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WBS · 10-28-2006, 06:07 PM

Saw one in Borders at Newark NY airport at Terminal C. Bought it very quickly!

Sat in the Presidents Club for an hour before boarding the flight, reader on charge, silly grin on face as I stroked it(I was going to order one to go the the US office ready for the next trip).

1st problem, I travel fairly light and didn't have the CD/DVD drive for my laptop. No problem, I'll download it. Oh no I won't, dog slow connection speed and couldn't find anywhere to download it from (I've since seen all the comments on it not actually being on the Sony site). I've got a load of RTF books on a memory stick, I'll use that, oh no I won't, memory stick won't connect to the reader and can't transfer from the stick to the laptop to the reader as the software can't be loaded. Bugger, this is more difficult than I thought it was going to be.

Got onto the airplane 45 minutes before departure, with that and the now mandatory extra 45 minutes before pushback, I had an hour and a half to play with it. Read the online manual (not like me), drooled a little as I read it, and tried not to press all the buttons. It's very tactile, neat buttons that make a positive click when pressed, nice cover, wow! that screen. Started to read 1984 (again, but it was the first book in the menu list). 1st slight dissapointment, the cabin lights dimmed as they cut from land based to APU based power, help! can't see the screen. I should have realised but it was still a shock when it dawned on my there is no backlight and you need external lighting to see it! Not a problem, still grinning and stroking it!

2nd dissapointment, can't use the reader on the plane when they shut the cabin door - same rule apply as a laptop or cd/mp3 player. I tried communicating (no, I didn't argue) with the cabin services director but a curt 'if it's got a power button, it's gotta be turned off' made me put it down for the 30 minutes wait to take off and then the 10 minutes flying before the 'bing' sounds and normal service is resumed.

Bloody hell, this screen is clear. Even better if I make the text large, I can leave the reader on the tray table and eat dinner (managed not to drip the ice cream and chocolate sauce over it).

Later that night, when back at home, after having spoken to the wife and napped for a couple of hours, bloody hell, this screen is really clear! No pain just easy flipping through the pages, they might want to put some buttons on the right hand side or provide a remote control though (no complaining though).

The complaining started today. Connect software, good grief it's bad. I think I need to spend a little longer reading some of the forums on here. Connect site. Bugger, you need to have a US addressed credit card. Double bugger, you need a US address to get the $50 coupon. Trebble bugger, there's no sign of a date for launch in the UK. (looking at the state of the software, the downloading site etc, I think I may be in a beta program, only having paid for the privilage of joining).

So, reader 11 out of 10. Software and support 1 out of 10.
Still don't regret anything though.

Off to read the connect software forums and maybe search for pdfs of some books!

10-28-2006, 06:07 PM	#1
WBS Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Oxford, UK Device: Sony Reader	1st 48 Hours Saw one in Borders at Newark NY airport at Terminal C. Bought it very quickly! Sat in the Presidents Club for an hour before boarding the flight, reader on charge, silly grin on face as I stroked it(I was going to order one to go the the US office ready for the next trip). 1st problem, I travel fairly light and didn't have the CD/DVD drive for my laptop. No problem, I'll download it. Oh no I won't, dog slow connection speed and couldn't find anywhere to download it from (I've since seen all the comments on it not actually being on the Sony site). I've got a load of RTF books on a memory stick, I'll use that, oh no I won't, memory stick won't connect to the reader and can't transfer from the stick to the laptop to the reader as the software can't be loaded. Bugger, this is more difficult than I thought it was going to be. Got onto the airplane 45 minutes before departure, with that and the now mandatory extra 45 minutes before pushback, I had an hour and a half to play with it. Read the online manual (not like me), drooled a little as I read it, and tried not to press all the buttons. It's very tactile, neat buttons that make a positive click when pressed, nice cover, wow! that screen. Started to read 1984 (again, but it was the first book in the menu list). 1st slight dissapointment, the cabin lights dimmed as they cut from land based to APU based power, help! can't see the screen. I should have realised but it was still a shock when it dawned on my there is no backlight and you need external lighting to see it! Not a problem, still grinning and stroking it! 2nd dissapointment, can't use the reader on the plane when they shut the cabin door - same rule apply as a laptop or cd/mp3 player. I tried communicating (no, I didn't argue) with the cabin services director but a curt 'if it's got a power button, it's gotta be turned off' made me put it down for the 30 minutes wait to take off and then the 10 minutes flying before the 'bing' sounds and normal service is resumed. Bloody hell, this screen is clear. Even better if I make the text large, I can leave the reader on the tray table and eat dinner (managed not to drip the ice cream and chocolate sauce over it). Later that night, when back at home, after having spoken to the wife and napped for a couple of hours, bloody hell, this screen is really clear! No pain just easy flipping through the pages, they might want to put some buttons on the right hand side or provide a remote control though (no complaining though). The complaining started today. Connect software, good grief it's bad. I think I need to spend a little longer reading some of the forums on here. Connect site. Bugger, you need to have a US addressed credit card. Double bugger, you need a US address to get the $50 coupon. Trebble bugger, there's no sign of a date for launch in the UK. (looking at the state of the software, the downloading site etc, I think I may be in a beta program, only having paid for the privilage of joining). So, reader 11 out of 10. Software and support 1 out of 10. Still don't regret anything though. Off to read the connect software forums and maybe search for pdfs of some books!