Who planned to get a 650, but ended up buying a 350?

Avwriter · 09-18-2010, 02:57 PM

I had planned on getting a 650, since I first read about the new line of Readers. All of my previous Readers have been 6" devices, and so I fully intended to continue the trend this time. The 6" screen just seemed the ideal size to me. I had played with the 300 a few times in stores, and was not impressed by the 5" screen and more limited features.

However, since the 350 seems to have arrived in US stores earlier than the 650, most of the user impressions posted here so far have been of 350s. The response to the 350 was so overwhelmingly positive, that combined with the delayed delivery of the 650, I felt inspired to give the smaller unit a try. My local store assured me that if I chose to upgrade to a 650, that they would wave the restocking fee. Thus, I had nothing to lose, though I fully expected that when the 650s came in that I would go in for an exchange.

After a day of use, I am not so sure. The 350 is a wonderful device, and has an identical interface to the 650. I am not interested in using it as an MP3 player since all my music is stored as WMP files. I also do not think I will miss the card slots as I rarely used them on my previous Readers. Thus, the only determining factors are the screen size, and the relative size and weight of the units.

So far, as some other users have reported, I am not finding the screen to be too small to read comfortably. Moreover, it so much more portable than the 650. I looked at the 650 display model, and while it is smaller than the 600, the difference did not seem as great as between the 300/350. Next to the 350, the 650 looked huge to me. Next to my 600, complete with an M-Edge case and light, the 350 seems like it could float away. Indeed, it reminds me slightly of my old Palm V, that I carried around back in the 90s.

So far, the only downsides I am finding are that with the smaller screen making notes is tougher. I do not do this intensely, but I do have a habit of underlining passages that I like. Also, I do find that I am flipping pages a bit more often, which I suppose will drain the battery faster, though by how much is anyone's guess.

I will continue trying it out over the next few days, and see if I continue to like the 5" screen. There is a part of me that still likes the form factor of the 6" screen. I also kind of had my eye set on the red 650. I am not so wild about the silver case of the 350 (pink is not an option for me), as it does not have as much visual contrast as red (or black for that matter) and it is highly reflective when reading in the dark with a booklight. I was just curious if anyone else is in the same quandary. I would be interested to hear your thoughts.

SkyDream · 09-18-2010, 03:37 PM

I'm not going for the 350 as there's no SD-card support and i prefer 6" over 5". Can wait until the 650 is available or better the 950.

ebooker · 09-19-2010, 03:12 AM

yea the 6" screen is worth it for me too, tho everyone's MMV.

i too havent used the music player or sd cards much, but i like having the option.

BSquaredInOz · 09-19-2010, 03:39 AM

I did the reverse, went to buy the 350 but ended up with the 650. Overall size of the unit was not a big deal for me (I usually carry a small handbag whenever I carry a book so no change of behaviour for me there) and I liked the bigger screen, I do tend to take a few notes especially when reading for work and I can envisage using the SD card facility in the future.

Cheers, Bernadette

NNolan · 09-19-2010, 11:28 AM

I originally ordered the black 650 because the 350 isn't going to be available in Dark Blue in the US. But on Friday I decided a silver 350 in my hand beat a black 650 on backorder. I'll just try to get a dark blue custom skin from Decal Girl and hire a teenager with good hand-eye coordination to install it.

Kirtai · 09-19-2010, 12:37 PM

I was very, very tempted by the dinkyness of the 350 but since I have a lot of large documents I needed the sd card slot.

I'm still tempted though

Avwriter · 09-19-2010, 02:13 PM

Its been two days now, and so far I have very complaints about the 350. Somehow I thought the small screen would get to me, but for the most part its fine. I have noticed that after reading for an hour or so, I will get very slight slowdowns and the text contrast gets a little worse (individual words and lines will , but adjusting the contrast seems to solve it. I have read about the heat problems from other, and wonder if it could be the heat from my hand; I do not have a case for it yet.

