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induna · 09-18-2010, 01:34 PM

Having spent some time using my new 350 last night, I just want to share some of my impressions. I'll try not to belabor what others have already pointed out.

First a little about my reading habits and preferences to provide a context for my observations. I have been using an e-reader almost daily ever since the PRS-500 was released. I've owned and used regularly the PRS-500, 505, and 600. I read fiction most of the time, but even the non-fiction I reed is the type meant to read through from beginning to end -- linear reading. I do not want my e-reader to have any type of wireless/Internet connectivity. I want it to provide the supreme pleasure of uninterrupted immersion in a book without any additional distractions.

That being said, I have to say that the I found my self more exited by the PRS-350 last night than I have by any e-reader since my first PRS-500. The screen is so good that it simply disappears from awareness while reading. I never had to think about how to hold the reader to make it easier to see, even in very dim light. I simply held it in a comfortable way, and it was always clearly readable.

The ergonomics are superb. It fits my hand well (although I do need a Tuf-Luv case for it) and the touch screen is a pure pleasure to use. It is much, much better than the touch screen on the PRS-600 -- more sensitive and more consistent -- with one minor exception I'll get to later. I think Sony has taken the e-reader to the smallest and most minimal form that is currently practical with the 350. If it were any smaller one wouldn't be able to hold it without touching the screen. Despite the tiny size and feather weight, the excellent touch interface still provides for a rich and highly usable feature set.

The PRS-350 is also fast -- noticeably faster than the 600, which was no slouch. Menus, dictionary lookups, note taking, finding books, resizing text, etc. all happen with a speed that makes the whole experience qualitatively superior to the 600.

I also found the build quality to be excellent. No it does not have the substantial feel of the 600 (or the 500 -- that thing was built!), but it is solid in the hand, nice to touch and has no visible manufacturing flaws, and is really light. (My example has no gaps in the corners of the IR sensor that surrounds the screen.) The fact that Sony has not chromed the plastic around the edges does not bother me at all. I actually think the white plastic looks much nicer on the silver reader than chrome would. Chrome would probably be nicer with a black reader though.

There is one way in which the new touch screen is inferior to the old. It has less resolution. The only thing this affects is handwriting and drawing. For example, I was able to consistently select the right word for lookup even with XS fonts. I could not, however, write nearly as well nor as small with the stylus as I could on the 600. I personally don't think this is much of an issue since I don't find hand-written notes to be of much use with e-readers. I think it is easier to use the keyboard to enter notes, and the new touch screen works very for selecting text to highlight and then attach type written notes to. However, if the ability to take hand-written notes, or perform detailed, free-hand markup is very important to you, you might need to look elsewhere.

I think that Sony has done a superb job with the PRS-350. It is an excellent product and worth the price premium.

09-18-2010, 01:34 PM	#1
induna Addict Posts: 230 Karma: 1500000 Join Date: May 2007 Location: San Vito de Coto Brus, Costa Rica Device: Sony PRS-500, 505, 600, 350, T1 Amazon Kindle PW1, PW2, Voyage	Impressions of the 350 Having spent some time using my new 350 last night, I just want to share some of my impressions. I'll try not to belabor what others have already pointed out. First a little about my reading habits and preferences to provide a context for my observations. I have been using an e-reader almost daily ever since the PRS-500 was released. I've owned and used regularly the PRS-500, 505, and 600. I read fiction most of the time, but even the non-fiction I reed is the type meant to read through from beginning to end -- linear reading. I do not want my e-reader to have any type of wireless/Internet connectivity. I want it to provide the supreme pleasure of uninterrupted immersion in a book without any additional distractions. That being said, I have to say that the I found my self more exited by the PRS-350 last night than I have by any e-reader since my first PRS-500. The screen is so good that it simply disappears from awareness while reading. I never had to think about how to hold the reader to make it easier to see, even in very dim light. I simply held it in a comfortable way, and it was always clearly readable. The ergonomics are superb. It fits my hand well (although I do need a Tuf-Luv case for it) and the touch screen is a pure pleasure to use. It is much, much better than the touch screen on the PRS-600 -- more sensitive and more consistent -- with one minor exception I'll get to later. I think Sony has taken the e-reader to the smallest and most minimal form that is currently practical with the 350. If it were any smaller one wouldn't be able to hold it without touching the screen. Despite the tiny size and feather weight, the excellent touch interface still provides for a rich and highly usable feature set. The PRS-350 is also fast -- noticeably faster than the 600, which was no slouch. Menus, dictionary lookups, note taking, finding books, resizing text, etc. all happen with a speed that makes the whole experience qualitatively superior to the 600. I also found the build quality to be excellent. No it does not have the substantial feel of the 600 (or the 500 -- that thing was built!), but it is solid in the hand, nice to touch and has no visible manufacturing flaws, and is really light. (My example has no gaps in the corners of the IR sensor that surrounds the screen.) The fact that Sony has not chromed the plastic around the edges does not bother me at all. I actually think the white plastic looks much nicer on the silver reader than chrome would. Chrome would probably be nicer with a black reader though. There is one way in which the new touch screen is inferior to the old. It has less resolution. The only thing this affects is handwriting and drawing. For example, I was able to consistently select the right word for lookup even with XS fonts. I could not, however, write nearly as well nor as small with the stylus as I could on the 600. I personally don't think this is much of an issue since I don't find hand-written notes to be of much use with e-readers. I think it is easier to use the keyboard to enter notes, and the new touch screen works very for selecting text to highlight and then attach type written notes to. However, if the ability to take hand-written notes, or perform detailed, free-hand markup is very important to you, you might need to look elsewhere. I think that Sony has done a superb job with the PRS-350. It is an excellent product and worth the price premium.