Ok, day one is over, I'm still not over the "gadget crush" but I think I can offer a few words or reasonably impartial comments:
1. Reader light cover - I was a bit concerned that the light won't be bright enough (1 AAA battery). To be frank, it's nowhere near the Mighty Bright which takes 3 AAA batteries, but it's quite readable in full darkness. Even in low ambient light, the additional light it provides seems to make the screen "crisper".
The cover makes the reader somewhat wider by about 1 cm I would say. The spine of the cover is not as "firm" as the original so when I'm reading it sometimes the reader seems to be slightly askew. This however has no untoward effect on the reading experience or handling.
My biggest gripe is that I cannot carry the reader in the protective cover any more, as it won't fit!
2. Reading experience (ergonomics) - I am new to the world of touch screen e-readers. I tried using the finger swipes at the beginning and wasn't terribly impressed. However after a while I got the hang of it. It seems to require a bit more finger pressure than I would assume. I think I like it now. It doesn't work for single hand reading though. For this, I found that the buttons work just fine (I'm left left handed
). It's also nice not to have to push mechanical buttons to flip pages. Finger swipes are completely silent.
Note taking works reasonably well but if you are used to Wacom you will be disappointed trying to take hand written notes. The screen needs a lot more pressure with the stylus making writing notes a chore. The on-screen keyboard is pretty responsive, but I haven't played with it much.
3. Reading experience (screen quality) - I like the additional real estate on the screen. I seem to prefer the Medium font size and even with this, there's plenty text on the screen. The page turns are quick, very, very quick (compared to the old Iliad).
I found that the screen glare issue is completely manageable with a slight tilt of the reader. The worst light for reading is office cold florescent type. Even under these conditions, a slight tilt makes the glare monster go away
.
I tested it outdoors under the harsh desert sun and it's ace. Both in the shade and in direct sunlight. I don't think however I will be reading outdoors much in the months to come with the temperature rising up to 36C already.
Having said this, my wife doesn't like it when compared to her PRS-300 screen. She reckons her screen is a lot better, but I think that may have to do with the fact that her reader is pink
.
4. Reading experience (formats and UI) - This is what we buy readers for, right? PRS-900 worked so well for me that I almost forgot to comment on format support
I had preloaded Calibre already with some books in anticipation (I'm definitely donating some money to the Calibre project after this - it's absolutely awesome!). I've tried EPUB and PDF. EPUB is fantastic, and PDF works really well too. I find test re-flow to work really well for techie books. If you don't like re-flow, change screen orientation to landscape and you're away.
The dictionary works well too. All in all - superb!
Menus leave a bit to be desired IMHO. I have prefer a ribbon or a toolbar which would pop-up at the bottom of the screen as oppose to the Options pop-up menu. Lack of button driven screen orientation change is also a let-down (disclaimer: I haven't read the manual yet - that option may well be there).
The main screen and book browsing works well. Overall touch screen experience is pleasant. Almost no delays in executing taps, other than when opening e-books.
Alrighty, that's it from me for now. I'm very happy with the product so far. I tried taking some pics with my mobile phone but they are shockers and won't do the justice to the device. I'll try my Leica over the weekend and see how it goes.
Cheers,
m-reader