MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - PRS-600 Any news on next-gen readers from Sony?

cme · 06-14-2010, 04:58 PM

Just wanted to share my experiences with the 300, 505 and 600.

Yesterday I damaged my 505. I still am able to turn the screen on and flip pages, but some buttons don't work. Though being annoyed, I thought it was a good chance of getting a new reader

So after watching some videos on youtube and browsing mobileread forums for pics and reviews on the sony devices, I went to a bookstore today, which sells the sony readers, to see the differences for myself.

The 300 is very small - too small for my taste. Yes its light and easy to handle and maybe even pocketable with the right pants ..., but only having a 5 inch display is not really satisfying. Especially with an 4.3 inch display on my mobile phone ... But on the other hand contrast was fantastic and everything was perfectly sharp. And yes, it was definitely sharper than the 600 and the 505 (I took with me). But that was pretty clear to me, before handling the device. The screen resolution is the same on all of these devices and the smaller screen does the rest ...

After finishing my research yesterday, I was pretty sure, the prs 600 was the right device to follow my damaged 505. The glare seemed manageable (from what I have read and seen) and the slightly worse contrast acceptable. After having the device in hand, I think otherwise. The touch input works very well and the device is much faster than the 505 and the 300, and the build quality and style was convincing as well, BUT the lower contrast was just not acceptable. I really didn't think its that big, but unfortunatly it was. Even in the brightly illuminated store it was too hard on my eyes. The glare alone would have been okay, but the lower contrast is not - at least not for me. I see no point in having an upgrade on a reader, with worse readability. Makes no sense.

So in the end I got a new 505 ... again. Still the best device for reading only. Of course, the 600 has a dictionary, possibility to write notes and so on, but in the end, I personally really want to have a good reading device, not a gadget with reading capability. Sony really should check out those wacom touch panels ...

06-14-2010, 04:58 PM	#19
cme reader Posts: 89 Karma: 1245680 Join Date: Jul 2008 Device: PRS-650	Just wanted to share my experiences with the 300, 505 and 600. Yesterday I damaged my 505. I still am able to turn the screen on and flip pages, but some buttons don't work. Though being annoyed, I thought it was a good chance of getting a new reader So after watching some videos on youtube and browsing mobileread forums for pics and reviews on the sony devices, I went to a bookstore today, which sells the sony readers, to see the differences for myself. The 300 is very small - too small for my taste. Yes its light and easy to handle and maybe even pocketable with the right pants ..., but only having a 5 inch display is not really satisfying. Especially with an 4.3 inch display on my mobile phone ... But on the other hand contrast was fantastic and everything was perfectly sharp. And yes, it was definitely sharper than the 600 and the 505 (I took with me). But that was pretty clear to me, before handling the device. The screen resolution is the same on all of these devices and the smaller screen does the rest ... After finishing my research yesterday, I was pretty sure, the prs 600 was the right device to follow my damaged 505. The glare seemed manageable (from what I have read and seen) and the slightly worse contrast acceptable. After having the device in hand, I think otherwise. The touch input works very well and the device is much faster than the 505 and the 300, and the build quality and style was convincing as well, BUT the lower contrast was just not acceptable. I really didn't think its that big, but unfortunatly it was. Even in the brightly illuminated store it was too hard on my eyes. The glare alone would have been okay, but the lower contrast is not - at least not for me. I see no point in having an upgrade on a reader, with worse readability. Makes no sense. So in the end I got a new 505 ... again. Still the best device for reading only. Of course, the 600 has a dictionary, possibility to write notes and so on, but in the end, I personally really want to have a good reading device, not a gadget with reading capability. Sony really should check out those wacom touch panels ...