MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Comparison photos of new Sony 350 and Kindle 3

iReaderReview · 09-12-2010, 01:22 AM

Apologies for the delay. Here are some answers to various questions.

******porkupan.

1) Kindle 3 has added a lot of PDF features. There's search, there's highlighting (which only works for some PDFs), there are 5 contrast settings, there are 4 zoom levels, there's panning and incremental panning, and it generally handles PDFs very well.

I've also noted that the point has to be confirmed as haven't tested PDFs on Sony 350. However, Sony doesn't mention anything new and on the 600 the PDF reflow wasn't very good at all.

2) Browser support becomes important because all the email services work and there's Article Mode which is like Readability - read just the text on a page.

3) Yes, valid on both counts.

4) That's true - Sony has better fonts. That's why put up a lot of photos.

5) Don't know much about this.

6) Have to test dictionary support on Sony 350. Will update the review if it's better.

7) You can't really compare wireless on battery life with wireless off.
Kindle 3 is 3 weeks with WiFi, 10 days with 3G though some people aren't seeing that much. Haven't really tested that properly.

The point about fonts is very valid and a few things have to test out more.
Thanks for your comment.

****************soondai

There's no mention anywhere of a replaceable battery and the case certainly doesn't have any openings. Will confirm this if I find something - a quick search didn't show anything.

********************charleski

'Wireless' and 'WiFi' occur 9 times.
'Touch' occurs 11 times.

For some people wireless is worthless and for some touch is worthless - However, each is a hugely important feature and differentiator.

I have to mention everything since have no idea what particular features are important to a particular user.

*****************************Richey

Sony does get its fonts right. Not sure how they manage to get such delicate edges in the medium sized fonts.

Price is going to be a bigger factor than Sony realize.

***********************************Pskhe

Great question.

Haptics of the case. Will be reading a few books on 350 in the next few days and will then be better placed to answer your question.

You couldn't really get tired holding either - they are both very light. Sony 350 is incredibly light. It's literally a thrill as it seems physically impossible.

Kindle 3, after reading a lot on it, is very comfortable.

A few Kindle owners have complaints about the page turn buttons being placed where you would hold it. You can avoid this by holding at the back side edge. However, it is a slight issue.

Next Page.

Response time is indeed almost the same.

Kindle - 9/10
Sony 8 or 8.5/10.

Doing the touch based page turn is a tiny bit more effort. You could use the page turn buttons on Sony 350 but they are placed awkwardly.

Kindle 3 you can hold it such that your thumb is on the page turn and then all you would have to do is push.

**A few things for Pskhe

Note that there is a rumor that Amazon will extend free Internet browsing to outside the US.

Sony 650 has option to upgrade space but 350 doesn't.

** Basically, for the two things you mention i.e. handling and page turns they are pretty much a tie with Kindle having slightly better page turns (easier/ less effort) and Sony 350 having lower weight.

It really is a tie from what you're saying your needs are. Keep in mind that at some point of time the Kindle App Store will expand. Sometime this year or early next it'll debut in US and some time after that it'll probably go world wide so if you have interest in reading related apps (which will possibly be out) and games (which are quite likely) that's a small factor.

****************** WT Sharpe

thanks for the points on the PDF. With my 600 when a PDF font size is changed the tables and images often disappear. Which makes it readable. What do you do to avoid this?

***************************

Thanks for the comments everyone - it's given me a good idea of what to keep in mind when playing around with the 350.
It's good to see solid competition - hopefully Nook 2 is also very good and we get another round of price-cuts and features.

09-12-2010, 01:22 AM	#34
iReaderReview Banned Posts: 39 Karma: 71226 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: vancouver Device: kindle 2	replies to various questions Apologies for the delay. Here are some answers to various questions. ****porkupan. 1) Kindle 3 has added a lot of PDF features. There's search, there's highlighting (which only works for some PDFs), there are 5 contrast settings, there are 4 zoom levels, there's panning and incremental panning, and it generally handles PDFs very well. I've also noted that the point has to be confirmed as haven't tested PDFs on Sony 350. However, Sony doesn't mention anything new and on the 600 the PDF reflow wasn't very good at all. 2) Browser support becomes important because all the email services work and there's Article Mode which is like Readability - read just the text on a page. 3) Yes, valid on both counts. 4) That's true - Sony has better fonts. That's why put up a lot of photos. 5) Don't know much about this. 6) Have to test dictionary support on Sony 350. Will update the review if it's better. 7) You can't really compare wireless on battery life with wireless off. Kindle 3 is 3 weeks with WiFi, 10 days with 3G though some people aren't seeing that much. Haven't really tested that properly. The point about fonts is very valid and a few things have to test out more. Thanks for your comment. ************soondai There's no mention anywhere of a replaceable battery and the case certainly doesn't have any openings. Will confirm this if I find something - a quick search didn't show anything. ****************charleski 'Wireless' and 'WiFi' occur 9 times. 'Touch' occurs 11 times. For some people wireless is worthless and for some touch is worthless - However, each is a hugely important feature and differentiator. I have to mention everything since have no idea what particular features are important to a particular user. *************************Richey Sony does get its fonts right. Not sure how they manage to get such delicate edges in the medium sized fonts. Price is going to be a bigger factor than Sony realize. *******************************Pskhe Great question. Haptics of the case. Will be reading a few books on 350 in the next few days and will then be better placed to answer your question. You couldn't really get tired holding either - they are both very light. Sony 350 is incredibly light. It's literally a thrill as it seems physically impossible. Kindle 3, after reading a lot on it, is very comfortable. A few Kindle owners have complaints about the page turn buttons being placed where you would hold it. You can avoid this by holding at the back side edge. However, it is a slight issue. Next Page. Response time is indeed almost the same. Kindle - 9/10 Sony 8 or 8.5/10. Doing the touch based page turn is a tiny bit more effort. You could use the page turn buttons on Sony 350 but they are placed awkwardly. Kindle 3 you can hold it such that your thumb is on the page turn and then all you would have to do is push. A few things for Pskhe Note that there is a rumor that Amazon will extend free Internet browsing to outside the US. Sony 650 has option to upgrade space but 350 doesn't. Basically, for the two things you mention i.e. handling and page turns they are pretty much a tie with Kindle having slightly better page turns (easier/ less effort) and Sony 350 having lower weight. It really is a tie from what you're saying your needs are. Keep in mind that at some point of time the Kindle App Store will expand. Sometime this year or early next it'll debut in US and some time after that it'll probably go world wide so if you have interest in reading related apps (which will possibly be out) and games (which are quite likely) that's a small factor. ************** WT Sharpe thanks for the points on the PDF. With my 600 when a PDF font size is changed the tables and images often disappear. Which makes it readable. What do you do to avoid this? ************************* Thanks for the comments everyone - it's given me a good idea of what to keep in mind when playing around with the 350. It's good to see solid competition - hopefully Nook 2 is also very good and we get another round of price-cuts and features.