Is the PRS-505 still considered the best Sony Reader model released so far?

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

What was going through Sony's tiny little minds, anyway, when they decided to discontinue the best product in the line? In my dreams, they'll come out with the 510, with more internal memory, the PRS+ enhancements built in, and some respect for the author_sort field.

Yes, I keep wondering what they have in mind for the next generation.

Don't go with the 300s lack of card expansion, forget shiny/reflective screens, add better author/title organization options, scrap that crappy mp3 player-thing, etc.

Originally Posted by kennyc

Never tried the red pill....silver is the light and the glory!

I find the red bezel makes reading a lot easier. More contrasty maybe.

[sherman]

I really like like my 505

The main problem I have with it is the processor is just too damned slow! Otherwise it's a great device

[Mike_73]

The 505 is a great device and I kept it for my wife after upgrading to the 600. IMO Silver is the way to go
It just feels the most contemporary to me.

I loved the 505s "hackability" and screen, but love the extra pdf-functions like zoom and pan of the 600 even more. If Sony were to make a new device, I would love to see the "605" having the same readability as the 505, the touch thingy (finger and stylus), PRS+, maybe a calendar, File organization on device and a faster, much much faster processor.

[RSaunders]

The 505 is Sony's best device for reading books. Perhaps some future version of the 600 and 900 will make the touchscreen worth the glare, but not so far. Before the color war goes any farther, remember you can always be stylish in a DecalGirl skin.

I have a Kindle, and the space wasted by the keyboard is a shame. It's a good device with good battery life, as long as you keep the radio off. Oh yeah, the radio was supposed to be a feature - NOT. I've only used an iPad in the store. It's never going to have the battery life of an eInk device. It might be good for doing lots of other things and reading occasionally.

If you want to sit and read for an hour a day, on the train, in the evening, whatever. The 505 is the best device out there. I like the suggested 510 in this thread, the 600 processor does seem quicker, but I'll keep my plain old buttons with no glare and two week battery life until somebody makes one.

[Mike_73]

I'm quite ok with the 600 battery life. I too use my reader daily for about an hour and get 1 week of battery life if I keep the reader on standby (I did this for about 4 weeks to see if there is deviation from charge to charge due to slightly different usage).
I then tried to completely power down the device every night (turn it on the first time you read, turn it off the last time in the evening, keeping it standby in between) and, to my surprise, I got 1 week and 3 days and still had the last battery bar available. I assume it would have been good for 11 days which isn't quite bad and pretty close to my old 505. With about the same reading habits, I also had the 2 weeks.

The Kindle has a radio??? Who needs this in a book. I didn't even try out the mp3s on my Sonys. Music or TV in the background distracts me and after a long day at work with meetings and a big office full of people, I prefer it to be quiet anyways. If I want music, I go with a real mp3 player.

[Boston]

Originally Posted by RSaunders

The 505 is Sony's best device for reading books.

I agree but I just use my e-book reader for reading.

I still prefer paper for reference books, so have no need to annotate or highlight...never used the dictionary on my Kindle...so the combined size, clarity, and ability to take an SD card make the 505 the best Sony reader out there for me.

Some have pointed out competitor products (which I don't think was the original question)..so maybe its not the best reader out there today, but it certainly has stood the test of time.

For my use, I still haven't found another reader that has given me a compelling reason to upgrade and that says a lot (because I am one of those who is always looking for a good reason to upgrade).

[Mike_73]

Originally Posted by Boston

because I am one of those who is always looking for a good reason to upgrade

Me too. The 600 was reason enough for me with its extra pdf-functions. If I wouldn't have wanted those, I would have kept on using the 505 for its display

But I cannot wait for the next good reason....

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by RSaunders

The 505 is Sony's best device for reading books. Perhaps some future version of the 600 and 900 will make the touchscreen worth the glare, but not so far. Before the color war goes any farther, remember you can always be stylish in a DecalGirl skin.

I have a Kindle, and the space wasted by the keyboard is a shame. It's a good device with good battery life, as long as you keep the radio off. Oh yeah, the radio was supposed to be a feature - NOT. I've only used an iPad in the store. It's never going to have the battery life of an eInk device. It might be good for doing lots of other things and reading occasionally.

