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dhbailey · 03-28-2007, 07:29 AM

I just bought mine last Sunday, having waited for a few weeks since deciding I wanted one and I can only say that it is better in person than I had imagined. I love it!

I don't think you need the cradle at all -- I see no problem with laying mine on my desk and hooking up the USB cable to transfer books, nor do I have a problem with laying it on my desk to charge from the included AC adapter.

I haven't dropped mine yet, but it seems rugged. The switch and buttons seem solid and should hold up to normal usage (whatever that is.) I had no problem authorizing my Reader at the Sony Connect website, nor did I have any problems downloading to my computer the books I purchased and I have had no problems transferring books between computer and Reader.

If yours is a used unit, you should definitely download the firmware update and install that because it supposedly gives longer battery life when playing mp3 files.

It is a text reader, it is not an interactive device, so while some on this forum have stated desires for search capabilities or for annotation capabilities, I feel it does just what it says it will do very well and think that if it gets fancier with interactive capabilities it will simply become a Palm-type handheld with a larger screen, something I don't think will be good.

The only weakness I can see with it is the way it handles PDF files. PDF files which are predominantly text are pretty good, but those which consist primarily of graphics are not very good.

New units cost $349.99 practically everywhere, so anything less than that would be a good price. Add in the $49.99 price of the cradle, and the list price for what you'll be buying is $399.98, but since the cradle is totally unnecessary in my opinion, paying anything over $349 is too much.

You should read the various threads on this forum, especially in the Content sub-forum, to find out all the terrific materials already available as well as the great tools available to convert files which you can get free at Project Gutenberg and other places on the 'net.

03-28-2007, 07:29 AM	#3
dhbailey Guru Posts: 604 Karma: 733 Join Date: Mar 2007 Device: HP iPAQ211 / PRS 500, 700 and 505	I just bought mine last Sunday, having waited for a few weeks since deciding I wanted one and I can only say that it is better in person than I had imagined. I love it! I don't think you need the cradle at all -- I see no problem with laying mine on my desk and hooking up the USB cable to transfer books, nor do I have a problem with laying it on my desk to charge from the included AC adapter. I haven't dropped mine yet, but it seems rugged. The switch and buttons seem solid and should hold up to normal usage (whatever that is.) I had no problem authorizing my Reader at the Sony Connect website, nor did I have any problems downloading to my computer the books I purchased and I have had no problems transferring books between computer and Reader. If yours is a used unit, you should definitely download the firmware update and install that because it supposedly gives longer battery life when playing mp3 files. It is a text reader, it is not an interactive device, so while some on this forum have stated desires for search capabilities or for annotation capabilities, I feel it does just what it says it will do very well and think that if it gets fancier with interactive capabilities it will simply become a Palm-type handheld with a larger screen, something I don't think will be good. The only weakness I can see with it is the way it handles PDF files. PDF files which are predominantly text are pretty good, but those which consist primarily of graphics are not very good. New units cost $349.99 practically everywhere, so anything less than that would be a good price. Add in the $49.99 price of the cradle, and the list price for what you'll be buying is $399.98, but since the cradle is totally unnecessary in my opinion, paying anything over $349 is too much. You should read the various threads on this forum, especially in the Content sub-forum, to find out all the terrific materials already available as well as the great tools available to convert files which you can get free at Project Gutenberg and other places on the 'net.