Official Sony PR re PRS-300/600

[Ea]

Originally Posted by SolRaven

I was wondering if the silver did that which is why I was originally torn btwn the blue and silver. I read a review that said that blue was so dark that it helped with the contrast of the letters. I suppose that's true, but since I don't have a silver 505 I can't say for sure. However, I do own a 700 and that has silver around the edges of the page. I have noticed that the silver becomes part of the page just as you said. With all that being said, I'm still not certain which color I'll get in the 600 but I am glad that I'll have my choice of 3. If that's my biggest issue w/ the reader, I'm going to love it!

Do you think the black helps giving an appearance of greater white/black contrast?

I considered both the red (love colour) and blue as well as silver, but in the end I went with silver, because it was the most in-obtrusive colour - and it's the first of four ebook readers I've owned that didn't have that 'device' feel when I use it.

[DrMoze]

I am sooooo on the fence here. I already figured out that I can gift my 505 to my gf (to replace her 500) and add library capabilities. But which new Reader do I want?? The 600 might be nice for the touchscreen, IF the screen quality is better than the 700. (I imagine they got that right this time w/o the lighting.) I don't need any dictionary or notes, but swiping page turns might be cool. Then again, the 300 might be pretty handy. Not sure how I'd feel about the 5" screen, but the handier size is a plus. I'll have to see it in person. Don't need any card slots (the internal memory will hold well over a years' worth of reading!), so the 300 is a possibility.

Decisions, decisions....

[SolRaven]

Originally Posted by Ea

Do you think the black helps giving an appearance of greater white/black contrast?

I considered both the red (love colour) and blue as well as silver, but in the end I went with silver, because it was the most in-obtrusive colour - and it's the first of four ebook readers I've owned that didn't have that 'device' feel when I use it.

As I was reading my reader today, I thought about the silver around the edges and realised that I never use my 700 without the lights on. When I turned the lights off, I can "see" the silver but can't say that I'd notice it when I was reading. I suppose if I read in natural or ambient light more often the color would make a difference, but with the light wedge on my 505 or with the front lighting of my 700, there will always be a strong contrast because of the illumination of the page.

From reading how much everyone loves their red readers I may look into it and not worry that much about it interfering with my reading. Although, I think the 505 in red looks much nicer than the 600 in red. The 600 may be a hard plastic like I suspect my 700 is, and the 505 is that gorgeous aluminum, so that may be the culprit. In the meantime, I've ordered a red skin for my 700 so I can test drive red before the 600's come out. Who knows which I'll choose on Aug 25th?

[informale]

Does anyone know if Sony will add normal Unicode fonts that would support all languages, not just English?

[macburn]

Need advice! I just purchased the Sony PRS 700 on July 21st from BestBuy online. I wish that I would have waited just a little while longer. For the most part I'm happy with it except for the glare issue. Because of that I have use the built in light and that really drains the battery. Should I just stick with my PRS 700 or should I try to return it to BestBuy and get the PRS 600 at the end of the month?
Thanks for any advice.

[rixte]

Originally Posted by macburn

Need advice! I just purchased the Sony PRS 700 on July 21st from BestBuy online. I wish that I would have waited just a little while longer. For the most part I'm happy with it except for the glare issue. Because of that I have use the built in light and that really drains the battery. Should I just stick with my PRS 700 or should I try to return it to BestBuy and get the PRS 600 at the end of the month?
Thanks for any advice.

I don't own the 700, so I'm mostly going on what I've learned from here - but I'd say the big question is how often you use the built-in light (it seems fairly often if it's draining your battery) and if you'd be happy without it, since it's the one thing you'd lose in going to the 600.

[Abecedary]

Originally Posted by macburn

Need advice! I just purchased the Sony PRS 700 on July 21st from BestBuy online. I wish that I would have waited just a little while longer. For the most part I'm happy with it except for the glare issue. Because of that I have use the built in light and that really drains the battery. Should I just stick with my PRS 700 or should I try to return it to BestBuy and get the PRS 600 at the end of the month?
Thanks for any advice.

If I were in your situation, I'd take it back to Best Buy and wait until the 600 comes out. Depending on what you think of it, you could then either get the 600, or if they still have stock, rebuy the 700 (possibly at a discount). But that's just me.

