PRS-600 vs 505 Video Comparison

[Scarpad]

I'm interested in the 300 as long as the clarity is the same on it, I'm wondering when some 300 impressions will hit.

[Be Szpilman]

Forgive the dumb question, never saw the 700 in person, but when you say glare (and maybe contrast too), does it matter when reading in the sun ? The PRS-505's a gem for reading in the sun, as long as you don't let it heat till the circuits fry, and I was wondering how the 700 compares (and consequently the 600) compares in that situation.

[corroonb]

Does the speed really matter? The PRS-505 is reasonably fast and you'll spend far more time reading than turning the page so contrast is quite important. Unless you're a speed reader or have huge fonts.

[rcuadro]

Originally Posted by Shaggy

Definitely. Looks like they made the exact same mistake they did with the 700.

Heck, it reminds me of the 700 minus the LED's

[Mr. Goodbar]

Originally Posted by Shaggy

Definitely. Looks like they made the exact same mistake they did with the 700.

Except this time there is no 505 to fall back on if the new units don't sell well. Sony seems to take one step forward, like standardizing on epub, and two steps back with models that have inferior screens.

It will be interesting to see what upcoming touch panel readers from other vendors look like. Will they suffer from the same loss of contrast or will vendors go with different technology to maintain the quality of the reading experience.

[richman]

are these new screen made out of plastic as opposed to the glass substrate in the 505? I don't know but that could be reason for less contrast, glass may be more clearer but more fragile than plastic or plastic composite-type screen. Anybody know?

[igorsk]

No, plastic screens are still not in production. And the glass substrate is on the bottom, not on top, so it doesn't really affect readability.

[JWLaRue]

In my opinion, that second video is all bit worthless until the very end where the depth of the black bar at the top of each screen can be seen......here the 505 sure looks like the winner. Otherwise the constant motion of the video camera makes any real observation of the screen impossible.

-Jeff

[Teddman]

Man, am I glad I bought a 505 in that Borders sale. I just hope Sony eventually makes another 6" reader without a touchscreen! Is the 505 discontinued for good?

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by corroonb

Does the speed really matter? The PRS-505 is reasonably fast and you'll spend far more time reading than turning the page so contrast is quite important. Unless you're a speed reader or have huge fonts.

Or if you do anything that involves cross-referencing or reading across multiple pages, or if you find yourself skimming around a lot. Problem is amplified by the fact that it's only a single screen.

The 505's slowness is pretty maddening for me. The 600 seems noticeably faster, but still not particularly usable for any kind of dynamic reading and navigation, and I think the 505's contrast is too low already, and would hate to lose more than I already have.

Pretty lousy tradeoff. Perhaps the 300 will be zippier...but maybe I'll just need to wait another product generation or two.

[fugazied]

eww, looks pretty poor. It seems they have opted for a cheaper capacitive screen, plastic instead of glass and it looks pretty awful (very bad contrast).

At least they are stepping in the right direction, I think touch will give us a lot more options for interacting with ebook devices. We might have to wait for the next gen with a glass screen. Still waiting for this Apple tablet as well...

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by richman

are these new screen made out of plastic as opposed to the glass substrate in the 505? I don't know but that could be reason for less contrast, glass may be more clearer but more fragile than plastic or plastic composite-type screen. Anybody know?

No. The reason for the loss in contrast is that the touch screen layer is on top of the screen. You are looking through it in order to see the eInk.

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by Mr. Goodbar

It will be interesting to see what upcoming touch panel readers from other vendors look like. Will they suffer from the same loss of contrast or will vendors go with different technology to maintain the quality of the reading experience.

IMO, this is one thing that iRex got right in their design. They have stylus touch screens (not finger touch), but since the touch layer is under the screen there is no effect on the contrast.

[sircastor]

I would like to see a comparison between the 700 and the 600. I wonder if the new screen is *any* better than the older one. I appreciate Sony's desire to make a touch device. I think it's a good idea, but this type of screen (resistive I believe) was the wrong choice. A high-quality capacitive screen (like the iPhone's) I think would be fantastic... I wonder what would be involved in replacing the screen on the 600.

[Riocaz]

Originally Posted by Shaggy

IMO, this is one thing that iRex got right in their design. They have stylus touch screens (not finger touch), but since the touch layer is under the screen there is no effect on the contrast.

Yep, much as I moan about iRex, that is one thing they did right. However I seem to recall that the touchscreen on a iLiad is part of it's power usage issue. Where-as a touchscreen of this type is doesn't have the same limitation.