Sony Reader 300 - HANDS-ON REVIEW

DrMoze,

Is there any search function on the 300?

[DrMoze]

Originally Posted by Madam Broshkina

When you do try I suggest Zelda's version of "Three Men in a Boat" it is one of the finest I have seen.

It looks fine, with the illustrations on the pages and all. (And the small gray page numbers at the right side.) But, there is no right justification--it's ragged.

Originally Posted by akira28

DrMoze,

Is there any search function on the 300?

Nope. It's just for reading books.

[Madam Broshkina]

Originally Posted by DrMoze

It looks fine, with the illustrations on the pages and all. (And the small gray page numbers at the right side.) But, there is no right justification--it's ragged.



Nope. It's just for reading books.

Thanks, I was hoping for full justification. But it is a beautifully made book.

[sein]

Hi, thanks for the review. I'd like to know if the PRS-300 organizes the books the same way the PRS-505 does, that is, no folder and sub-folder structure... Thanks.

[doreenjoy]

Originally Posted by sein

Hi, thanks for the review. I'd like to know if the PRS-300 organizes the books the same way the PRS-505 does, that is, no folder and sub-folder structure... Thanks.

There are Collections, just like on the 505.

[LDBoblo]

Hmm...no speed improvement or contrast improvement over the 505. Unfortunate, but not unexpected.

[volwrath]

Contrast is great on the 505 imho, but then I used to have a 500

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by volwrath

Contrast is great on the 505 imho, but then I used to have a 500

Looks like old soggy newsprint to me, though old soggy newsprint won't glare as much in bright light.

If you're accustomed to worse, I guess it's not bad. I'm just accustomed to much better (paper and backlit lcd).

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

Looks like old soggy newsprint to me, though old soggy newsprint won't glare as much in bright light.

If you're accustomed to worse, I guess it's not bad. I'm just accustomed to much better (paper and backlit lcd).

The contrast on my 505 actually reminds me of some paperbacks I read in the seventies. As for backlit LCD, yes, it generally has more contrast, but I find there's more to ease of reading than contrast. I have LCD-based reading devices - I don't find them as good overall for reading as my 505.

EInk, and EInk devices, aren't perfect - but for many readers they are better than the alternatives.

The 300 looks like an excellent choice for someone who simply wants an EInk based reading device. It may lack features, even features some people consider very important, but it has all the features it needs for reading books - and by all reports a crisper display than the 600.

[DrMoze]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

Looks like old soggy newsprint to me, though old soggy newsprint won't glare as much in bright light.

If you're accustomed to worse, I guess it's not bad. I'm just accustomed to much better (paper and backlit lcd).

The 505/300 contrast improves with brighter lighting (as does any e-ink display). In average light (indoors), the 505/300 contrast seems similar to some old, slightly-yellowed paperbacks I have. In brighter light, the e-ink contrast becomes better than the old p-book.

Having been an avid reader my whole life, I find the Readers to be remarkably comfortable for long-term reading (sometimes hours at a time, when I'm in a good novel!). LCD screens are ok, and appear 'crisper,' but my eyes do get tired when spending too much time reading off the lcd computer screen. (I often adjust the contrast so it's not too bright to help reduce eyestrain.) The e-ink is a comfortable extended-reading display option, similar to printed paper wrt eye comfort. And as Lemurion said, it's a great option for reading books--especially when you can carry around hundreds of books in something smaller than a single paperback! And that doesn't need daily or even weekly recharging as well.

[bill_mchale]

I have always been impressed by how paper like e-ink looks. Yeah, its not perfect, but somehow, to my eyes, it looks more like print on a page than even the best LCD screens.

Personally, I would love a comparison of the Jetbook with the PRS-300 and the other new 5" ebook readers. It would be nice to see how the screens compare. Of course I have been letting my wife borrow my Jetbook and she really enjoyed reading it... so there might be another ebook reader in my future real soon .

--
Bill

[jaytrade]

How does the 300 handle PDFs? i just came from the Sony store in Manhattan, but they sold out of the 600s which I was intrested in. I may just get the 505 and wait until the newer model to come out in December for my main reader. But if the 300 does better PDF than the 505, i may just get it instead.

