PRS-700 for a student?

asabz · 11-04-2008, 03:04 AM

Hello all. Great forum you've got here!

I am thinking about buying a Sony E-Reader. I was pretty much set on buying the PRS-505 until I noticed some of the features on the PRS-700. I am a law student, so highlighting and annotating legal cases would be very useful, in theory. However from what I've seen of the notetaking, am I correct in assuming it involves tapping keys one by one with a stylus? That doesn't seem very efficient at all. And I've heard that the underlining is sluggish and problematic. Coupled with the fact that the PRS 505 seems to have better contrast and a readable screen, at least from the comments here, the cheaper 505 seems to be a better option. Especially if it drops in price with the 700 coming out.

igorsk · 11-04-2008, 05:27 AM

You can use fingers too. As for how it behaves in real life, not much is known since it's not released yet. You can check if you have a Sony shop nearby which has it on display and try it out.

asabz · 11-04-2008, 02:17 PM

I live in Canada so that's unlikely, we can order online but that's about it. I will be waiting to see your guys comments when it does come out then

sarah7700 · 11-04-2008, 04:32 PM

Yeah, it's sucks that they don't have the display ones in the Sony stores in Canada... [I checked around where I live]

I am a student too, and the main reason I want the 700 is because of the highlighting and notes features. I wanted a 505, but was waiting to get one, then the 700 came out. Needless to say, my husband already pre-ordered a 700 for me

asabz · 11-05-2008, 03:24 AM

Nice, I'll have to get your impressions on it

sarah7700 · 11-05-2008, 07:14 AM

I'll defiantly let you know

DerHund · 11-05-2008, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asabz

Hello all. Great forum you've got here!

[...] I am a law student, so highlighting and annotating legal cases would be very useful, [...]

The Sony PRS-700 is a ebook reader, not something you can work during class with. Consider the DR 1000S for working purposes. It has a A4 size screen and is capable of taking anotations with a pen.
Just my 2 cents...

=X= · 11-06-2008, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asabz

Hello all. Great forum you've got here!

I am thinking about buying a Sony E-Reader. I was pretty much set on buying the PRS-505 until I noticed some of the features on the PRS-700. I am a law student, so highlighting and annotating legal cases would be very useful, in theory. However from what I've seen of the notetaking, am I correct in assuming it involves tapping keys one by one with a stylus? That doesn't seem very efficient at all. And I've heard that the underlining is sluggish and problematic. Coupled with the fact that the PRS 505 seems to have better contrast and a readable screen, at least from the comments here, the cheaper 505 seems to be a better option. Especially if it drops in price with the 700 coming out.

I have a 505 and I played with the 700 last night. All I can say if I was looking at buying a 505 or 700. I would buy a 700. It was better in every way.
As for the screen it works w/o the stylus. The resolution is the same, and the speed is faster. Plus there is a zoom/font increase (5 fonts).

=X=

asabz · 11-06-2008, 10:07 PM

I'm curious, what sort of warranties have you guys been getting for this and for the earlier 500/505 versions? Is it worth it to get the 1 or 2 year warranties, beyond the manufacturer? I assume so, depending on what that covers.

Jurisprudence · 11-08-2008, 11:35 AM

Hi all, my first post but have been scanning this forum for quite a while waiting to make a jump into the e-reader market. Great forum BTW. I was eyeing up the PRS-505 for a long time but could never physically get my hands on one (Sony are only interested in bringing things to Ireland they can charge three times the price of the US for). My major issues with the 505 were the lack of annotation and inability to search and bookmark words and individual lines of text. Not being able to do this is fatal to my plans for a device like this.

I'm an Irish post grad law student studying for the New York Bar exams next year. A device that I could transfer my pdf bar reviews onto would be fantastic (and for any other law student I believe). Carrying 7,000 pages of bar reviews in paper form, 5 textbooks, a separate mp3 player for my audio lecturers alongside a laptop is just not feasible. Can the 700 handle non-drm pdf formats and is it any good at displaying these previously A4-size documents on a screen of only 6"? Also is it possible to flick between two pages a few hundred pages apart in the document. I have multiple questions and answers sections on the same pdf very far numerically away from each other. Doing this on my laptop requires me to have acrobat and preview open and switch between them using expose. I presume the 700 can't have more than one book open at a time. Does anyone also know if the search function can be set to scan over the entire library, within a particular topic area or within a specific text only.