Dose anyone know if the 650 has a faster processor than the 350? Sony does not seem to have any specs available on this. In the store, I could not discern any difference in the speed of page turns, but I did not have long to experiment. I am curious if any the 650 will have the same issues, and if processor speed would affect this at all.

babyd · 09-19-2010, 03:32 PM

I have ordered both 350 and 650, I wanted the 650 to replace my 600 so hubby is getting it for Xmas for me, leaving me able to get the pink 350 now, couldn't resist it, its way too cute ! Weird as I was never interested in the 300, but for some reason the 350 is irresistible.

Avwriter · 09-19-2010, 03:38 PM

It will be interesting to hear your comparison of them.

babyd · 09-19-2010, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avwriter

It will be interesting to hear your comparison of them.

well in that case I will have to tell Hubby I must have the 650 before Xmas for review purposes

think he'll fall for it ? lol

Avwriter · 09-19-2010, 05:29 PM

Explain that it is your civic duty. After all, you are one of the few who will own one of each. This makes you uniquely qualified

babyd · 09-19-2010, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avwriter

Explain that it is your civic duty. After all, you are one of the few who will own one of each. This makes you uniquely qualified

I like your style

Won't work though, I showed him the thread and he said, no way.

Mind you, it will arrive with my 350 so will have to at least check its working okay before it gets put away...... mwwahahahahah <evil laugh>

mind you, my pink 350 has not arrived in stock yet, so it may be a few weeks till I get it, someone else will have both before then and post pics.....

thymaster · 09-20-2010, 01:15 AM

I own both the 350 in silver and 650 in black, one of which is going to the girlfriend next week for her birthday. Keep in mind, at first I wanted the 650 and ordered mind in black. The girlfriend hinted me she was interested in one as well so I ordered her a 350 in silver because she's not a pink kind of girl. Now I'm in love with her 350 more and more.

Comparing side by side, the 350 wins by 1000%. It's smaller and feels more comfortable when holding with one hand. Sure you can hold the 650 with one hand too but after 8 minutes, I notice my thumb starts to grip on it harder because I'm losing my thumb strength. It's lighter then the old 600 model but still heavier then the 350.

Reading isn't that much of a difference on both for me. Sure you might flip a few more pages on the 350 but when you're into a book, you will not notice the flipping at all.

When both battery have the same capacity, you might end up charging the 350 battery by 2 or 3 days earlier. Both models should last you about a month of reading so it's not like it's going to interrupt your reading anytime soon.

The 6" screen will give you about a 1" paragraph longer really.

The dual media card on the 650 was not necessary. They should have just stuck with an SD slot or a Memory Stick only. It just adds cluttering to the design.

I will not be using the MP3 player at all because I have an iPod, a Blackberry and laptop for that.

After reading my comparison, can you guys guess which one I'm keeping? Hehe.

thymaster · 09-20-2010, 01:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avwriter

Dose anyone know if the 650 has a faster processor than the 350? Sony does not seem to have any specs available on this. In the store, I could not discern any difference in the speed of page turns, but I did not have long to experiment. I am curious if any the 650 will have the same issues, and if processor speed would affect this at all.

I think the processor are identical. The page loading and turning on power load at the same time. However, I do notice the 650 screen have a slight yellow tinge to it that I don't know if it's defective. I have wait for the next wave of 650 shipment to arrive in store so I can compare it.

parafluie · 09-20-2010, 04:32 AM

Dear Thigh, I have been looking for a cover/case/holder that has a strap in the BACK of the reader, and preferably in a cross shape, like the ribbon on a gift (no bow <g>. At worst, if the cover were leather, it could go on the spine of the cover.

That would make it easier for me to hold in either hand and relieve my thumb and is related to some choir folders that have a strap for holding.

I'm going to try to attach something like this to my present reader. Haven't quite figured out how to do it, but I pass the thought on to you for implementation! And of course, if anyone knows if such a cover is already produced, please let me know!

Where did you buy your 650/350? What is the return policy?

