Upgrading from a PRS-505

[ravenlife]

Hi guys,

Looking for a little advice on updating my ereader, I currently have a Sony prs-505 which I've had for some years

Things I hate about the 505

- glossy screen
- no dictionary

Things I love

- build quality (it really does work the same now as it did the day I bought it)
- case quality (again it's like it's new)

Things I would like
- a clearer screen (I believe it's called Pearl now?) it must be e-ink I can't read on LCD screens

Things I don't need
-3G
-any extra 'features' eg audio playback, pictures text to speech I want it to read books and look up stuff I don't know

I will consider anything from any of the companies and will be buying closer to Xmas time so the prs-t1 isn't out of the question. Though the glossy plastic is a con.

ability to further expand from the dictionary to Wikipedia would be a pro, aslong as it's actually usable (ie not slower that getting up and grabbing the iPad.

Cheers in advance

Richie

[rahulm]

I went from my 505 to a Nook Touch. I'm very happy with it.

[ravenlife]

Hi Rahulm,

I had ruled out the nook touch as I didn't think it was available in the uk, quick browse though shows some sites are selling them, will do some further research

Cheers

[polly]

I would not even consider a Nook if you live outside the US. B&N has made it very clear that they will not support them outside the US, even blocking them from receiving updates. Personally, I don't like that the Nooks treat books from B&N differently than other books.

The Sony x50 line is has a metal case and appears to be as solid as the 505s were. It also has the Pearl screen and a very nice OS.

[Panda Rose]

I have gone from a 505 to a Kindle. Although I think the Sony is a better machine, Amazon and Kindle make life so much easier. I use it purely for reading. I thought about taking over my sons Samsung Galaxy tab, but I ONLY want something to read from. I am very happy with the Kindle.

[rahulm]

Originally Posted by ravenlife

Hi Rahulm,

I had ruled out the nook touch as I didn't think it was available in the uk, quick browse though shows some sites are selling them, will do some further research

Cheers

I'm in Canada and I got it from the States. It's not officially supported, but sideloaded books work just fine.

For the UK though, perhaps the Kindle would be the best option since it is globally supported.

[ravenlife]

Polly,

you have a prs-650 could you comment on the screen glare please. Although the copy says that they are anti-glare i can cleary see glare on the video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFFucPammV4

While it could be that the camera is pointing a light directly at the reader. It's actually a very similar set-up in my living room, with a light behind my seat on the couch.

Panda Rose,

What are you reasons for saying the Sony is a better machine? Do you mean in terms of build quality or the UI (ala 'feel') when reading? Also would be interested to know about glare on the kindle too

Cheers again

Richie

[makincheez]

I just made the switch from the 505 to K3 yesterday. Though the Sony is metal the K3 would not , in my opinion, suffer any worse from a drop if it was in a cover of equal quality.

I find the screen quality better; slightly lighter background and substantially crisper text. I wasn't crazy about the function of the page turn buttons on the Sony; the K3 is a big improvement there. Screen seems a little less glossy to me than the 505 but then I didn't have any issue with it either.

As for "ecosystem" it's too early for me call but I am finding it easy and convenient to find free materials on Amazon that interest me. My existing library from the Sony is only a conversion on Calibre away from landing on the K3. I purchased the 3G with special offers. Like you, I may not need 3G but for only $25 more than the wifi only with offers it was worth it. Versus the $50 difference between the two versions without offers it was a good deal.

As a side note, I purchase a brown leather M-Edge Go cover and it works better than any of the three covers I had for the Sony. Should you decide to go with either Nook, K3, or maybe Kobo I think depends on how you acquire books. As for reading experience it's going to be hard to go very far wrong with any of the newer readers, IMHO that is.

[Tony1988]

Originally Posted by ravenlife

Polly,

you have a prs-650 could you comment on the screen glare please. Although the copy says that they are anti-glare i can cleary see glare on the video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFFucPammV4

Thats just normal glare. Any ereader in that kind of light will show it off. Heck your skin in that kind of light will glare. The screen of the 650 is not as shiny as the 505. It has no more glare than a k3, nook etc.