Having a look at the side by side photos of the 505 and 700 has saddened me and put me off getting into the e-reader market. I'm wondering if some units are good and some are bad. If the screen on the 700 could have the plastic covering removed I'm presuming the contrast and glare issues would be improved imeasurably. Does anyone know if removing this would disable the touchscreen ability or is it just a protective screen shield (which I would gladly sacrifice for better contrast).

Sorry for all the questions but as the studying terror sets in I need to figure out how the hell I'm gonna handle the workload without breaking my back with books or hiring a slave to carry everything around.

asabz · 11-08-2008, 05:18 PM

Hey. I don't know most of the answers to the questions you asked so I'm going to let the forum experts here handle it

Those are some questions I've been thinking about myself. It's nice to know there are other people really thinking about these ereaders, I've tired my friends already with my chat about them

That's sort of line of thinking I was thinking as well. I believe we can make our own pdfs tailored toward the ereader screen size following the sony instructions. I was planning to do this with the Canadian Criminal Code and other statutes, to carry around in this format instead of lugging books and binders around.

Even if highlighting and search features are not that developed yet, it has got to be better than having none. I don't think I could get through a massive case or even the Criminal Code without a search feature. Especially since the page numbers will be different than most printed works, how would we find a specific section of a statute without a search feature? Sometimes I just feel like highlighting something, and it's nice to have at least hands on feel. And I know the note input would be very limited, but it would be nice to write a few words rather than nothing. It's features like these that make the PRS 700 interest me, and the only thing holding me back is the potential screen and reading quality. I mean, if the PRS 505 is like caviar and the PRS 700 is like the normal thing in this arena, I could handle this. But if the PRS 700 is noticeably inferior to a normal book then that's a giant step backwards, because I can get all of these features, and much more on a laptop or other LCD based unit.

johnnyr · 11-08-2008, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by =X=

I have a 505 and I played with the 700 last night. All I can say if I was looking at buying a 505 or 700. I would buy a 700. It was better in every way.
As for the screen it works w/o the stylus. The resolution is the same, and the speed is faster. Plus there is a zoom/font increase (5 fonts).

=X=

Please do youself a favor, and see a 700 for yourself before you buy. After seeing it in person, I could not disagree with =x= more. The 700 has a signifigantly fuzzier, darker, and much less readable screen then the 505. The issue is the touchscreen, which for some reason is made out of a plastic that seems to really put a damper on the e-ink screen underneath.

Everyone is entitled to thier own opinion, and perhaps the quality varies in the 700, because it seems like me and =x= are looknig at two different screens.

You can see several side-by-side shots of the 505 and 700, this gives a realistic look at just how inferior the 700 screen is.

Post #55

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...t=31420&page=4

11-04-2008, 03:04 AM	#1
asabz Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Vancouver Device: none	PRS-700 for a student? Hello all. Great forum you've got here! I am thinking about buying a Sony E-Reader. I was pretty much set on buying the PRS-505 until I noticed some of the features on the PRS-700. I am a law student, so highlighting and annotating legal cases would be very useful, in theory. However from what I've seen of the notetaking, am I correct in assuming it involves tapping keys one by one with a stylus? That doesn't seem very efficient at all. And I've heard that the underlining is sluggish and problematic. Coupled with the fact that the PRS 505 seems to have better contrast and a readable screen, at least from the comments here, the cheaper 505 seems to be a better option. Especially if it drops in price with the 700 coming out. Last edited by asabz; 11-04-2008 at 03:09 AM.

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11-04-2008, 05:27 AM	#2
igorsk Wizard Posts: 3,442 Karma: 300001 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Belgium Device: PRS-500/505/700, Kindle, Cybook Gen3, Words Gear	You can use fingers too. As for how it behaves in real life, not much is known since it's not released yet. You can check if you have a Sony shop nearby which has it on display and try it out.

