[Prestidigitweeze]

You're making ad hominem arguments, Paola, which is bad enough, but you're also taking on the role of the ad populum Voice of Common Sense while doing so, which is bad form no matter what position you might be advocating.

Originally Posted by paola

The thread kicked off with a number of other brands, actually

You say actually as if (a) anyone had ever said the thread was entirely about two brands and (b) as if you were correcting the person you were quoting. Clearly you've read unstated meanings and motives into the text you've quoted and are asking and answering questions that are nowhere within it.

the variety of formats that PB can deal with, the availability of a micro SD card slot, and the fact that I can customize the functions of the device in many ways (ok, the themse are fun but inessential, but e.g. being able to reassigning functions to the various buttons is great).

I agree that the software on the PB360 is probably the most user-liberating of any I've seen on a reader. But there are at this point two custom firmware options for the PRS-350, and these, augmented by Calibre, seem to me to address the user's most important needs. There might be certain users who absolutely require the additional two file-type options of the PB360, and those people might be advised to choose that device, but that is a very specific issue involving those particular needs.

I can also agree that an SD card slot is a nice option, and it's one of the reasons I'd like to own a PRS-650 as well. But in terms of a portable reader, I don't find the need for a slot as compelling as I might in a smartphone. Every user is different, and people might have solid reasons for needing an SD slot, but in a highly portable reader, ergonomics, transparency of use, aesthetics, quality and readability can take precedence over certain geeky options no matter how much I might like the idea.

maybe you have other threads in mind, but re-reading this it seems to me we have all the usual "suspects" (Kindle, sony, etc)

Again, you're asking and answering points I never made or suggested. Do take care to respond to what MobileRead members are actually saying rather than attributing foolish ideas to them and then responding with jokes at their expense. Don't imply you're speaking to me when you're actually talking to yourself.

if you put it as above, your comments may come across very much like aggressive pimping for a sony, clearly you haven't tried a PB360

For the moment, let's put aside the logical fallacy in your assuming I haven't tried a PB360 because I prefer the PRS-350. Regardless of my noticing the problems with things like the attached case cover which can be damaged during use (which means that selling or gifting your old 360 means giving someone a scratched original device instead of simply taking off the old third-party cover and buying a new one) and the benefits of its UI, the more pressing concern is your ignorance of the meaning of the word pimping. To pimp (in the original sense used by Iceberg Slim) is not simply to praise one thing over another. It is to entice someone to effectuate a transaction. I've stated by reasons for preferring the 350; you might even say that I was asserting its superiority in terms of hardware (though, objectively, there's little to assert). But what you can't say is that I was doing things like linking to a purchase web site, telling the member who'd asked the question not to hesitate, to buy one today, that they wouldn't regret it, chatting about the great features as if in passing (which is a classic sales technique), etc., etc. I didn't go into that in detail for the simple reason that the subject was the foregrounding of one device over another rather than individual members' conduct, which is best not focused upon in a friendly user forum.

But you, my friend, are putting the focus on individual members rather than the devices being discussed.

Again, I urge you to stop. You're not being logical, you're attributing unverified motives to people and you're using the words they employ incorrectly in an attempt to insult them -- all of which is in bad faith not to mention bad taste.