Can you set the sony prs600/650 to be not touch screen

[foureyes]

HI I am wanting to buy my 72yr old mother a sony ereader? I think the touch page turn might be a bit tricky for her. Can you set the ereader to be permanently to be button turn? I know that is not the point of a touch ereader.. If any of you have any other suggestions it would be appreciated.. She would be using it for Australian library books so a kindle is out!!

[Sweetpea]

I wouldn't buy a Sony then, but one that doesn't have a touchscreen. As far as I know, you can't turn it off. I'd look for a device with more paging buttons.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by foureyes

HI I am wanting to buy my 72yr old mother a sony ereader? I think the touch page turn might be a bit tricky for her. Can you set the ereader to be permanently to be button turn? I know that is not the point of a touch ereader.. If any of you have any other suggestions it would be appreciated.. She would be using it for Australian library books so a kindle is out!!

My mother is in her 80s and she gets along very nicely using a PRS-600.

[foureyes]

Any suggestions????

[viviena]

Originally Posted by foureyes

Any suggestions????

I actually can't think of anything ideal that would work. A Nook Simple Touch has paging buttons, but apparently they're not easy to press and your mum wouldn't be able to use the inbuilt B&N store feature anyway. A Kindle 3 would probably be better, but as you say, no library support and I know that Overdrive support is supposed to be coming for K3 users, but it's North America only currently as far as I know. Kobo Touch is out of the question.

The Sonys do have paging buttons, though not optimally placed. If your mum is okay with using the touchscreen just to select books, then a Sony might be worth considering. I do use the page turn buttons often while reading left-handed, and I don't find the reading experience bad. I would think that the Pocketbook 360+, with its huge and well-placed page turn buttons, would be worth considering but for the fact that it's a 5" ereader, and thus might be too small for the elderly to use comfortably.

Good luck though, I hope you find something suitable.

[Witty Username]

Is there a particular reason that makes you think she might have difficulty with a touch screen?

My 71yr old father has no problems with using his ereader and unless there is an illness or disability, then your mother might surprise you! Has she used self-checkout lanes in the supermarket, ATMs etc?

Some people may agree that the touch screen ereader is actually easier to use than the self-checkout facilities...

[Mark Nord]

For what it's worth:
PRS+ will come up with the possibility to disable page-turn by gesture as well as disable dictionary on double-tap. All other touch-functions remains full operational.

Thus accidental pageturns or dictionary access can be avoided.
Regards
Mark

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Mark Nord

For what it's worth:
PRS+ will come up with the possibility to disable page-turn by gesture as well as disable dictionary on double-tap. All other touch-functions remains full operational.

Thus accidental pageturns or dictionary access can be avoided.
Regards
Mark

I hope not. That would make the 650 no better then a K3. The option to dumb down a 650 is not a good idea.

[quisvir]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I hope not. That would make the 650 no better then a K3. The option to dumb down a 650 is not a good idea.

I don't think having the option is a bad idea, especially as it's been requested by a number of people. If it makes them happy, and there is no downside for other users, it only improves the overall user experience

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by quisvir

I don't think having the option is a bad idea, especially as it's been requested by a number of people. If it makes them happy, and there is no downside for other users, it only improves the overall user experience

Well, if there's a bug and for some reason the touch cannot be turned back on, that's not good. Also, the page turn buttons aren't as easy to use.

[quisvir]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Well, if there's a bug and for some reason the touch cannot be turned back on, that's not good. Also, the page turn buttons aren't as easy to use.

No bug in PRS+ will permanently change anything in the reader, and it even has a safe mode (just start the reader with usb connected). Not to mention that such an obvious bug would never make it into a public release.

Whether or not the page turn buttons are or aren't easy to use is up to individual users. Everyone has his or her own preferences, so who are we to judge?