[ravenlife]

Originally Posted by Tony1988

Thats just normal glare. Any ereader in that kind of light will show it off. Heck your skin in that kind of light will glare. The screen of the 650 is not as shiny as the 505. It has no more glare than a k3, nook etc.

Thanks for the info, for me the prs-505 can be quite bad in a well lit (sunlight) room it's one of the reasons I want to upgrade so wanted as much info as possible. Ill try get to a store and check it out in the flesh.

@makincheez, a most helpful post, thank you

Richie

[polly]

Originally Posted by ravenlife

Polly,

you have a prs-650 could you comment on the screen glare please. Although the copy says that they are anti-glare i can cleary see glare on the video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFFucPammV4

While it could be that the camera is pointing a light directly at the reader. It's actually a very similar set-up in my living room, with a light behind my seat on the couch.

Panda Rose,

What are you reasons for saying the Sony is a better machine? Do you mean in terms of build quality or the UI (ala 'feel') when reading? Also would be interested to know about glare on the kindle too

Cheers again

Richie

Since the Kindle and Sony have identical screens, they also have identical glare in the right light. It does NOT have the glare problems that the 600 had. Even in bright sunlight, it only takes a slight shift to make it readable again. In comparisons with a friend's Kindle, I think that the black metal Sony has the least problem with dazzling sunlight off of the bezel. My silver Sony and the plastic on the Kindle both did an excellent job of reflecting sunlight into my eyes. An inexpensive silicone case fixes that problem.

Opinions on the UI are very personal, but I like the Sony best of all the ones that I've tried. It provides for lots of sorting options and has the most intuitive interface. I like the button placement for page turns and the fact that I can swipe the screen to turn the page. It's a very matte screen, so fingerprints don't show up on it. I routinely swipe the screen to turn pages. I've read four books on it since the last time I cleaned the screen and can't see any evidence of fingerprints.

[ravenlife]

Thanks polly,

Its looking like I'm swinging between the sony 650 and the kindle. Just a case of having a play with them now to see if i like the button placement, as you say its personal so what works for one might not work for me. I do like the idea of the touch screen now that you mention it.

I presume you can use touch gestures to select words for looking up in the dictionary?

Cheers again

Richie

[Hellmark]

I'd say go for another Sony (x50, or the T1). I love my 505, my girlfriend loves her 300, and the T1 is very enticing for me.

Kobos are good, but there are complaints about being buggy. Nooks generally are north america only, plus tend to have issues with trying to lock you into B&N (I've heard complaints on the Touch that it restricts you to 256mb for any non-B&N sideloaded books, despite having multiple gigs of storage space). Kindle, well, no support for any of the books you already have, so you'd potentially have to strip DRM and convert everything.

You complain of glare, out of curiosity, do you have a silver 505? In my experience, darker color readers seem to be better about it. I don't know if it is mental, or because the darker color absorbs more light instead of reflecting it. That's why I'm interested in the black T1.

[JSWolf]

I would say go for the 650 or the T1.

[polly]

Originally Posted by ravenlife

Thanks polly,

Its looking like I'm swinging between the sony 650 and the kindle. Just a case of having a play with them now to see if i like the button placement, as you say its personal so what works for one might not work for me. I do like the idea of the touch screen now that you mention it.

I presume you can use touch gestures to select words for looking up in the dictionary?

Cheers again

Richie

Yes, a double tap selects a word and opens a dictionary window. The x50s come with 10 dictionaries. Two English only (one British and one American) for word definitions and eight language dictionaries (to and from French, Italian, Dutch, German, and Spanish). You set the default dictionary, but can also select a different dictionary after you've chosen a word. A double tap in the corner bookmarks the page, a tap over the page number lets you move around in the book. You can also draw on the screen and enter text with an onscreen keyboard, but I've never had a need for those. The touch screen is especially helpful in books with footnotes or endnotes and periodicals with lots of navigation options.