Sony PRS505/500 Comparison Study and Pictorial - Page 2

Stu Segal · 10-30-2007, 07:14 PM

Thank you for your review. It was exactly what I needed to make the decision (which is, I'll stay with my PRS500 until there's a more significant redesign).

Thanks again. . . Stu

NatCh · 10-30-2007, 08:37 PM

You're welcome, Stu, that's precisely the sort of decision I was hoping to help folks make: whether to upgrade or not.

Trina Oliver · 10-30-2007, 10:20 PM

I'm a very proud owner of a Sony ereader 505. But I quite would love to see these enhancements:

a. Clock display should be placed at the lower right hand corner beside the page indicator. This is very important for a person like me who has the habit of snatch reading in between short appointments. It is a bit of a bother to keep on flipping back to Settings to check the time (HIGH PRIORITY).

B. Add foreign language works in the classics section of the eLibrary. I read French and Spanish classics, and although free foreign classics are available at other internet sites, I prefer the formatting used by the eLibrary.

C. The addition of the Bible among the classics selection would further dignify the Sony ereader.

D. I wish that there were a more versatile choice of fonts that would include Garamond. Garamond is the classic font for novels. Sony wants to achieve a book-like quality, they must go all the way by using this classic font.

--Trina Oliver

Stanart · 10-30-2007, 10:59 PM

C. The addition of the Bible among the classics selection would further dignify the Sony ereader.

I noticed this evening that the Connect store now has the King James version of the Bible in the classics. At least the cover looks like the typical classics cover and the price is $1.99, which would indicate a classic. Don't bother trying to find it through the classics section alphabetical listing. I couldn't. But it'll come up if you type the name in the search store area. Tonight they have it listed in the featured titles section at the bottom of the screen along with a bunch of Halloween and ghost story books.

BenG · 10-31-2007, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stanart

C. The addition of the Bible among the classics selection would further dignify the Sony ereader.

I noticed this evening that the Connect store now has the King James version of the Bible in the classics. At least the cover looks like the typical classics cover and the price is $1.99, which would indicate a classic. Don't bother trying to find it through the classics section alphabetical listing. I couldn't. But it'll come up if you type the name in the search store area. Tonight they have it listed in the featured titles section at the bottom of the screen along with a bunch of Halloween and ghost story books.

The Reader is fine for devotional reading of the Bible but is not really good for reference or for looking up a specific passage.

NatCh · 10-31-2007, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenG

The Reader is fine for devotional reading of the Bible but is not really good for reference or for looking up a specific passage.

That is so very true.

turtleclock · 10-31-2007, 02:25 PM

Btw, and this may have been mentioned elsewhere, can you change the text justification on the 505? On my blackberry I usually have the text in Mobipocket Reader left justified as I hate the large gaps in between words. I've only read etexts on palm devices and blackberries, but I'm thinking of picking up a 505 later this month, taking the plunge so to speak.

Chris

NatCh · 10-31-2007, 02:42 PM

Hmm, I didn't think to specifically check that, but the books I used on it looked the same as the 500 as far as justification goes. I think you might be able to make your own Left-Justified books in BookDesigner, but I don't believe the Sony has any built in way to switch it.

yvanleterrible · 10-31-2007, 02:46 PM

Every text I have on my reader shows some huge gaps between words and I hate them too. Some of them can be up to 20 characters long. I don't think you call this justification. Justification is as NatCh describes a vertical reference line that text aligns from.

NatCh · 10-31-2007, 02:50 PM

What you're describing is known as "Full Justification," yvanleterrible. It aims to align both the right and left edges by adding space between words as needed. I don't much like it either, frankly.

yvanleterrible · 10-31-2007, 02:52 PM

Thanks for that clarification. Is there a way to control this in BD?

kovidgoyal · 10-31-2007, 02:59 PM

No it's a limitation of the SONY Reader software, which very stupidly tries to full justify a line of text even when it is much shorter than the available width. You can see better justification behavior in my LRF viewer.

NatCh · 10-31-2007, 03:04 PM

I've seen it show short lines such as poetry in what appears to be Left Justification. I assume that there's something going on to produce that which BD might be able to arrange, but it may be that there's a hard return after each of the short lines. I haven't investigated that too much.

If kovidgoyal can't make it work, then I'd tend to think it can't be made to work.

yvanleterrible · 10-31-2007, 03:05 PM

Thank you kovidgoyal. I'll just be patient and refrain from denting the walls with airborne reading devices.

taralon · 11-03-2007, 11:18 AM

Mostly what I saw when I was able to hold and look at a couple engineering samples. I really wish that they had simply went for a button redesign on the 500, as I like most of the button changes (most notably the larger edge page change buttons and the removal of the toggle joystick) in the 505, but not the general form factor redesign. The movement of the screen and the wide open space at the bottom of the unit makes the screen seem *much* smaller than it is on the 500. Moving the number buttons to the edge of the screen, especially the edge with the page change buttons seems to be an ill thought move. I have on the engineering model I had in my hands for a couple hours a problem with hitting the 7 or 8 button instead of the page forward/page back button which after the second or third time becomes very aggravating.

