Posted on 11/06/2009 9:44:53 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Revised edition: Sony's PRS-600 Reader Touch
Now Sony has released its next-generation Reader, the PRS-600, which does indeed have a touch screen, hence its 'Touch Edition' moniker. Having asked, we have received. But should we grateful?
Look at the Touch from any direction other than face on and the differences between it and the old Reader are a hard to discern. At 121 x 174 x 10mm, it's a shade shorter and narrower but just over 2mm thicker than the original. At 286g it's also 26g heaver than the old model.
Like the 505, the 600 has an aluminium case which makes for a solid and flex-free bit of kit that should last the course. In order to keep the front as clear as possible, all the necessary ports, sockets and switches are crammed into the top and bottom edges of the device.
Up top there are slots for both SD and Memory Stick Duo storage expansion, along with the on/off switch and a stylus – more on this below – while down below sit a 3.5mm headphones jack, mini USB port and power socket. Since Sony doesn't bundle a power adaptor, you'll have recharge the 600 using the supplied USB cable and a handy powered-up personal computer. This takes four hours opposed to just two with a 5.2V mains charger.
(Excerpt) Read more at reghardware.co.uk ...
I’m using the Astak EZReader Pocket Pro.
I wish they had had these 40 years ago.
Not sure what the guts of this are...
Had not heard of that one....but am just getting interested in these devices.
I have a 505. It is the best gadget ever. In fact I bought another for my son and will probably buy a couple of the new readers for other members of the family. Beware of the Kindle and its proprietary format.
sounds pretty cool. I wish they had bigger screens though
Look around this site, and follow the news section in their forums.
I bought my wife a Sony PRS 505 in February, and got my Pocket Pro in September. While not a PDA or computer replacement you can read for typically 2 or 3 weeks on a charge, the text can be however large you need to avoid reading glasses.
The text is wonderful in bright sunlight, unlike my PDA. It also doesn’t have pages blowing in the wind on a gusty day. These are wonderful for fishing trips or camping. take 2 or 3 hundred of your favorite books along.
See #7.
Foxit's eSlick ereader now supports EPUB, puts Kindle to shame
Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader leaks a bit early: $259, pre-orders are live (video)
*******************************EXCERPT*************************************
Looks like all those whispers were true -- the "Android-based" nook is alive and well, and it's calling itself the planet's "most advanced e-book reader." Measuring 7.7- x 4.9- x 0.5-inches and weighing 11.2 ounces, the device includes a top e-ink display from Vizplex and a color touchscreen (3.5-inches) below, which supports one-touch control and swipe-to-browse books with full-color covers.
That is the deal breaker with teh kindle.
Howeever I am leery of Sony and its tendency to also be proprietary and dead end their gadgets.
Help! I’m stoopid. I don’t get these things. How in the world can you read books on these things? The screens are SO small that all you’d be doing is wearing your fingers to a nub scrolling. Seems like you’d get a paragraph per page at best?
The Kindle which I own has bars along each side, just a tap with your thumb advances the content.
this does sound like the next gen of ebook readers
Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device (9.7" Display, U.S. Wireless, Latest Generation)
Thanks.
Good question....maybe some one else knows.
Was just looking at the Gutenberg site...amazing variety of formats there.
I like the idea of the Android...guess that is the base for the one from Barnes & Noble.,...
Barnes and Noble site....
I can get a lot of books free, in paperback from exchange book shelves.
Why carry a $250+ device, the size of the book, that takes time and complication and cost, to re-load the next book?
I routinely read mobile websites, on my Palm Treo Pro, lest my remarks suggest incorrectly I am opposed to using technology.
The Kindle can hold around 1,500 books and is the size of a single thin book.
How many books can you carry with you?
It takes about 60 sec. to download a new book.
“The Kindle can hold around 1,500 books and is the size of a single thin book.
How many books can you carry with you?”
I have three computers of my own, plus use of many more at the office. I carry a Treo Pro with internet.
When I sit down with my paperback book, it is because I want to read a book.
I’m not knocking those who adapt technology. Years ago I put books on a Palm Pilot, for limited use.
I usually only read one book at a time, so 1500 means little to me.