If you want to sit and read for an hour a day, on the train, in the evening, whatever. The 505 is the best device out there. I like the suggested 510 in this thread, the 600 processor does seem quicker, but I'll keep my plain old buttons with no glare and two week battery life until somebody makes one.

A radio?????


Don

[Harry001]

the silver one is allways the best

but not with motorcycles - there i prefer the fast black color

keep reading
harry

[Angst]

I like the 505 so much I just bought another in case my current one breaks. (It has once already).

Like: compact/sturdy/easy to use/prsCustomizer/light wedge
Dislike: screen fades badly in direct sun/no dictionary support

I've owned and/or used the 505, 300, 600, and 900. The quality of the 505 and 300 screens is the same, though the 505 is 6" and the 300 is 5". The screens on the 600 and 900 are not very good compared to the 505 and 300 due to the touch film, but they are readable and the 900 has a slightly better screen than the 600.

Screen wise I would rate the 505 and 300 as best. Since the 505 has a SD card slot and is slightly larger I would give it the best overall rating between these two.

The 600 and 900 are very fast and have a lot of bells and whistles. I really wanted to like them, but their screens just don't make for a good reading experience for me. Occasionally I could get the light just right and they worked fine. On the other hand, my 300 is good in almost all light. None of the Sonys are good in low light.

If Sony could figure out a way to give the functionality of the 900 with a screen as good as the 505, then they would have the best e-Ink reader IMHO. For now I would settle for the form factor of the 900 without a touchscreen and a $250 price, but that is not likely to happen.

[Spiffy]

I can never quite get past the button arrangement on the 505. Even with hacks installed to allow button reassignment, its STILL always has felt weird to me to have no potential page turning button on the upper left side. The way I believe MOST right handed people would hold the unit is in their left hand, with the hand positioned more than halfway up (to be able to hold the weight--especially with a cover on), because they usually feel more comfortable with their dominant hand free.

So not having a button there, by my left thumb? Always bugged me.

I dunno. Maybe its just me. Maybe all the OTHER right handed people actually prefer holding it in their "dominant" hand.

That said, the screen is unparalleled. I have in recent months been using as Astak Pocket Pro I got as a gift, and quite like it for various other reasons, but there's no denying how superior the screen of the 505 is.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by Spiffy

I can never quite get past the button arrangement on the 505. Even with hacks installed to allow button reassignment, its STILL always has felt weird to me to have no potential page turning button on the upper left side. The way I believe MOST right handed people would hold the unit is in their left hand, with the hand positioned more than halfway up (to be able to hold the weight--especially with a cover on), because they usually feel more comfortable with their dominant hand free.

So not having a button there, by my left thumb? Always bugged me.

Interesting how other folk see things. With the cover on I can't see myself holding any book in a fashion where my left thumb is by the top left corner of the book. Most books I have used my left thumb to keep the book open at the bottom center. Just a personal observation about me.

With the 505 I hold the book with my left hand and use the center joypad button to turn the page.

To each his or her own.

[Spiffy]

Originally Posted by dwanthny

Interesting how other folk see things. With the cover on I can't see myself holding any book in a fashion where my left thumb is by the top left corner of the book. Most books I have used my left thumb to keep the book open at the bottom center. Just a personal observation about me.

With the 505 I hold the book with my left hand and use the center joypad button to turn the page.

To each his or her own.

That's inevitably what I wind up doing, but its awkward, because then I'm holding the thing near the BOTTOM and the weight is balanced wrong. And because the cover is on, its heavier.

And I suppose I make it even worse by having the cover with the (heavy) booklight built in. That one's on me, I guess. I should just ditch that thing. Still, if I remove it from the cover, it still seems a bit unnatural to hold it far down so my thumb is near that bottom button.

Again, as you say, its preference. Obviously I get around it, but its also one of the reasons I've liked the Astak. Left side page buttons make further up AND a page turn level on the right side as well. A worse screen that the Sony, but hey, that's the breaks.

[Mike_73]

I certainly agree with the personal preferences about holding the readers. My personal observation here though is, that I hold my readers more at the bottom part. So the button placement of the 505 and 600 are both ok for me. Maybe start a poll to find out what the average user does (always keeping in mind that the average does never resemble the total)

I mean it's not necessary to know this, but it would be interesting anyways.