09-18-2010, 02:57 PM	#1
Avwriter Addict Posts: 350 Karma: 1422834 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: GA Device: Sony PRS 505, 600, 350, T-1, PW1, Voyage, Oasis2	Who planned to get a 650, but ended up buying a 350? I had planned on getting a 650, since I first read about the new line of Readers. All of my previous Readers have been 6" devices, and so I fully intended to continue the trend this time. The 6" screen just seemed the ideal size to me. I had played with the 300 a few times in stores, and was not impressed by the 5" screen and more limited features. However, since the 350 seems to have arrived in US stores earlier than the 650, most of the user impressions posted here so far have been of 350s. The response to the 350 was so overwhelmingly positive, that combined with the delayed delivery of the 650, I felt inspired to give the smaller unit a try. My local store assured me that if I chose to upgrade to a 650, that they would wave the restocking fee. Thus, I had nothing to lose, though I fully expected that when the 650s came in that I would go in for an exchange. After a day of use, I am not so sure. The 350 is a wonderful device, and has an identical interface to the 650. I am not interested in using it as an MP3 player since all my music is stored as WMP files. I also do not think I will miss the card slots as I rarely used them on my previous Readers. Thus, the only determining factors are the screen size, and the relative size and weight of the units. So far, as some other users have reported, I am not finding the screen to be too small to read comfortably. Moreover, it so much more portable than the 650. I looked at the 650 display model, and while it is smaller than the 600, the difference did not seem as great as between the 300/350. Next to the 350, the 650 looked huge to me. Next to my 600, complete with an M-Edge case and light, the 350 seems like it could float away. Indeed, it reminds me slightly of my old Palm V, that I carried around back in the 90s. So far, the only downsides I am finding are that with the smaller screen making notes is tougher. I do not do this intensely, but I do have a habit of underlining passages that I like. Also, I do find that I am flipping pages a bit more often, which I suppose will drain the battery faster, though by how much is anyone's guess. I will continue trying it out over the next few days, and see if I continue to like the 5" screen. There is a part of me that still likes the form factor of the 6" screen. I also kind of had my eye set on the red 650. I am not so wild about the silver case of the 350 (pink is not an option for me), as it does not have as much visual contrast as red (or black for that matter) and it is highly reflective when reading in the dark with a booklight. I was just curious if anyone else is in the same quandary. I would be interested to hear your thoughts.

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09-18-2010, 03:37 PM	#2
SkyDream Wizard Posts: 1,377 Karma: 9400 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Europe Device: PRS-650, iPod touch 4G, iPad 3	I'm not going for the 350 as there's no SD-card support and i prefer 6" over 5". Can wait until the 650 is available or better the 950.

09-19-2010, 03:12 AM	#3
ebooker Banned Posts: 140 Karma: 16076 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: NYC Device: sony prs-650!	yea the 6" screen is worth it for me too, tho everyone's MMV. i too havent used the music player or sd cards much, but i like having the option.

09-19-2010, 03:39 AM	#4
BSquaredInOz Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Adelaide, Australia Device: Sony PRS-650	I did the reverse, went to buy the 350 but ended up with the 650. Overall size of the unit was not a big deal for me (I usually carry a small handbag whenever I carry a book so no change of behaviour for me there) and I liked the bigger screen, I do tend to take a few notes especially when reading for work and I can envisage using the SD card facility in the future. Cheers, Bernadette

09-19-2010, 11:28 AM	#5
NNolan Compulsive Gadget Geek Posts: 395 Karma: 4219324 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Almost Canada Device: One of each, and two in some cases	I originally ordered the black 650 because the 350 isn't going to be available in Dark Blue in the US. But on Friday I decided a silver 350 in my hand beat a black 650 on backorder. I'll just try to get a dark blue custom skin from Decal Girl and hire a teenager with good hand-eye coordination to install it.