Nobody I know would much understand the benefit of carrying 1,500 books around with me, nor do I.
I guess I should learn how to download books onto my Asus 10” netbook, so I can effectively do what the eBook people do.
Could I “give” one of my 1,500 books to somebody, as easily as handing them a paperback book?
The one thing of benefit from this exchange: Are the book formats proprietary, or can I put a new book on a netbook, without going to Kindle or Sony or whatever?
There is a lot of free content on the web that I can easily put on the Sony that I can’t put on the Kindle. You are right that some of the formatting is imperfect on the public domain materials, but it doesn’t pose a practical problem. The fact that the Sony can read a “mish mash” of formats - e.g. PDF, WORD, RTF,EPUB, etc. - is an advantage. Of course, the Sony ebooks that I have purchased from Sony look better than the public domain materials, but it is mainly a matter of aesthetics. Sony also has a huge selection of books, but I am mainly interested in reading classics, books that are out of print, and so on, so I don’t buy much from Sony or any of the other ebook sellers out there. I’d much rather have a Kindle than nothing, but I think that the Sony is on the whole a better product (it is also well supported).
I also owned an Astak for a while. If you get a good one, the product is fine, but there are some quality control issues, which is why I returned mine to Fry’s after using it for a few weeks.
Really? You've never wanted to start another book or refer to another book in your library? One is good enough?
Many people read more than one book at a time, so it's a space and time saver. Especially if you travel.
Another benefit I've found is that Amazon posts samples of books for you to try out before deciding if you want to buy. Once you decide, you can download the book immediately, without driving to the book store to wait in line, or to find that they're out of stock.
Next cool feature: Magazine & newspaper subscriptions. You can subscribe and have the content downloaded automatically to your device during the night. Wake up and your mag or paper is ready to read.
I guess I should learn how to download books onto my Asus 10” netbook, so I can effectively do what the eBook people do.
Well, good luck with that. Amazon currently has over 350,000 titles for the Kindle, available at the touch of a button. They're not available for your notebook.
You have hit on one problem: DRM. You CAN'T just transfer a book to another Kindle user. That part sucks.
The best you can do is loan your Kindle out so a friend can read it.
So far, for my wife and me, that's not a show-stopper.
I’m a complete and total novice with these e-readers.
Frankly I’m not sure I would like to read a book on one. I can’t imagine reading an entire book on the computer display.
Are these things easier on the eyes?
Any arguments one way or the other?
Where, assortment,different formats , and how much the ‘books’?
You helped me. I went to Kindle books to see about some of the type authors I read for fiction enjoyment.
Leon Uris
Len Deighton
Frederick Forsyth
Herman Wouk
James Michener
Robert Ludlum
Terry C. Johnston (31 books about plains Indians, pioneer trappers and guides, Custer, Sitting Bull, etc.)
etc,
For each of those, only a few ebooks or none at all were available.
Whereas I do find such books on eBay and other paperbook sources.
So if somebody limit themselves to only “Kindle eBooks” then their range of choices is quite narrow.
(The authors I noted aren’t exactly unknown hacks. Maybe not the latest pop-stars, but substantial authors, non-the-less).
I have an open mind, and will continue to monitor technology. I like the idea of putting a book on my netbook.
Maybe the hackers will figure out how to pull the file of the Kindle, convert it to a non-proprietary format, etc.
Then they will give it away on the net, and force the price of Kindles below $100, and their eBooks under $3.00.
How would that be for Freedom, competitive marketplace, etc.
Napster for readers.
If you have the time...click the keyword ebooks
There are several threads and some have some very experienced users commenting on them...
The technology is advancing here and on the smart phones ....so what is true today ...will likely change tomorrow...
The MEMS juggernaut----Commentary: A Silicon Valley revolution is coming
Turns out that:
The digital ink you see on the Kindle reader is a MEMS device that physically moves a black dot into focus. There are a lot of black dots.
Reading of this screen may be easier on the eyes....than reading a computer screen...
Some people have commented that it could be read outside...which can be a problem with laptop screens....
thanks for the info.
I’m perusing the urls right now.
Anand's Thoughts on the Kindle 2 and Marvell Making Affordable eBook Readers ( Techies notes)
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