MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Elonex 511EB

Graham · 03-17-2010, 06:31 AM

I don't own a PRS-300 but played with one quite a lot in various shops, and I'm a previous owner of a Bookeen Cybook Gen3. The reasons I chose the Elonex over the Sony were:

Price. Even with the W H Smiths offer on the Sony, the Elonex came in £20 cheaper at Waterstone's, including the 4 Gb SD card. (My branch also kindly threw in the £10 eBook voucher. <grin>) You also get £3.89 back as points on your Waterstone's card.

Weight. The 5" PRS-300 is nearly 50g heavier than my 6" Bookeen. The Elonex is only 10g heavier. When holding the book for a long time this does make a difference to me.

Build. Although the Sony clearly has the better build quality, the Elonex does feel sturdy enough (it has a metal rim), and I actually prefer the feel of plastic to the cold metal.

Better ePub support. My understanding is that the Sony still can't fully justify text, and has other issues with ePub rendering, but please correct me if I'm wrong. (There may be a firmware update I'm unaware of.) Certainly in the shop I could only seem to get ragged right text.

Font size control. There are only three font sizes on both devices, but you switch between them with a single button press on the Elonex. This is great.

Same screen. My understanding is that both machines use the same screen. Certainly the quality looked identical when I compared them.

Note taking. Coming to the Elonex soon in a firmware update. While the lack of a keyboard makes the Sony look more stylish, the keyboard isn't intrusive on the Elonex and comes in useful for searching and (soon) taking notes. And if you want to, you can record voice memos.

Charging. Research suggests that the Elonex is easier to charge, and I can use one of my existing USB chargers, while the Sony either requires purchase of a more powerful Sony charger or a much longer link to an 'awake' PC.

Other features. Not a reason for my buying the device, but the audio facilities and text to speech on the Elonex are certainly fun to have. It actually has stereo speakers on the back. They don't give great depth to music, but they're more than adequate for podcasts or audiobooks. The volume is good too.

Graham

03-17-2010, 06:31 AM	#23
Graham Wizard Posts: 2,742 Karma: 32912427 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: North Yorkshire, UK Device: Kobo H20, Pixel 2, Samsung Chromebook Plus	I don't own a PRS-300 but played with one quite a lot in various shops, and I'm a previous owner of a Bookeen Cybook Gen3. The reasons I chose the Elonex over the Sony were: Price. Even with the W H Smiths offer on the Sony, the Elonex came in £20 cheaper at Waterstone's, including the 4 Gb SD card. (My branch also kindly threw in the £10 eBook voucher. <grin>) You also get £3.89 back as points on your Waterstone's card. Weight. The 5" PRS-300 is nearly 50g heavier than my 6" Bookeen. The Elonex is only 10g heavier. When holding the book for a long time this does make a difference to me. Build. Although the Sony clearly has the better build quality, the Elonex does feel sturdy enough (it has a metal rim), and I actually prefer the feel of plastic to the cold metal. Better ePub support. My understanding is that the Sony still can't fully justify text, and has other issues with ePub rendering, but please correct me if I'm wrong. (There may be a firmware update I'm unaware of.) Certainly in the shop I could only seem to get ragged right text. Font size control. There are only three font sizes on both devices, but you switch between them with a single button press on the Elonex. This is great. Same screen. My understanding is that both machines use the same screen. Certainly the quality looked identical when I compared them. Note taking. Coming to the Elonex soon in a firmware update. While the lack of a keyboard makes the Sony look more stylish, the keyboard isn't intrusive on the Elonex and comes in useful for searching and (soon) taking notes. And if you want to, you can record voice memos. Charging. Research suggests that the Elonex is easier to charge, and I can use one of my existing USB chargers, while the Sony either requires purchase of a more powerful Sony charger or a much longer link to an 'awake' PC. Other features. Not a reason for my buying the device, but the audio facilities and text to speech on the Elonex are certainly fun to have. It actually has stereo speakers on the back. They don't give great depth to music, but they're more than adequate for podcasts or audiobooks. The volume is good too. Graham Last edited by Graham; 03-17-2010 at 06:48 AM. Reason: Thought of more reasons.