10-30-2007, 10:20 PM	#18
Trina Oliver Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Sony ereader 505	CLOCK DISPLAY WOULD BE A BIG PLUS I'm a very proud owner of a Sony ereader 505. But I quite would love to see these enhancements: a. Clock display should be placed at the lower right hand corner beside the page indicator. This is very important for a person like me who has the habit of snatch reading in between short appointments. It is a bit of a bother to keep on flipping back to Settings to check the time (HIGH PRIORITY). B. Add foreign language works in the classics section of the eLibrary. I read French and Spanish classics, and although free foreign classics are available at other internet sites, I prefer the formatting used by the eLibrary. C. The addition of the Bible among the classics selection would further dignify the Sony ereader. D. I wish that there were a more versatile choice of fonts that would include Garamond. Garamond is the classic font for novels. Sony wants to achieve a book-like quality, they must go all the way by using this classic font. --Trina Oliver

10-31-2007, 02:25 PM	#22
turtleclock Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Oregon Device: Blackberry 8800, PRS-505	Btw, and this may have been mentioned elsewhere, can you change the text justification on the 505? On my blackberry I usually have the text in Mobipocket Reader left justified as I hate the large gaps in between words. I've only read etexts on palm devices and blackberries, but I'm thinking of picking up a 505 later this month, taking the plunge so to speak. Chris Last edited by turtleclock; 11-02-2007 at 04:17 PM.

11-03-2007, 11:18 AM	#30
taralon Enthusiast Posts: 26 Karma: 96 Join Date: Nov 2006	Mostly what I saw when I was able to hold and look at a couple engineering samples. I really wish that they had simply went for a button redesign on the 500, as I like most of the button changes (most notably the larger edge page change buttons and the removal of the toggle joystick) in the 505, but not the general form factor redesign. The movement of the screen and the wide open space at the bottom of the unit makes the screen seem much smaller than it is on the 500. Moving the number buttons to the edge of the screen, especially the edge with the page change buttons seems to be an ill thought move. I have on the engineering model I had in my hands for a couple hours a problem with hitting the 7 or 8 button instead of the page forward/page back button which after the second or third time becomes very aggravating. Last edited by taralon; 11-03-2007 at 11:23 AM.

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10-30-2007, 07:14 PM	#16
Stu Segal Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Just outside NYC Device: Prs-T1 PRS-300 PRS-505 PRS-500	Thank you for your review. It was exactly what I needed to make the decision (which is, I'll stay with my PRS500 until there's a more significant redesign). Thanks again. . . Stu

10-30-2007, 08:37 PM	#17
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	You're welcome, Stu, that's precisely the sort of decision I was hoping to help folks make: whether to upgrade or not.

10-30-2007, 10:59 PM	#19
Stanart Addict Posts: 223 Karma: 7385 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Central California Device: Handspring Visor, Sony PRS-500 Reader	C. The addition of the Bible among the classics selection would further dignify the Sony ereader. I noticed this evening that the Connect store now has the King James version of the Bible in the classics. At least the cover looks like the typical classics cover and the price is $1.99, which would indicate a classic. Don't bother trying to find it through the classics section alphabetical listing. I couldn't. But it'll come up if you type the name in the search store area. Tonight they have it listed in the featured titles section at the bottom of the screen along with a bunch of Halloween and ghost story books.

10-31-2007, 02:42 PM	#23
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Hmm, I didn't think to specifically check that, but the books I used on it looked the same as the 500 as far as justification goes. I think you might be able to make your own Left-Justified books in BookDesigner, but I don't believe the Sony has any built in way to switch it.

10-31-2007, 02:46 PM	#24
yvanleterrible Reborn Paper User Posts: 8,616 Karma: 15446734 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Que Nada Device: iPhone8, iPad Air	Every text I have on my reader shows some huge gaps between words and I hate them too. Some of them can be up to 20 characters long. I don't think you call this justification. Justification is as NatCh describes a vertical reference line that text aligns from.

10-31-2007, 02:50 PM	#25
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	What you're describing is known as "Full Justification," yvanleterrible. It aims to align both the right and left edges by adding space between words as needed. I don't much like it either, frankly.

10-31-2007, 02:52 PM	#26
yvanleterrible Reborn Paper User Posts: 8,616 Karma: 15446734 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Que Nada Device: iPhone8, iPad Air	Thanks for that clarification. Is there a way to control this in BD?

10-31-2007, 02:59 PM	#27
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,397 Karma: 27756918 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	No it's a limitation of the SONY Reader software, which very stupidly tries to full justify a line of text even when it is much shorter than the available width. You can see better justification behavior in my LRF viewer.

10-31-2007, 03:04 PM	#28
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	I've seen it show short lines such as poetry in what appears to be Left Justification. I assume that there's something going on to produce that which BD might be able to arrange, but it may be that there's a hard return after each of the short lines. I haven't investigated that too much. If kovidgoyal can't make it work, then I'd tend to think it can't be made to work.

10-31-2007, 03:05 PM	#29
yvanleterrible Reborn Paper User Posts: 8,616 Karma: 15446734 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Que Nada Device: iPhone8, iPad Air	Thank you kovidgoyal. I'll just be patient and refrain from denting the walls with airborne reading devices.

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