WARNING: Screen is so bad that...

[TheRealBillc]

I have a Sony PRS 700 and I love the thing. If you hold it at about a 30 to 45 degree angle I don't see any glare. Yes the screen does not have the contrast of the 505 or the clarity, but it's very readable. By now I've read several thousand pages on it in all lighting conditions. I don't feel dizzy or faint. I like the touch screen and the other features you guys with the 505's don't have. I agree that a better upgrade would have been a better book store with cheaper books and WiFi, but I decided not to wait for that. There is a lot of personal preference to this decision. You really need to look at one, or be prepared to return it, than to reject it based on someone else's impression. And you need to consider your needs, the OP really seems to have needs that would be better satisfied with a Kindle. My wife tends to read books by well known authors, typically best sellers, and she doesn't like to wait for the paperback. She doesn't drive, so she only gets to the book store when I take her. We decided she should get a Kindle 2 (she already has an iPhone, but thinks trying to read on one, with her vision issues, is ridiculous). I have no preference for any particular machine. We have different needs and we should all choose different devices. Isn't it great we live at a time that we have choices, with more coming all the time?

[pengrus]

Originally Posted by Server

Wilsonwong:

What's so bad, is to be swayed by minority influence and not even realize
the stack of first time posters slamming the Sony reader just in time for pre/post
launch of the fugly kindle release. One has to wonder that companys still
orchestrate bashing campaigns to make their own product seem superior
for thier own lack of innovation and or inability to appeal to the masses.

But hey,. thats just my thoughts.

Readers Beware.... or at least be Aware...

You are overly suspicious. Take it easy and relax a bit... Don't always suspect. My post will serve just that, an enough warning so that readers don't have to go through the trouble and waste their precious time.

[tayiu]

NO, it is not paper. I have the same problem of reading my prs-700 too.

[LianneB]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

Wind turbines kill birds.

See, heres the thing.

No matter what you do, which source of energy you go for, there is a downside.

Uh, not quite. Do a google and you will find lots of stats that show that a bird has a *lot* more to worry about than turbines: cats, lit buildings, power lines, pesticides, cars, and other things that kill birds all rate far higher in mortality than turbines.

In the long run, wind turbines are probably safer for birds that a lot of other forms of electrical generation.

[LianneB]

BTW, I bought my 505 last fall, just before the release of the 700. I considered waiting, but didn't want to pay that much extra for features that I didn't *really* want. Plus, the salesman at the Sony Store I went to said that the 700 was out in Japan, and that the new screen had issues.

Plus, the 505 came in Sangria red.

Based on that, I decided to go with the 505 and spend the extra money on a five year extended warranty.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by LianneB

Uh, not quite. Do a google and you will find lots of stats that show that a bird has a *lot* more to worry about than turbines: cats, lit buildings, power lines, pesticides, cars, and other things that kill birds all rate far higher in mortality than turbines.

In the long run, wind turbines are probably safer for birds that a lot of other forms of electrical generation.

'SIGH. Did I say there were no other dangers to birds? Wind turbine farms kill birds. Period. Again, regardless of which power source you go for, there is a downside.

It may not be important to you, but think of the birds.....

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by TheRealBillc

I have a Sony PRS 700 and I love the thing. If you hold it at about a 30 to 45 degree angle I don't see any glare. Yes the screen does not have the contrast of the 505 or the clarity, but it's very readable. By now I've read several thousand pages on it in all lighting conditions. I don't feel dizzy or faint. I like the touch screen and the other features you guys with the 505's don't have.

i have a 700 and love it too. the screen is somewhat inferior to a 505 screen, but i find it quite legible nonetheless, and the improved ergonomy and added features with the touchscreen more than compensate for that. that's not to say that i won't upgrade one day ; the 700 is good, and for me it's better than any other liseuse available right now, but it's not perfect yet. but it's definitely not the abject failure some people seem to think it is. it's just not right for everyone.

We have different needs and we should all choose different devices. Isn't it great we live at a time that we have choices, with more coming all the time?

yes, exactly.

[Boxdoc]

My first e reader is the 700, so I truly don't have anything to compare it to. I love it, and this may sound trivial, but the feature I like the best is the light. I read in bed and my wife loves it that I don't have the room light on while she's trying to sleep. no complaints about the screen. It is not perfect, but no regrets.

[Ervserver]

WHAT ! c'mon there has to be something you don't like about it....any dust? rub marks? how about the battery life? That Sony emblem on the front...wouldn't you like a different font?

Originally Posted by Boxdoc

My first e reader is the 700, so I truly don't have anything to compare it to. I love it, and this may sound trivial, but the feature I like the best is the light. I read in bed and my wife loves it that I don't have the room light on while she's trying to sleep. no complaints about the screen. It is not perfect, but no regrets.