[freecia]

Originally Posted by Wetdogeared

I'll just tag on some pics I just took of the PRS-300 to compare with the PRS-505.

Nice job DrMoze.

WDE.

*edit*
Just to clarify, the quality and contrast on both the PRS-300 and PRS-505 are the same and both excellent. The camera does not do them justice.

Thanks for the pics! I was thinking about getting this as a second to my K2 for library overdrive/PDF/ePUB use. I loved the screen on the K1, DX, and 505 but sold my K1 for the better form factor in K2. PRS-300 would be my secondary reader since a) I like the price point on Amazon books and b) I use a mac and while sony + mac is getting better, I've read the reviews and am duly warned.

It looks to be about the right size for a small purse and the right price for a secondary reader to use with free library books. I wish NYPL still offered the $100 out-of-town eBook library membership.

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by DrMoze

The 505/300 contrast improves with brighter lighting (as does any e-ink display). In average light (indoors), the 505/300 contrast seems similar to some old, slightly-yellowed paperbacks I have. In brighter light, the e-ink contrast becomes better than the old p-book.

Having been an avid reader my whole life, I find the Readers to be remarkably comfortable for long-term reading (sometimes hours at a time, when I'm in a good novel!). LCD screens are ok, and appear 'crisper,' but my eyes do get tired when spending too much time reading off the lcd computer screen. (I often adjust the contrast so it's not too bright to help reduce eyestrain.) The e-ink is a comfortable extended-reading display option, similar to printed paper wrt eye comfort. And as Lemurion said, it's a great option for reading books--especially when you can carry around hundreds of books in something smaller than a single paperback! And that doesn't need daily or even weekly recharging as well.

I read in many different types of lighting here. I guess the sun just doesn't bless this place's e-ink screens beyond making them look like poor newsprint with pixelation and painful antialiasing and a little gloss. Could be the atmospheric haze too, or the heat, but I've never seen an e-ink screen that even approaches an average quality paperback under any reading conditions.

I think it'd be great to see a picture of one of these paperbacks that can be surpassed by Vizplex. It's not that I don't believe people's claims...but if there are any such books of recent vintage, I'd be interested in seeing them (and knowing where they are so I can avoid them). In fact, it'd be nice to see more photos that directly juxtapose vizplex and book paper.

[DrMoze]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

I read in many different types of lighting here. I guess the sun just doesn't bless this place's e-ink screens beyond making them look like poor newsprint with pixelation and painful antialiasing and a little gloss. Could be the atmospheric haze too, or the heat, but I've never seen an e-ink screen that even approaches an average quality paperback under any reading conditions.

I really have to respond to this. Not to change LDBoblo's mind (I'm not feeding a troll here!), but to clarify facts for others who may read these comments and actually believe them. There is NO 'pixellation' or antialiasing on either e-ink device I own (the Sony 300 and 505). NONE. I'm a scientist and computer/technology aficionado, and I know what these terms mean. I also have both my 300 and 505 in front of me now, and have been staring at them up close and under a magnifying glass. And comparing them to a few older paperbacks. The detailed outlines of the edges of each individual letter on the e-ink screens are smooth and sharp when seen up-close. Each letter is well-formed with no 'gloss' on the screen, unless you happen to angle a light at a particular angle, which is easy to avoid. Curiously, the paperback print quality seems a little fuzzier overall than the e-ink, because--even though the letters appear sharp--the paper texture leads to a 'softer' image of the letters.

I don't know what your agenda is with respect to e-ink displays (do you even own such a device? ), but your comments are uniformly derogatory and off-base. ("Old soggy newsprint"? Puh-leeze. I'm sure I've read more paper books in my day than you ever will, and my eyes and mind are still open enough to see what is actually in front of me.) I will stand by my own direct and detailed observation that there is NO antialiasing nor pixellation of the characters on these e-ink displays in front of me. Maybe we simply have a Luddite in our midst. But, your comments on the e-ink display characteristics are objectively WRONG.