With all the recent
buzz about Kindle 2, it's easy to ignore the alternatives. David Pogue of the NY Times just got his hands on a Sony PRS-700, which is built on similar hardware as the K2 (both use Vizplex E-Ink, a Freescale i.MX31L CPU and the Epson Broadsheet controller).
Mr. Pogue likes about the Sony:
- it's "gorgeous", made of "sleek black metal", provides a "better margin" around the screen - in comparison the K2 still looks like it was designed by the "makers of the Commodore 64"
- it has a touch screen and built-in illumination
David doesn't like about the Sony:
- contrast "suffers" and there is an "annoying" reflective glare due to the additional touch screen layer
- requires a PC (Windows only) for getting content - "a ritual that feels extremely ancient and creaky once you've tasted the bliss of the Kindle's instant cellular downloads"
- Sony e-books are priced higher and the Sony store contain fewer titles - "under 100,000, compared with Amazon's 240,000"
His verdict: "What the world really wants, of course, is an e-book reader with Sony's design panache and Amazon's wireless bookstore." I couldn't agree more.
Article:
Sony PRS-700: The Other e-Reader
Related: New York Times review: K2