[Lemurion]

I'm still reading on LCD (Palm TX) but this spring I'm going for an E-Ink reader. Right now it's between the 505 and the Kindle 2 with the K2 edging ahead.

I saw the 505 and the 700 side-by-side at Borders, and that was enough for me to rule out the 700. I'm going to be using the device for reading, so the screen is the single most important feature and I will not pay more than the price of a 505 for a device with an inferior screen. Sony did some very cool things with the 700, but I don't think any of them were worth the cost to the screen.

[ChelC]

I decided to head to borders for the side by side comparison, too. I have to say I am still very excited about my 700, but was disappointed about the difference. All the coolness of the e-ink seems lost on the 700. It doesn't look at all like e-ink to me it just looks like your typical digital screen- not paper like. I still think it's very readable, but the videos and pictures I've seen on the web really don't show how drastic the difference is. I still think that for myself, the benefits outweigh that, but if you struggle at all with vision or eye strain, I would stick with the 505.

I just wish I'd known before placing my order that Borders had them... I'm stuck waiting for it to cross the country and I'm wondering if they sent it pony express.

[Stingo]

I drove well over a 100 miles in order to hold one in my hand before buying. I went to the Sony Store in Boca Raton Florida. I walked in the store and saw the 700 and the 505 in a group display. I was astounded that at a distance of 5 feet I could already see a clear difference between the white gray back ground of the 505 screen and a murky brown green background 700 screen. I sat there for 15 minutes playing with the 700. I did not even come close to liking it. In fact, I bought a second 505 for my wife. The 700 reminded me of how good the 505 screen was.

I know some people on the forum own the 700 and love it. That is good for them. May they get many years of great use from the device. For me:

• The reduced readability is deal breaker #1. Readability is not a negotiable exchange for any other feature.
• Touch feature is a. not necessary b. not a great idea unless you use a stylus or you like living with smudges and streaks on your reading surface.
• Case is kinda ugly to my eye but, you know what they say about the eye of the beholder.
• Additional speed is nice but...not enough to overcome the other negatives by far.

To me, the 700 is akin to Apple coming out with the Ipod Touch but limiting it to 128kbs files.
Lets keep our fingers crossed for the PRS705.

[pengrus]

Stingo,

Very helpful review. Thanks for sharing it with us here - that is a great effort by driving 100 miles. I really hope this thread serves as good warning for people who are considering PRS-700.

[sigma8]

Originally Posted by akira28

The decision to go with a touch screen is not the problem that causes issues with the clarity, but it was the decision to use a matt finish which messed things up. [snip] Had Sony left the surface clear, as Apple did on the iPhone and iPod Touch, I believe the glare would still be there but it would be much easier to manage since the reflected areas would not be so large and the clarity would not have been affected.

Remember that those Apple screens are capacitive touch-screens. They're picking up electrical impulses. The PRS-700 (and PDA's) have resistive touch screens, which work through mechanical pressure. I'm pretty sure the latter require the mechanical layers to be in front of the display, I don't know enough about screen design, but I can imagine that might have limited Sony's options.

I'm not ruling "stupid decision" out, but I have to wonder if it's really so clear cut. Anti-glare stuff is usually matte. The 505 is matte, just like the 700. It's just not as reflective, so when it's distributing that glare, there's not as much to distribute. The touch sensitive layers may be responsible for reflecting so much light back in the first place, which would be ugly glare whether matte or gloss.

Originally Posted by sigma8

Remember that those Apple screens are capacitive touch-screens. They're picking up electrical impulses. The PRS-700 (and PDA's) have resistive touch screens, which work through mechanical pressure. I'm pretty sure the latter require the mechanical layers to be in front of the display, I don't know enough about screen design, but I can imagine that might have limited Sony's options.

I'm not ruling "stupid decision" out, but I have to wonder if it's really so clear cut. Anti-glare stuff is usually matte. The 505 is matte, just like the 700. It's just not as reflective, so when it's distributing that glare, there's not as much to distribute. The touch sensitive layers may be responsible for reflecting so much light back in the first place, which would be ugly glare whether matte or gloss.

Like you I am not an expert on these screen designs, however, the 700's screen is hard, without a plastic sheet, ala a PDA. This in addition to the fact that it incorporates finger gestures leads me to believe that it is not resistive or mechanical.

Although both the 505 and 700 screens may be anti-glare to different degrees, I believe it is the distance from the e-ink screen to the touch screen on the 700 that makes the difference in the clarity. Sony may have believed this design necessary to incorporate the LED front light.