How bad is the PRS-700?

ZodWallop · 03-30-2018, 11:38 AM

The old Sony hardware is beautiful. I have a 505, but want to try a Sony with touchscreen and light. I've found a 700 for $30 and want to try it. But have heard very few good things about the 700.

It's tough to find screenshots of the reader with the frontlight on, but I know it is very poor. But how is the rest of the reading experience? And as poor as the frontlight was, is it at least useable?

Hemmi · 03-30-2018, 07:41 PM

Let me dig mine out and charge it up and see if I can get a good pic of the reader with the light on. I don't recall it being very pleasant to read on with the light on.

Editing to add that I paid less than $30 for mine. If you watch shopgoodwill.com, they turn up on there occasionally. I snagged mine for about $20 shipped.

FizzyWater · 03-30-2018, 08:23 PM

Very bad.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...hlight=PRS-700 has a link to a review (uhhh...I didn't check it to see if it actually still works, though).

Hemmi · 03-30-2018, 11:07 PM

The screen is very glarey like on the 900. It does not have the nice screen like on the 350 and T series. It is a nice metal body, not plastic. Charges via a charger, not via USB.

I don't know how to do pics in forum posts so I uploaded some to an album in my profile. First, no light. The screen is much clearer in the picture than it actually is. I can see my reflection in it. Second pic is the light on low. It does not light evenly. Lights from each side and leaves the middle kinda dark. Third pic is the light on high setting. You can see specks of dust trapped between the layers of the glass.

Hemmi · 03-30-2018, 11:09 PM

I also tried reading on it with the light on in a dark room. You could actually do that but the screen is light so unevenly I wouldn't want to read for very long.

rcentros · 03-30-2018, 11:19 PM

Not very good. Ironically, it seems clearer without the light than does the 600 or 900. I've posted a couple pictures from the 700 (at the high light position, taken in the dark) compared to your 505 with the lighted case (I found one). If you still want the 700 ($30 is too much I think), there's one selling on Mercari.com for $20 (including shipping).

https://item.mercari.com/gl/m60455990960/

I should add, the build is very nice. It's fairly heavy, but not as heavy as the 505 with lighted case. Mine, apparently, has a weak battery – and it looks like a pain to replace as shield in front of the screen has to be carefully pried off (it's glued). It doesn't appear to be difficult to find the battery.

rcentros · 03-30-2018, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hemmi

I also tried reading on it with the light on in a dark room. You could actually do that but the screen is light so unevenly I wouldn't want to read for very long.

I'll take a look at yours. Probably better pictures. Mine are just taken with my Blackberry Q10.

rcentros · 03-30-2018, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hemmi

I don't know how to do pics in forum posts

Just click on the paperclip and upload images – they won't show up in your message until you post. If you're not quoting the person you're responding to, you'll have to click "Advanced Options" to find the paperclip icon.

ZodWallop · 04-01-2018, 03:19 PM

Thanks for the pics guys. It's a shame Sony's one lighted reader is so bad.

I noticed that neither of the groups of pics seem to have justification or hyphenation. I thought later versions of Sony's O/S offered that?

rcentros · 04-01-2018, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Thanks for the pics guys. It's a shame Sony's one lighted reader is so bad.

I noticed that neither of the groups of pics seem to have justification or hyphenation. I thought later versions of Sony's O/S offered that?

I'm not certain, but I think you have to go to the x50 series to get justification. I don't know if Sony Readers ever had hyphenation (which, for me, is a plus).

EDIT: It looks like the T3 hyphenated ...

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=231099

JSWolf · 04-01-2018, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcentros

I'm not certain, but I think you have to go to the x50 series to get justification. I don't know if Sony Readers ever had hyphenation (which, for me, is a plus).

EDIT: It looks like the T3 hyphenated ...

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=231099

The only Sony Reader that used a new enough RMSDK that supported hyphenation was the T3. The x50 was the first line of Sony Readers that supported full justification with ePub.

JSWolf · 04-01-2018, 05:46 PM

The 700 is a waste of $30. It's a lousy design and the screen is awful because of the light layer. It's not niceto read with. It's a POS.

