only 6 fonts and shows the time during reading);

c) multi-touch is only the possibility of enlarging the text (without reflowing it), alredy possible. They haven't even implemented a side touch that allow to turn pages (as the Nook Touch).

So far, the T1 is not very innovative (except for the price) and, on same aspects, is, on the contrary, involutive (plastic body, pen not inserted in the device).

Moreover, with the T1 Sony have indirectly said that his errors (paid by those ones who bought PRS 650 without WiFi, with a price out of market) are paid only by customers who trusted this brand. Expecilly in the case that (as probable) they will not allow to install in the PRS 950 and 650 the new operating system of the T1 (based not on Linux but on Android) or will not update anymore their operating system.

After 9 months of life of these models, you cannot abbandon the customers in this way (expecially if they had payied a premium price for a wrong evaluation of Sony). It is not serious, as well is not serius to sell the T1 in various european countries at very different prices (149 euro in France, Germany and Holand and 199 euros - 50 euro more - in Italy). If they won't change policy, I will never buy other products from them (i have allredy from Sony a TV set, 3 ebook readers, 3 laptops 1 MP3 reader and a couple of headphones).

They will forget a faithfull customer as I am.

[elemenoP]

I try NOT to upgrade electronics every gen, so I probably wouldn't get this one no matter what it was, but I'll play along anyway.

Pros/things I think are REALLY COOL AND TEMPTING

- library books over wifi

- ability to change fonts (although what if I tried all 6 fonts or however many they will offer... and I don't like any of them?)

- more font sizes (remains to be seen how this works out in reality)

- auto book cover on standby. I do this manually now, would love to have the reader do it for me.

- better battery life. I get consistently worse battery life than what I hear from others on here (about 10 days). I'm not sure why. But anyway, I want it to be better.


Cons

- no integrated stylus. This is a big con for me. I can't seem to use the dictionary without using the stylus. It would be a totally different experience if I had to go hunting for my stylus every time I wanted to look up a word.



Things I don't care about one way or another

Shiny vs matte bezel - guess I would have to see it in person to see what I think

Weight - my 650 seems plenty light, although lighter is always better

Multi touch - I'm not sure what I would use this for, I guess I would have to try it

plastic vs metal

[NNolan]

I'm torn. There's nothing wrong with my 350 or 950 and I appreciate the metal cases, but the shiny silver still bugs me after almost a year.

On the other hand, the T1 is just barely heavier than my 350 and it comes in black, even if it is black plastic. The idea of font choices and longer battery life is appealing, but I don't know yet if it's worth the lateral move from the 350.

The Sony trade-in program will allow me $39 on my 350 and a whopping $9 on my 300. Trading in the 950 isn't even one of the options.

[Sweetpea]

Slightly dissapointed.

Wifi: was to be expected, but not required in a reader by me, so I'm neutral about that
Double-touch: I couldn't care less, so again, neutral
Battery life: I don't have a problem with the current one, it worked perfectly during my two week holiday.

Plastic body: I don't don't mind a plastic body. But I detest shiny plastic bodies. I like the plastic body on the K3 and on my BBMini. They are a nicely matte finish.
Stylus: an absolute no-no in my book. If you offer a stylus, you should also offer a way to keep the stylus with the device.
Cover: too bulky. I like the sleek looking one for the 650.

Price: the only good thing about this one. The price of the 650 was a bit on the high side. But, it does look expensive...

Originally Posted by sun surfer

-Probably no landscape 2-page mode. Actually I'm not sure if it has landscape or not, but only the 7" 950 had it before, so I'd guess not. I know most people wouldn't care about this, but I read in 2-page landscape almost exclusively so it'd be annoying to switch.

Actually The sony Readers have all had landscape mode as for back as at least the x00 series. I had a 505 but can't remember if it had landscape mode, but I think it did. However, you are correct that the 900 and 950 seven inch models are the only ones with landscape 2-page mode. I doubt this mode would work on a six inch screen as it barely works on the seven inch models.

Interesting that most polsters are fairly ho-hum about the T1. I am, but I gave up on Sony a long time ago. I thought all the gung ho Sony supporters here would embrace any new Sony with excessive gushing and open arms. Glad to see people finally came to their senses and decided Sony has disappointed us for too long. This really seems like a lackluster upgrade to me and disappointing at that. They still place the buttons in a location that makes them difficult to use during one-handed operation. They still make the bezel so shiny that it interferes with reading in brightly lit areas. And the long awaited WiFi is no good to me unless it allows for wireless syncing, which I doubt it does. I bet the Sony Reader desktop software will still be terrible--worst in class.

[Lyn2012]

I'm disappointed but relieved at the same time, at least I'm not tempted to replace my 650.

WiFi might be useful if it allowed wireless syncing and full access to whichever site I choose to buy books from (Kobo, Diesel, wherever) - I'm not certain but from what I have seen, this is not the case. Having said this, I probably wouldn't even use it then as I prefer to remove the DRM from books I have purchased before putting them on my reader.

The lighter weight sounds good, but not at the expense of replacing the metal frame with a plastic one.

Being able to change fonts is good, although I do wonder whether the font I prefer will be one of those available.

The pinch to zoom feature sounds good, but when I saw it in action, I realised it wouldn't be useful unless the text was reflowed at the same time. Also the screen flashes were more than annoying.

All in all, this is one reader I will be giving a miss, my 650 is still the best option for me. I'll put the money I'll save towards the next iPhone.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Interesting that most polsters are fairly ho-hum about the T1. I am, but I gave up on Sony a long time ago. I thought all the gung ho Sony supporters here would embrace any new Sony with excessive gushing and open arms. Glad to see people finally came to their senses and decided Sony has disappointed us for too long. This really seems like a lackluster upgrade to me and disappointing at that. They still place the buttons in a location that makes them difficult to use during one-handed operation. They still make the bezel so shiny that it interferes with reading in brightly lit areas. And the long awaited WiFi is no good to me unless it allows for wireless syncing, which I doubt it does. I bet the Sony Reader desktop software will still be terrible--worst in class.

I read about the 505, didn't think it was worth the trouble of getting (it was never released here). Then the 700 came along, same thing. Idea of side lighting sounded good, but after reading some more, again, not worth getting. Then the 600 was introduced. And this one was available here. But again, absolutely not worth it. The 650 is the very first sony device I've bought since I used walkmans... I don't think there are a lot of "gung ho" Sony users here. I mean, how many are still using their aging 505's? I think there's only one group that will upgrade, no matter what, when their favourite company announces a new model...

Originally Posted by Lyn2012

but relieved at the same time, at least I'm not tempted to replace my 650.

That too!