[mickitaz]

Interesting. I have been debating with myself over the past several months whether or not to buy the 700. I have been lurking in the 700 chats to read what the pros and cons were. Now that the 300 and 600 are coming out. I have more decisions to make.

I have been "seeing" that several people indicated that the new release is 08/25/09. I can't seem to find anything on the Sony site to confirm this release date.

What sort of irks me about Sony right now, is that their site currently does not have the lighted covers for the 505 anymore. Not to mention, even if I wanted to buy a new 700, it isn't there either.

I appreciate that Sony attempts to improve on a good thing and correct their mistakes. But it would also be nice for them to support previous products for those of us who may wish to wait.

[frozennorth]

Originally Posted by Abecedary

If I were in your situation, I'd take it back to Best Buy and wait until the 600 comes out. Depending on what you think of it, you could then either get the 600, or if they still have stock, rebuy the 700 (possibly at a discount). But that's just me.

I second that advice.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by macburn

Need advice! I just purchased the Sony PRS 700 on July 21st from BestBuy online. I wish that I would have waited just a little while longer. For the most part I'm happy with it except for the glare issue. Because of that I have use the built in light and that really drains the battery. Should I just stick with my PRS 700 or should I try to return it to BestBuy and get the PRS 600 at the end of the month?
Thanks for any advice.

First, I want to welcome you to MobileRead.

Second, I don't have an answer to your question, as that decision is entirely up to you. However, looking between the lines, I think what you want are other people's opinions. Trust me, you'll get plenty of opinions. Listen to them carefully, and see in what way their words are biased. You'll indeed get advice, but you must anaylze it to see what THEY are saying outright or between the lines.

Finally, let me again welcome you to MobileRead. We have thousands of free public domain and CC titles you can download. I've put together around 600 unique titles specifically for OUR Sony Reader. (Yes, I own one!)

Have fun here!


Don
(Moderator)

[BuddyBoy]

Originally Posted by Abecedary

If I were in your situation, I'd take it back to Best Buy and wait until the 600 comes out. Depending on what you think of it, you could then either get the 600, or if they still have stock, rebuy the 700 (possibly at a discount). But that's just me.

^^ What he said. I had the 700 briefly and sent it back deciding to stick with the clarity of the 505.

Touch screen is such a non-issue for me I've decided that I'm likely to stick with my 505 until and unless they bring out a 9 inch reader.

[mickitaz]

Originally Posted by BuddyBoy

Touch screen is such a non-issue for me I've decided that I'm likely to stick with my 505 until and unless they bring out a 9 inch reader.

I wholeheartedly agree. The only feature that would make me jump out and buy a new reader without a second glance; would be the lit back screen.

Since Sony proved they couldn't manage that feature successfully, I think I am going to wait and see with what they come up with next.

You know they will have another new model with in a year or so anyway.

[wachuko]

Has anyone seen any hands on reviews? All I want to know is how the quality of the 600 screen compares to the 505…

I need to buy two units (one for a gift) and held up on buying the 505 (since 700 were not available) waiting for the new products. Now that these are out I am still wondering if to go with the 505 or not.

If the 600 screen is close enough to the 505 then it is a no-brainer decision. I would love the touch screen capabilities with the added value of a dictionary.

I just got back from traveling (business meetings in Brazil and Chile) and went through four books… An eReader would have been sooooo handy during this trip.

Cheers!

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mickitaz

I wholeheartedly agree. The only feature that would make me jump out and buy a new reader without a second glance; would be the lit back screen.

Since Sony proved they couldn't manage that feature successfully, I think I am going to wait and see with what they come up with next.

No eInk device can have a backlit screen, for the simple reason that eInk is opaque. All that can be done is "side lighting", such as the PRS-700 has, and that then inevitably involves light diffusers, which degrade the image quality.

[khalleron]

Originally Posted by mickitaz

I wholeheartedly agree. The only feature that would make me jump out and buy a new reader without a second glance; would be the lit back screen.

Since Sony proved they couldn't manage that feature successfully, I think I am going to wait and see with what they come up with next.

You know they will have another new model with in a year or so anyway.

If you mean "back lit" screen, it is impossible to backlight epaper. The lighting on the 700 was from the sides.

If you want backligting, use some sort of PDA, although this is notoriously hard on the eyes.

Easy on the eyes or backlit - unless they come out with completely different technology - you can't have both.