PRS-650 Note-taking on the Sony PRS650

[flexnib]

I'm wondering if any of you PRS650 fans are able to share a little on how good/usable the notetaking feature is on the Sony PRS650. My understanding is that the PRS650 allows a reader to annotate books using the stylus. Is this correct? Is it easy to use?

[botrerta]

I find the annotating feature to be pretty easy to use, although it would be nice to be able to switch to annotating/highlighting mode with a single touch/click rather than going through options - notes - create/edit. The on screen keyboard is also pretty good for entering comments/notes, though again, it would be nice to be able to enter notes without having to exit highlighting mode and then clicking on the highlighted text. I find the stylus much easier to use for annotations than a finger - text selection is much more accurate.

Ignoring the very minor whinges above, the only real shortfall I find with Sony annotations is getting them off the ereader and onto my desktop. The Sony desktop software does allow for annotations to be exported to MS word, but for some reason truncates the highlighted text to the first 100 characters - this is quite annoying and I am not really sure why they do it (perhaps to stop people exporting larges chunks of text from DRM protected documents ...... a bit pointless given how easy it is to get around DRM protection!). I also don't like the fact that annotations have to be exported for each book individually: a batch export feature would be excellent. If anyone knows how get around these limitations, I'd love to hear from you

[viviena]

Originally Posted by botrerta

I find the annotating feature to be pretty easy to use, although it would be nice to be able to switch to annotating/highlighting mode with a single touch/click rather than going through options - notes - create/edit. The on screen keyboard is also pretty good for entering comments/notes, though again, it would be nice to be able to enter notes without having to exit highlighting mode and then clicking on the highlighted text.

I've seen several people comment on the difficulty of note-taking, but I'm not sure how other people are doing it... do you double-tap-and-drag in the normal reading mode and then hit the highlight button to create the highlight, then tap on the highlight for annotation input options? That's the quickest way I know of.

To answer the OP (annotating is the same on the 350), I find using the stylus preferable, as it's much more precise than the finger. I've made highlights and notes in several books for my studies, and find it a quick and painless process -- it's definitely won me over to touchscreen-capable devices. The one downside is probably the handwritten notes, the Sonys are a bit slow for that. Also, I haven't experimented with exporting notes onto the computer, so I can't comment on that process.

[botrerta]

Originally Posted by viviena

I've seen several people comment on the difficulty of note-taking, but I'm not sure how other people are doing it... do you double-tap-and-drag in the normal reading mode and then hit the highlight button to create the highlight, then tap on the highlight for annotation input options? That's the quickest way I know of.

I use the double click feature all the time to access the dictionary, but never noticed the highlight button. Thanks for the tip - much more convenient than using the menus

[sbtx99]

You can also add a note to the page via a bookmark.... double tap to create a bookmark, then tap the bookmark to add a note.

[flexnib]

Thanks all. I've been eyeing the PRS650 and wondering whether to buy one. The ability to annotate is an interesting feature I would love to have but don't with my Kobo. Thanks also for the comments re transferring your notes to PC - obviously something I wouldn't have found until finally faced with a Sony...

The touch screen is also attractive to me, as is the faster processor speed. I have gotten used to the slowish refresh of my Kobo but do sometimes wish I could flick through pages more quickly.

[901hw]

The slight problem I have with the annotations is that the stylus isnt very precise. One needs a bit of practice to highlight those passages one wants to, I mean the response of the reader can be slightly deplaced from the point one touched

[jaxx6166]

Anyone figure out if its possible to get handwritten notes out of the sony and onto ms word or is it text only

[tpw]

Originally Posted by flexnib

Thanks all. I've been eyeing the PRS650 and wondering whether to buy one. The ability to annotate is an interesting feature I would love to have but don't with my Kobo. Thanks also for the comments re transferring your notes to PC - obviously something I wouldn't have found until finally faced with a Sony...

The touch screen is also attractive to me, as is the faster processor speed. I have gotten used to the slowish refresh of my Kobo but do sometimes wish I could flick through pages more quickly.

I had a kobo which I've given to my wife since getting a PRS650. In just about every way except price, the Sony is the superior reader. Buy one (if you can find one), you won't regret it.

[Terisa de morgan]

Handwritten notes are included in picture files, not text files. You would need an OCR software for converting them.