First e-reader sony 300 or 350?

[andre66]

Hello all,
i've been researching-and fondling- various ebook readers and it has come down to the sony pocket edition. I like the size of the unit and the ability to get ebooks from my local library is an important consideration so i have only to decide on the 300 vs the 350.
I haven't had the opportunity to play with the 350, only the 300, but i did try out the 600 and found the touch function adequate but i found i like the buttons better. How is the touch function on the 350, has it been improved over the 600?
My inclination is to go with the 300 over the 350, the only thing that i would miss on the 300 would be the lack of a dictionary.
If anyone has had both of the pocket editions would you say that the new model is much better over the older one and worth the price difference?
Thank you
Andre

[soondai]

300s are available (still) for 75 bucks at Target, a slam dunk for me.

But if 100 dollars is not a big deal to you, I'd go with the new model. Dictionary, more memory, better screen.

I've had my 300 for a couple weeks and it works great for me. My only quibble is that I wish there were a couple more font sizes. I'd like something in between the small and medium. I don't need more than 20 books on my machine (and would hate to have to look thru more to find what I want). I don't look words up as I read (do it later). And the 300 screen seems fine to me (but admittedly not as good as the K3 I saw at Target).

But if money were not tight, I'd definitely go for the 350 or 650.

In the end, all the major readers work. No point investing too much time deciding (or worse, regretting later).

Get one and start reading books instead of boards.
(now if I could only follow that advice myself)

[SeaReader]

For the 300, do a search here for the "protected page" issue as this error message comes up in loading library books of mixed type, ie epub& pdf. Once you open one type you can't open the other. Its on the sony esupprt site but seems to be no solution to it.

[ThomasC]

Probably also worth looking at the new Kindle 3. The wifi version is only $139. You might be able to view one at Target (not sure about Target, Canada though).

[church mouse]

Having had, and loved, a 300 and also not liking touch screens, I would still recommend the 350 over the 300 because of the better contrast of the new screen and the dictionary function.

That said, I have bought a Kindle3, but your wish to use libraries really does rule that out.

[ThomasC]

Originally Posted by church mouse

That said, I have bought a Kindle3, but your wish to use libraries really does rule that out.

Seems funny to me that this 'library book' thing seems to be so important to newbies. I'd guess that less than 5% of them actually end up using it regularly at a library. Most end up downloading freebie books from sites like this one (very good and lots of formats are available) or buying from their e-books site store. Others also use Calibre to re-format. and some (hush-hush) strip the drm (very naughty).

I think at the end of the day you cannot go too far wrong with either The new Kindle K3 or the Sony 350/650 readers. Both have the new/better pearl screens so it's really just a personal choice.

[soondai]

Libraries are great for ebooks.
If you wade in looking for an exact title, you may find the offerings seem scant, but if you just browse, there's years worth of excellent reading there to be had for free.

[SkyDream]

Forget the PRS-x00 if you can afford one of the PRS-x50.
The new ones are way better.

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by SkyDream

Forget the PRS-x00 if you can afford one of the PRS-x50.
The new ones are way better.

Yes the new ones are better, but when one considers the deals that one can get on the PRS-300, you can probably pick one up for half the price of a PRS-350. Yes, you do sacrifice certain things...

1. No Touch screen.. but for some people that is a plus.
2. No Pearl Screen. Pearl is very nice, but by no means is the old screen poor. It is very readable, and can be made more so if you play around with the fonts.
3. No Justification of ePubs. That depends on your taste and your willingness to convert to LRFs.
4. No Dictionary. Some people love dictionaries, others, like me never use them.
5. More limited storage for books. The 300 can probably only fit 2-300 books on there. For some people that will be a problem, but for others, that will be more than they will ever need at one time.


My thought is the following. If you are not sure how you are going to like ebook reading, the PRS-300 right now represents a fantastic value. With people often able to find it for under $100 (While supplies last), you get a nifty reader that can allow you to try ebooks without getting burned too badly if somehow you decide you don't like it.

--
Bill

[raiderkilo]

Limitation in storage for PRS-300?In present time have I stored in my PRS-300 more than 600 books.

[SkyDream]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

Yes the new ones are better, but when one considers the deals that one can get on the PRS-300, you can probably pick one up for half the price of a PRS-350. Yes, you do sacrifice certain things...

That's why i said "If you can afford it...".

While you are totally right about the low prices of the 300 your sacrifies might be a problem when this is your entry to ebooks. One might be disappointed and leave ebooks alone while 350 might have changed the mind.

I'm not quite happy with my 900 'cause of the glare and wouldn't buy it a second time. Not sure if i would have stayed if 900 was my first ereader. Fortunately my first one was the 505 which still is a good ereader.

In the end it's still a decision if you can afford the extra bucks.
If you can go for the 650 maybe 350.
Otherwise start with the 350/650 and see if you like ereading.

Hope, you do !

[andre66]

Thanks for the advice people, will be picking one or the other up on thursday.
Andre

[sbtx99]

Andre,

I don't have the prs-350, but I do have a prs-600 with similar functionality, plus a Kindle 3 with the improved Pearl e-ink screen.

When I bought my prs-300 to replace a broken prs-505, I didn't think I'd use the additional features of the 600 and I liked the screen quality of the 300. After I got my prs-600, I often wished I could get the best features of both on one device. The dictionaries, the search function, the note taking, all came in handy on the 600. If the 600's screen quality had been better, I would have sold the 300 and used the 600 exclusively.

Knowing what I know now, if I didn't already own my 300 and were faced with a choice between a 300 and 350, I'd go for the 350. When I bought my Kindle 3, my initial thought was to sell my prs-600 and keep the prs-300 for reading epubs. Now that I've seen the difference in screen quality between the Kindle 3 and prs-300, I'm wondering how long I'll hang on to the prs-300.

[Andy216]

Originally Posted by ThomasC

Seems funny to me that this 'library book' thing seems to be so important to newbies. I'd guess that less than 5% of them actually end up using it regularly at a library. Most end up downloading freebie books from sites like this one (very good and lots of formats are available) or buying from their e-books site store. Others also use Calibre to re-format. and some (hush-hush) strip the drm (very naughty).

I think at the end of the day you cannot go too far wrong with either The new Kindle K3 or the Sony 350/650 readers. Both have the new/better pearl screens so it's really just a personal choice.

Umm...I check the library for every single book I want to read. If it is on there, then I read it for free. If it is not, then I shop around for the best price. Why wouldn't I?

It actually makes me use the library even more. I can get the book instantly online instead of having to get to the library during business hours and then remember to return it on time. That takes away all the inconveniences of the library.

The free books on here or in the public domain aren't usually on my reading list.

The use of library books when I normally would have purchased them has paid for my ereader. (or would have paid for it...I got mine as a gift)

[dordale]

Originally Posted by Andy216

Umm...I check the library for every single book I want to read. If it is on there, then I read it for free. If it is not, then I shop around for the best price. Why wouldn't I?

It actually makes me use the library even more. I can get the book instantly online instead of having to get to the library during business hours and then remember to return it on time. That takes away all the inconveniences of the library.

The free books on here or in the public domain aren't usually on my reading list.

The use of library books when I normally would have purchased them has paid for my ereader. (or would have paid for it...I got mine as a gift)

Ditto here. I belong to several libraries--lucky for me I live in Northern California and am able to get cards for numerous different libraries. Some have better collections than others. But I almost always will look to see if a book is available for download from one of my libraries before I purchase it.

dordale