MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - An answer to why I listed my Kindle 2 and PRS-505 for sale

jswinden · 08-30-2009, 03:25 PM

I recently purchased and received a Sony PRS-600. I already owned a Sony PRS-505, Amazon Kindle 2, and iPod touch (generation 1). After I got my Sony PRS-600 and used it for a few days, I listed my Kindle 2 and Sony PRS-505 for sale in the MobileRead Fleamarket forum. Another MobileRead member who is also selling a Kindle 2 sent me a message asking why I decided to sell mine and explaining that s/he was selling theirs and having a tough time with the decision to sell. Here is my basic response:

What I really liked about the Kindle 2:

Amazon’s vast catalog of books which is much larger than the Sony catalog
Ability to highlight text. The Sony PRS-505 only allowed you to bookmark a page, which wasn’t very helpful.
Ability to annotate text.
The built-in dictionary with automatic word look up.

What I didn’t like about the Kindle 2:

No touch screen so highlighting and word look ups were sluggish with the navigation button.
Slow processor. Both the Sony PRS-505 and Kindle 2 are very slow.
Battery drained a lot faster than the Sony PRS-505 battery, even with Whispernet turned off.
Lackluster Whispernet, but that was a Sprint issue and not a problem with the Kindle 2.
Lack of folder system for categorizing books.
Lack of PDF support.
Large case with terrible keyboard.

After receiving my Sony PRS-600 I was happy that it provided most of the things I liked about the Kindle 2, except of course access to the Amazon catalog. It also solved most of the things I didn’t like about the Kindle 2, as follows:

A touch screen with the quality and clarity almost as good as the Sony PRS-505 and Kindle 2 screens.
A fast processor. Typical page turns on the Sony PRS-505 with a large PDF file took appx. 7 seconds. On the Sony PRS-600 they take less than a second. It is truly a speed demon.
Good battery life.
Still no folder system, but Sony readers allow you to create categories for books.
Improved PDF support over the Sony PRS-505.
Excellent highlighting, annotation, note taking, and navigation ability via touch screen.
Software/virtual keyboard that is much better than the clunky keyboard on the Kindle 2.

The one thing that bothered me most about selling the Kindle 2 was access to Amazon’s eBook catalog, which is currently second to none. But then I remembered that I own an iPod touch and can purchase and view Amazon eBooks on it. The Amazon software for the iPod touch currently doesn’t allow highlighting are annotating, but hopefully those features will get added some day. With the iPod touch I retain access to all the Kindle 2 eBooks I purchased, plus I can buy new ones. After realizing that, I placed my Kindle 2 for sale.

Listing the PRS-505 for sell was a no brainer since the PRS-600 gave me everything I wanted the PRS-505 to be. The only caveat is that the PRS-505 still has the better screen, but the screen on the PRS-600 is pretty darn good!

08-30-2009, 03:25 PM	#1
jswinden Nameless Being	An answer to why I listed my Kindle 2 and PRS-505 for sale I recently purchased and received a Sony PRS-600. I already owned a Sony PRS-505, Amazon Kindle 2, and iPod touch (generation 1). After I got my Sony PRS-600 and used it for a few days, I listed my Kindle 2 and Sony PRS-505 for sale in the MobileRead Fleamarket forum. Another MobileRead member who is also selling a Kindle 2 sent me a message asking why I decided to sell mine and explaining that s/he was selling theirs and having a tough time with the decision to sell. Here is my basic response: What I really liked about the Kindle 2: Amazon’s vast catalog of books which is much larger than the Sony catalog Ability to highlight text. The Sony PRS-505 only allowed you to bookmark a page, which wasn’t very helpful. Ability to annotate text. The built-in dictionary with automatic word look up. What I didn’t like about the Kindle 2: No touch screen so highlighting and word look ups were sluggish with the navigation button. Slow processor. Both the Sony PRS-505 and Kindle 2 are very slow. Battery drained a lot faster than the Sony PRS-505 battery, even with Whispernet turned off. Lackluster Whispernet, but that was a Sprint issue and not a problem with the Kindle 2. Lack of folder system for categorizing books. Lack of PDF support. Large case with terrible keyboard. After receiving my Sony PRS-600 I was happy that it provided most of the things I liked about the Kindle 2, except of course access to the Amazon catalog. It also solved most of the things I didn’t like about the Kindle 2, as follows: A touch screen with the quality and clarity almost as good as the Sony PRS-505 and Kindle 2 screens. A fast processor. Typical page turns on the Sony PRS-505 with a large PDF file took appx. 7 seconds. On the Sony PRS-600 they take less than a second. It is truly a speed demon. Good battery life. Still no folder system, but Sony readers allow you to create categories for books. Improved PDF support over the Sony PRS-505. Excellent highlighting, annotation, note taking, and navigation ability via touch screen. Software/virtual keyboard that is much better than the clunky keyboard on the Kindle 2. The one thing that bothered me most about selling the Kindle 2 was access to Amazon’s eBook catalog, which is currently second to none. But then I remembered that I own an iPod touch and can purchase and view Amazon eBooks on it. The Amazon software for the iPod touch currently doesn’t allow highlighting are annotating, but hopefully those features will get added some day. With the iPod touch I retain access to all the Kindle 2 eBooks I purchased, plus I can buy new ones. After realizing that, I placed my Kindle 2 for sale. Listing the PRS-505 for sell was a no brainer since the PRS-600 gave me everything I wanted the PRS-505 to be. The only caveat is that the PRS-505 still has the better screen, but the screen on the PRS-600 is pretty darn good! Last edited by jswinden; 08-30-2009 at 03:31 PM.