03-30-2018, 11:38 AM	#1
ZodWallop Gentleman and scholar Posts: 10,987 Karma: 108309641 Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Space City, Texas Device: Clara HD; Nook ST w/Glowlight, (2015) Glowlight Plus, Paperwhite 3	How bad is the PRS-700? The old Sony hardware is beautiful. I have a 505, but want to try a Sony with touchscreen and light. I've found a 700 for $30 and want to try it. But have heard very few good things about the 700. It's tough to find screenshots of the reader with the frontlight on, but I know it is very poor. But how is the rest of the reading experience? And as poor as the frontlight was, is it at least useable?

03-30-2018, 07:41 PM	#2
Hemmi Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,363 Karma: 15987608 Join Date: Apr 2015 Device: Sonys, Nooks, Kobo Libra, Forma, Mini, Paperwhite	Let me dig mine out and charge it up and see if I can get a good pic of the reader with the light on. I don't recall it being very pleasant to read on with the light on. Editing to add that I paid less than $30 for mine. If you watch shopgoodwill.com, they turn up on there occasionally. I snagged mine for about $20 shipped. Last edited by Hemmi; 03-30-2018 at 07:46 PM.

03-30-2018, 08:23 PM	#3
FizzyWater You kids get off my lawn! Posts: 4,220 Karma: 73492664 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Columbus, Ohio Device: Oasis 2 and Libra H2O and half a dozen older models I can't let go of	Very bad. https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...hlight=PRS-700 has a link to a review (uhhh...I didn't check it to see if it actually still works, though). Last edited by FizzyWater; 03-30-2018 at 08:26 PM.

03-30-2018, 11:19 PM	#6
rcentros eReader Wrangler Posts: 7,441 Karma: 48453105 Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Boise, ID Device: PB HD3, GL3, Tolino Vision 4, Voyage, Clara HD	Not very good. Ironically, it seems clearer without the light than does the 600 or 900. I've posted a couple pictures from the 700 (at the high light position, taken in the dark) compared to your 505 with the lighted case (I found one). If you still want the 700 ($30 is too much I think), there's one selling on Mercari.com for $20 (including shipping). https://item.mercari.com/gl/m60455990960/ I should add, the build is very nice. It's fairly heavy, but not as heavy as the 505 with lighted case. Mine, apparently, has a weak battery – and it looks like a pain to replace as shield in front of the screen has to be carefully pried off (it's glued). It doesn't appear to be difficult to find the battery. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by rcentros; 03-30-2018 at 11:24 PM.

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03-30-2018, 11:07 PM	#4
Hemmi Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,363 Karma: 15987608 Join Date: Apr 2015 Device: Sonys, Nooks, Kobo Libra, Forma, Mini, Paperwhite	The screen is very glarey like on the 900. It does not have the nice screen like on the 350 and T series. It is a nice metal body, not plastic. Charges via a charger, not via USB. I don't know how to do pics in forum posts so I uploaded some to an album in my profile. First, no light. The screen is much clearer in the picture than it actually is. I can see my reflection in it. Second pic is the light on low. It does not light evenly. Lights from each side and leaves the middle kinda dark. Third pic is the light on high setting. You can see specks of dust trapped between the layers of the glass.

03-30-2018, 11:09 PM	#5
Hemmi Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,363 Karma: 15987608 Join Date: Apr 2015 Device: Sonys, Nooks, Kobo Libra, Forma, Mini, Paperwhite	I also tried reading on it with the light on in a dark room. You could actually do that but the screen is light so unevenly I wouldn't want to read for very long.

04-01-2018, 03:19 PM	#9
ZodWallop Gentleman and scholar Posts: 10,987 Karma: 108309641 Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Space City, Texas Device: Clara HD; Nook ST w/Glowlight, (2015) Glowlight Plus, Paperwhite 3	Thanks for the pics guys. It's a shame Sony's one lighted reader is so bad. I noticed that neither of the groups of pics seem to have justification or hyphenation. I thought later versions of Sony's O/S offered that?

04-01-2018, 05:46 PM	#12
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,931 Karma: 128903250 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	The 700 is a waste of $30. It's a lousy design and the screen is awful because of the light layer. It's not niceto read with. It's a POS.

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