PRS-350 PRS-350: any good?

[RKnack]

When I talked to my parents a couple days ago, they mentioned bringing my dead ("grid screen of death", which no matter what I do won't go away) REB1100 with me when I come for Christmas. Seems that Sony has a deal going on where they will give you $75 discount on a PRS-350, if you send in your old E-reader. The old one doesn't even have to be fully functional. My parents offered to make it a combined Christmas/early brthday gift, if I wanted to do that.

Sounds great to me, but I have no experience with the Sony readers. How good IS the basic PRS-350? And what useful accessories (like a light, maybe?) are available for it? And how hard will it be, or is it even possible, to convert all my .RB (Rocketbook) editions to whatever format the PRS-350 uses?

[SeaBookGuy]

RK:

You can buy a cover with an included light for the 350. That's a very nice gesture of your parents, a 350 makes a really nice gift, and what else do you do with a broken RB, besides either pay to have it fixed or toss it?

What features are you interested in, and which are less important?

I have the 650, slightly larger, SD card slot, and plays mp3 files (features I could live without in a gift). The touchscreen is amazing, the collections feature works well, and the dictionary is something I didn't think I'd use, but I do.

[RKnack]

Thanks! Reading its specs, it sounds like it will hold WAY more books than my REB, or even my EBookwise 1150 (even with a 64MB card in it). 1200 books is, I think, way more than I own in "dead tree" and electronic format combined!

Think I'll take them upo on the offer...

[SeaBookGuy]

Calibre appears to convert Rocketbooks to Epub; then again, it appears to do so PDF --> Epub, which has usually been a mess for me. I suggest you start a thread in the Calibre forum along the lines of "RB to Epub possible?" to learn of others' experiences; you may need to go to an intermediate step, such as TXT, to get that to come out okay.

[doreenjoy]

I love my 350. If you poke around this forum, you'll find several long threads from those of us who are happily reading on one.

[Joe Minton]

RKnack:

I have both the 350 and 650; both have the same functional features, both are fine. If portability is an issue, the 350 is the better choice. Otherwise, I'd recommend the 650. I realize that cost may be a factor and I wouldn't worry about that; the 350 is a wonderful reader and I am sure you'll not regret owning one.

Welcome to our little club!

Joe Minton

[Jason Green]

If you want something portable then the 350 is great, but it's just 2/3rd short of a full page.

So you feel like you are having to turn the pages more than a proper book.

[NNolan]

I have both a 350 and a 950. The screen clarity on both is terrific, and I love the touchscreens. I usually shift back and forth between the two readers, but when my arthritis is really bothering me I go for the 350 all the way.

[Lyn2012]

My first reader was the 300 and I was very happy with it. When the new readers came out, I upgraded to the 350 without a second thought. However, after a few weeks I realised I wasn't enjoying my reading anymore and eventually worked out that the screen was too small. I read very quickly, it felt like I was sort of swallowing a whole page at a time. So I sold the 350 and bought the 650 which I am very happy with. While I loved the weight and portability of the 350, the large difference between S and M fonts made the screen just too small.

[Dixiemsala]

After owning a Kindle 2 for close to a year, I purchased a 350 solely for library books. I love the size for portability but don't like the touchscreen particularly. Also, I use almost no features of it, other than downloading library books. Like Lyn, there needs to be a font between small and medium. However, after discovering the cut margins (I think that's what it's called--it does away with the margins, thus having more words on the page), I'm happier with it. I've also found that I actually can read the small font in the earlier part of the day, using the medium font at night when, evidently, my eyes are tired.

[viviena]

I have one. I love it. It's fantastic being able to slip it in just about any large pocket or handbag. Nothing beats its size and weight when it comes to using it out and about, or even just one-handed on the train, as others in this forum have commented. I'm not a particularly fast or slow reader, so the more frequent page turns don't faze me. It would be nice to have the SD card slot of the 650, but with 350's 2GB internal memory, I don't really care that much. My mp3 player does a better job of playing audio files than any ereader ever will. I'm happy with the 350.

I have played with the idea in the past of an ereader with a bigger screen, eink or LCD, to complement the 350, but it would be something much bigger, perhaps in the area of 10", rather than the extra inch that the 650 offers.

[injapan]

Originally Posted by Lyn2012

My first reader was the 300 and I was very happy with it. When the new readers came out, I upgraded to the 350 without a second thought. However, after a few weeks I realised I wasn't enjoying my reading anymore and eventually worked out that the screen was too small. I read very quickly, it felt like I was sort of swallowing a whole page at a time. So I sold the 350 and bought the 650 which I am very happy with. While I loved the weight and portability of the 350, the large difference between S and M fonts made the screen just too small.

Very interesting post. I was sort of wondering about that.
I bought my wife a 350 but I am thinking of getting a 650 for the above reasons and the card option

[NickC42]

I find the fonts on the 350 fine, generally using either XS or S depending on the light. XS gets plenty of text on the screen in the Epubs I've been reading.
I often read on the train and tube, and the portability of the 350 is great.
Nick

[RKnack]

Well, the dead REB1100 went out in the mail yesterday. Can't wait to get my new e-reader!

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by RKnack

Well, the dead REB1100 went out in the mail yesterday. Can't wait to get my new e-reader!

Well, be sure to report back on what you get. I have come to the conclusion that there is no one "right" EBR, even for one person. Instead, there's just the question of "fit for use."

As you can see, I have several* EBRs. The critical ones are my 350 and my Kindle DX.

The FFU for the 350 is Portability, pure & simple. This EBR goes with me any time I leave the house.

The FFU for the DX is Screen Real Estate. This device is my EBR for home reading, where I'm not cramped for space & can prop the thing on something when I read. I find that fewer page turns and more words on the page mean a great deal.

So the key to any EBR purchase is to make sure what your fundamental need is. If it's easy ebook purchasing, it's a Kindle or Nook, not a Sony! If it's battery life, it's a Sony or a Kindle or Nook, but not a color Nook. If it's absolute portability, it's the 350, hands down. If its semi-portability (briefcase or purse) plus a bit more reading real estate, it's any of the 6 inchers. If it's weight while you are reading, it might be the 350, or maybe the K3 or Nook or 650, but not the color Nook & certainly not the DX. If it's reading PDFs, newspapers & magazines it's the 950 or the DX.

Problem is, of course, choosing one FFU necessarily eliminates some other option. This is why I've ended up with more than one EBR. But if I had to pick just one, the 350 would edge out the Color Nook, because I just know I'd find myself leaving the CNook at home, and later regretting it.

Frankly, I think that the 6 inch screen EBRs are compromise EBRs, but the compromise is FFU for a lot of people. I even have one, my K3, but if I had to ditch one, that would be it.

* I own an iPhone and an iPad. I find that I don't read books on either one. I also have a Sony 300, which is the predecessor of the 350. (I've set the 300 up as my dedicated bathroom EBR, pretty much replacing the selection of fine bathroom pbooks I used to have stacked in there.) That I bought the 350 when I already had a 300 tells you how much I liked the 300. Well, the 350 is more portable (the 300 approaches the size of the 650,) has twice as many font sizes, and a much clearer screen.