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Here's my first impressions of my new Sony 600. Please keep in mind that this is my very first ereader, and I'm reading my very first book on it. I wasn't even able to play with one in the store before I bought it. Plus, I just bought it 2 days ago, so I haven't had much time to experiment yet.
Pros:
It feels good in my hand. It seems to fit nicely, the page turning button is in just the right place for me. It looks good too, and it's nicely weighted in my hand.
Cons:
It froze as soon before I even had a chance to start using it. And later it froze again. It didn't come with a user manual (grumble grumble...NOTHING has user manuals anymore!), just a quick start guide. The Sony site doesn't have the user manual findable by menus. Luckily, my husband has great google-fu and was able to find it for me. Once reset, everything seemed to work ok. At least until it froze again.
I'm not too happy about the fact that recharging requires that the computer it's connected to can't go into a sleep/hibernation mode.
The software isn't very user-friendly, and looks a bit dated. Buttons with no labels, buttons in odd places, buttons that make things disappear. For some reason, some of my books go into my Sony library and some into my ADE library. I haven't figured out if I can/how to combine all the books into one yet. Maybe that's what Calibre is for. Haven't gotten that far yet. I made the mistake of moving the files after downloading, but luckily I was surfing here and discovered my mistake before reconnecting the reader. I got the links reconnected, and so that was fine. But still...just another way the software doesn't work well.
Reading: The screen contrast isn't bad most of the time, but I have a hard time in low-light situations. I know it's supposed to be easy on the eyes, but mine felt strained after an hour or so last night, even after I increased the font. I really wish it had a contrast more like a paper book, with a soft white background, rather than medium gray. The screen glares, as everyone has said. It's not too annoying in a well lit place, but not so good last night when I needed more light, but got too much glare when I turned it towards the light. I guess that's why they sell the book lights with the covers.
It didn't take long at all to get into the book and forget about the medium. My biggest problem was trying to decide which book to read first! 20 brand new books all at once, I was in heaven!
The book I chose to read first was a PDF format. The small font showed a full page, but the print was sooo tiny! I prefer reading that particular book at a medium font, or large for low lighting. The issue with enlarging the font though is that it messes with the formatting. I have blank lines where there shouldn't be, and no lines breaks where there should be. Conversations, where each character's dialogue should be on a separate line, are all in one line. It messes with the flow of my reading a bit. Hopefully other formats won't do that.
Pro/Con??: It's heavy. It feels good to hold it in my hand, but I was surprised at the weight of it. Part of my reasoning for buying an ereader was to eliminate carrying books in my luggage when I travel. It'll eliminate the bulk of carrying multiple books, but I'm not sure it'll eliminate much weight.
Despite the longer cons list than the pros list, I really love it and I'm glad I got it. I was just a bit surprised that the technology doesn't seem quite as up-to-date as other electronic gadgetry.
(sorry this turned out so long...hopefully it'll help someone else looking for an ereader.)
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