Quote:
Originally Posted by ProfCrash
Or buy a K3.
I must be one of the few who liked the design of the K1...
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Nope, I too felt the K1 had the best design of all the Kindles to date. The wedge shape, rubber back and user replaceable battery were two of the great features. Yeah, the contrast is not good but it does offer a very solid and rugged construction compared to todays devices. But the major weakness was the way the navigation buttons worked. The pressed to the outside so it is very easy to accidentally activate a few dozen page turns simply when shifting hands. Of everything this was the reason I eventually shelved my K1 though I did work around it until being able to afford a new k2US then a couple K2i's.
I chose a PB360 as my stuff in my pocket reader and have not regretted it one bit. My 2-week flirtation with the 4th Gen iPod Touch was likely enough to turn to it as my stuff in my pocket reader but the low power Eink screen on the PB360 made it the clear winner for me in terms of carrying a single device with all I had in mind was reading. And it's integrated cover is the crowning feature.
As to the OP's choices, I don't think either is a bad choice. Both will work but remember both are also no longer supported, at least I believe that is the case. There will be no firmware updates for the K1 unless there is a format change at Amazon and if Epub were added to the Kindle readers, I highly doubt it could be added to the K1's firmware which could well just not have the system memory to shoehorn in the needed code.
Personally I found the original Sony 300 a pretty weak device. I loved the size just not the build quality. I believe the build quality of the original K1 will far out live the original PRS-300.
But ultimately it also comes down to if the OP wants to use the Kindle Store or can get buy with whatever formats the original PRS-300 can read. does it support ADE and library books? If so then that alone might make it a lot more attractive at the price, which is very good.
Oh, back to the battery thing. Remember lithium batteries do not really die slowly. Sure their charge capacity does reduce over time but it is not unheard of for a battery to be 70% of original at night then to wake up and find it will no longer hold a charge. That means a new battery. This is no big deal on the K1 with it's 2-minute user battery swap. With the Sony one need to learn how to crack the case open to change the battery or pay someone to do the job. And the Sony might be near to it's time where the batter should be replaced. Just a hidden cost that might not seem an issue today but tomorrow morning it could be the only issue.