11-04-2008, 02:17 PM	#3
asabz Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Vancouver Device: none	I live in Canada so that's unlikely, we can order online but that's about it. I will be waiting to see your guys comments when it does come out then

11-04-2008, 04:32 PM	#4
sarah7700 Enthusiast Posts: 37 Karma: 115 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: PRS700	Yeah, it's sucks that they don't have the display ones in the Sony stores in Canada... [I checked around where I live] I am a student too, and the main reason I want the 700 is because of the highlighting and notes features. I wanted a 505, but was waiting to get one, then the 700 came out. Needless to say, my husband already pre-ordered a 700 for me

11-05-2008, 03:24 AM	#5
asabz Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Vancouver Device: none	Nice, I'll have to get your impressions on it

11-05-2008, 07:14 AM	#6
sarah7700 Enthusiast Posts: 37 Karma: 115 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: PRS700	I'll defiantly let you know

11-06-2008, 10:07 PM	#9
asabz Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Vancouver Device: none	I'm curious, what sort of warranties have you guys been getting for this and for the earlier 500/505 versions? Is it worth it to get the 1 or 2 year warranties, beyond the manufacturer? I assume so, depending on what that covers.

11-08-2008, 11:35 AM	#10
Jurisprudence Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Dublin, Rep of Ireland, Europe Device: Sony PRS-700	Hi all, my first post but have been scanning this forum for quite a while waiting to make a jump into the e-reader market. Great forum BTW. I was eyeing up the PRS-505 for a long time but could never physically get my hands on one (Sony are only interested in bringing things to Ireland they can charge three times the price of the US for). My major issues with the 505 were the lack of annotation and inability to search and bookmark words and individual lines of text. Not being able to do this is fatal to my plans for a device like this. I'm an Irish post grad law student studying for the New York Bar exams next year. A device that I could transfer my pdf bar reviews onto would be fantastic (and for any other law student I believe). Carrying 7,000 pages of bar reviews in paper form, 5 textbooks, a separate mp3 player for my audio lecturers alongside a laptop is just not feasible. Can the 700 handle non-drm pdf formats and is it any good at displaying these previously A4-size documents on a screen of only 6"? Also is it possible to flick between two pages a few hundred pages apart in the document. I have multiple questions and answers sections on the same pdf very far numerically away from each other. Doing this on my laptop requires me to have acrobat and preview open and switch between them using expose. I presume the 700 can't have more than one book open at a time. Does anyone also know if the search function can be set to scan over the entire library, within a particular topic area or within a specific text only. Having a look at the side by side photos of the 505 and 700 has saddened me and put me off getting into the e-reader market. I'm wondering if some units are good and some are bad. If the screen on the 700 could have the plastic covering removed I'm presuming the contrast and glare issues would be improved imeasurably. Does anyone know if removing this would disable the touchscreen ability or is it just a protective screen shield (which I would gladly sacrifice for better contrast). Sorry for all the questions but as the studying terror sets in I need to figure out how the hell I'm gonna handle the workload without breaking my back with books or hiring a slave to carry everything around.

11-08-2008, 05:18 PM	#11
asabz Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Vancouver Device: none	Hey. I don't know most of the answers to the questions you asked so I'm going to let the forum experts here handle it Those are some questions I've been thinking about myself. It's nice to know there are other people really thinking about these ereaders, I've tired my friends already with my chat about them That's sort of line of thinking I was thinking as well. I believe we can make our own pdfs tailored toward the ereader screen size following the sony instructions. I was planning to do this with the Canadian Criminal Code and other statutes, to carry around in this format instead of lugging books and binders around. Even if highlighting and search features are not that developed yet, it has got to be better than having none. I don't think I could get through a massive case or even the Criminal Code without a search feature. Especially since the page numbers will be different than most printed works, how would we find a specific section of a statute without a search feature? Sometimes I just feel like highlighting something, and it's nice to have at least hands on feel. And I know the note input would be very limited, but it would be nice to write a few words rather than nothing. It's features like these that make the PRS 700 interest me, and the only thing holding me back is the potential screen and reading quality. I mean, if the PRS 505 is like caviar and the PRS 700 is like the normal thing in this arena, I could handle this. But if the PRS 700 is noticeably inferior to a normal book then that's a giant step backwards, because I can get all of these features, and much more on a laptop or other LCD based unit.

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