Member
Posts: 16
Karma: 11
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Brighton, UK
Device: Sony Reader PRS-505
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Hi, own a Sony PRS-505 but got out of the e-book habit, in favour of audible on the smartphone for last couple years. I still pack the Sony for overnight trips, as I have a stack of books on there yet to read, but I guess the battery is going as it always needs charging before and after a trip.
But there's an author I want to read whose earlier titles are not available on audible, just Kindle, so used some Xmas vouchers, but despite my large Nokia 1520 6" smartphone, just couldn't get into the Kindle smartphone reading experience. Although the Sony was/is a great e-reader, it just seems a bit too heavy, wieldy and a bit 'needy' to want me to carry it on the daily commute.
So I was prepared to get a Kindle device, I'd bought a few books on Kindle since the demise of Fictionwise, and things like whispersync, and the audible compatibility made sense apart from ....
...I tried the current Kindle devices in Waterstones, and didn't like anything about them. In reality the £109 Paperwhite was the only realistic choice, but I didn't find it comfortable to hold, navigate, didn't like the look and feel, felt it seemed a bit cheap and flimsy for a premium device, and would need to budget for a £30 cover on top.
...I tried WHSmith with all the Kobo's - and a great offer on the Kobo Touch (£29), though again you'd need a £29 cover to make it usable. Yet they didn't give me a sense of quality, either in the hardware, or screen, and I'd seen complaints on the buggy software on here, as I'd prepped up on the current devices of choice. The Aura HD I was keen to see, but again felt unimpressed, especially at £129, and there was only 1 case available, again at £29. Again the device itself didn't feel comfortable to hold and navigate, and despite the extra screen size and resolution it felt way over-priced to me.
...then at the Sony store there was the T3. I instantly felt that it was the best looking of all the devices I'd seen. I then picked it up and the overall size and weight felt the most comfortable. The build quality seemed head and shoulders above everything else. Then using it, the grip and navigation felt natural, obviously the touch/swipe was new to me, but the hard page turn buttons still feel the most easy to use when reading. As for the screen/display it certainly matched anything else I'd seen, and I really couldn't perceive any noticeable difference between the supposedly superior Paperwhite, or higher rez/size Aura HD. And it was only £99 and included a cover. Yes, there's no light, but I never needed this before, and you do have the accessory option if you need it.
Most importantly it is slim and compact enough to carry every day, and the battery life thus far is exceptional. It certainly overall seems the ideal size, weight and form for me, it wasn't even a close comparison. Using Calibre, which fully supports the device, I've had no problems recovering and loading my library, from Lit to mobipocket, to e-reader, to latest Kindle.
I had no particular loyalty or bias to Sony, I started convinced the only choice was the Kindle paperwhite, but feel the T3 had by far the best overall quality, and in practical terms was the cheapest of the high-end devices.
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