09-19-2010, 12:37 PM	#6
Kirtai Addict Posts: 304 Karma: 2454436 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: PRS-505, PRS-650, iPad, Samsung Galaxy SII (JB), Google Nexus 7 (2013)	I was very, very tempted by the dinkyness of the 350 but since I have a lot of large documents I needed the sd card slot. I'm still tempted though

09-19-2010, 02:13 PM	#7
Avwriter Addict Posts: 350 Karma: 1422834 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: GA Device: Sony PRS 505, 600, 350, T-1, PW1, Voyage, Oasis2	Its been two days now, and so far I have very complaints about the 350. Somehow I thought the small screen would get to me, but for the most part its fine. I have noticed that after reading for an hour or so, I will get very slight slowdowns and the text contrast gets a little worse (individual words and lines will , but adjusting the contrast seems to solve it. I have read about the heat problems from other, and wonder if it could be the heat from my hand; I do not have a case for it yet. Dose anyone know if the 650 has a faster processor than the 350? Sony does not seem to have any specs available on this. In the store, I could not discern any difference in the speed of page turns, but I did not have long to experiment. I am curious if any the 650 will have the same issues, and if processor speed would affect this at all.

09-19-2010, 03:32 PM	#8
babyd Addict Posts: 384 Karma: 1567 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: UK Device: Sony:505, 600, 350, 650, Kindle 3 & PW, Kobo Mini & Aura HD	I have ordered both 350 and 650, I wanted the 650 to replace my 600 so hubby is getting it for Xmas for me, leaving me able to get the pink 350 now, couldn't resist it, its way too cute ! Weird as I was never interested in the 300, but for some reason the 350 is irresistible.

09-19-2010, 03:38 PM	#9
Avwriter Addict Posts: 350 Karma: 1422834 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: GA Device: Sony PRS 505, 600, 350, T-1, PW1, Voyage, Oasis2	It will be interesting to hear your comparison of them.

09-19-2010, 05:29 PM	#11
Avwriter Addict Posts: 350 Karma: 1422834 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: GA Device: Sony PRS 505, 600, 350, T-1, PW1, Voyage, Oasis2	Explain that it is your civic duty. After all, you are one of the few who will own one of each. This makes you uniquely qualified

09-20-2010, 01:15 AM	#13
thymaster Zealot Posts: 106 Karma: 34074 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Kobo Aura Edition 2	I own both the 350 in silver and 650 in black, one of which is going to the girlfriend next week for her birthday. Keep in mind, at first I wanted the 650 and ordered mind in black. The girlfriend hinted me she was interested in one as well so I ordered her a 350 in silver because she's not a pink kind of girl. Now I'm in love with her 350 more and more. Comparing side by side, the 350 wins by 1000%. It's smaller and feels more comfortable when holding with one hand. Sure you can hold the 650 with one hand too but after 8 minutes, I notice my thumb starts to grip on it harder because I'm losing my thumb strength. It's lighter then the old 600 model but still heavier then the 350. Reading isn't that much of a difference on both for me. Sure you might flip a few more pages on the 350 but when you're into a book, you will not notice the flipping at all. When both battery have the same capacity, you might end up charging the 350 battery by 2 or 3 days earlier. Both models should last you about a month of reading so it's not like it's going to interrupt your reading anytime soon. The 6" screen will give you about a 1" paragraph longer really. The dual media card on the 650 was not necessary. They should have just stuck with an SD slot or a Memory Stick only. It just adds cluttering to the design. I will not be using the MP3 player at all because I have an iPod, a Blackberry and laptop for that. After reading my comparison, can you guys guess which one I'm keeping? Hehe.

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09-20-2010, 04:32 AM	#15
parafluie Enthusiast Posts: 37 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle 3,	Dear Thigh, I have been looking for a cover/case/holder that has a strap in the BACK of the reader, and preferably in a cross shape, like the ribbon on a gift (no bow <g>. At worst, if the cover were leather, it could go on the spine of the cover. That would make it easier for me to hold in either hand and relieve my thumb and is related to some choir folders that have a strap for holding. I'm going to try to attach something like this to my present reader. Haven't quite figured out how to do it, but I pass the thought on to you for implementation! And of course, if anyone knows if such a cover is already produced, please let me know! Where did you buy your 650/350? What is the return policy?