# Sony Reader Touch Edition



## Devil's Advocate (Mar 28, 2010)

I was curious if anyone here has first-hand experience with the Sony Reader Touch Edition (the new one, PRS-600, not the old PRS-700). I've heard conflicting things, with some saying that the touchscreen is too reflective, occasionally making it hard to read; but then there are some who say that the screen is only 'slightly' reflective, in certain situations and at certain angles and, for the most part, is not a major issue.

Any thoughts? Is it worth spending my money on?


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## Devil's Advocate (Mar 31, 2010)

Wow. 325 views and no replies? Is no one here a part of the eBook revolution?


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## ktabic (Mar 31, 2010)

Oh, I'm sure several of us are (I've been using ebooks (originally text files on handhelds) for about 15 years now). 

Now currently I have a Sony PRS-505. But you are asking about a specific feature of a specific model of ereader, so only people who have one can answer (ideally you want someone who can compare it to a different ereader altogether). Now having said that, the screen on my 505 is fine, reflection wise, and according to the review here (reghardware) there isn't much difference between them.

I'm hoping to upgrade to a PRS-600 at some point, but am in no hurry since the 505 is great.


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## AE35Unit (Apr 2, 2010)

Hmmm i must get me a book reader, but I want one with a built in light for night reading which most dont have , instead opting for a more 'natural' reading experience!


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## Devil's Advocate (Apr 4, 2010)

@ktabic
You're right, my question is rather specific. I just figured that there would be plenty of people here with ebooks, and there would be a strong chance that a couple of them had the Touch, particularly since this is a UK-based forum and the Sony Readers seem more popular there than the Kindle.

So what has your experience with e-ink displays been like? I've heard that the screen has a little delay before it loads the next page. Can you tell me if this delay is negligible, or does it get a little annoying? Is the display as print-like as they would have you believe?

@AE35Unit
I believe the original Sony Reader Touch (the PRS-700) had a built-in reading light, but none of the current models do. By all accounts, that doesn't seem to be a sad omission, as most reviews I've read said it actually didn't work that well. Also, having a built-in light would certainly impact the battery life significantly; I'm guessing that's why no one else has bothered with it. You can get protective cases, however, that do have a reading light attached.


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## Tinsel (May 7, 2010)

Devil's Advocate said:


> I was curious if anyone here has first-hand experience with the Sony Reader Touch Edition (the new one, PRS-600, not the old PRS-700). I've heard conflicting things, with some saying that the touchscreen is too reflective, occasionally making it hard to read; but then there are some who say that the screen is only 'slightly' reflective, in certain situations and at certain angles and, for the most part, is not a major issue.
> 
> Any thoughts? Is it worth spending my money on?



I have the PRS-600 and it is good. There isn't any issue with the touchscreen display at any angle.

One problem with it is that there probably isn't as much of a selection as the Kindle, however it has all of the popular authors and I was able to get Lovecraft and Robert Howard which is what I mostly read, but it seems that any academic books are fairly expensive.

Now what happens if the Reader is misplaced. Are you able to download your epub books into a new Reader? or what happens when you buy a new laptop? I'm not sure how to answer those questions, but as far as the new Reader in and of itself is concerned, it is very nice.

There is no delay when turning the page unless it is a page with graphics, but if it is just text, then it turns the page faster than you can turn the page of a paperback novel.

Actually if you have never had one, than you will love it. The text is beautiful.


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## ktabic (May 7, 2010)

Tinsel said:


> I have the PRS-600 and it is good. There isn't any issue with the touchscreen display at any angle.


  Ah, thats good to hear, have been thinking of replacing my ageing PRS-505 with a newer model.  





Tinsel said:


> Now what happens if the Reader is misplaced. Are you able to download your epub books into a new Reader? or what happens when you buy a new laptop? I'm not sure how to answer those questions, but as far as the new Reader in and of itself is concerned, it is very nice.


  It depends on the device you have. Those devices/books using Adobe Digital Editions (quite a few devices, including the Sonys, and quite a few retailers) tie the DRM to your account, rather than to the device you  use, so it doesn't matter if you lose/destroy the Reader. But that is a recent change, some of your older downloads might still be tied to the device.


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## Tinsel (May 7, 2010)

Actually more than anything I was just lazy, but now that I looked, it appears that you can have up to 6 computers authorized with the reader, as well as 6 mobile devices. All that I plan to do is to upgrade my laptop eventually, but it looks like I'll simply authorize my Reader on the new laptop and download the content to the new laptop and that is all there is to it.

If I lose the Reader than if what you say is true that is nice to hear. I'd than buy a new Reader, authorize it, and my books would be there to download from the Sony Store user account. Interesting theory, that would be nice, and I don't want to have to try it.

This Sony Reader Touch says on the back PRS-600. I looked up how to turn pages with the stylus and how to set up the page turn gesture, because I don't want to use my fingers, but I'd rather use the stylus to turn pages, and once that issue is figured out, as well as setting up Collections if you have a lot of books, the PRS-600 is really nice. The screen is beautiful and I guess that they say that the display is slightly darker than the previous model so you need a bit more light, or that you can't read it as easily in low light, however that is a fairly trivial issue. There is no actual problem with the display or the text, it is very nice to read that Reader text. If you know how to turn the pages with the stylus than you are laughing when you can get these books on your Reader.


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## Rosemary (May 7, 2010)

I shall probably be the only one living in the dark ages and reading a real book!  There's nothing like the feel of the book in ones hand!


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## Karn Maeshalanadae (May 7, 2010)

Believe me, Rosemary, you AREN'T the only one. I far prefer real books over this technology. For one, they're cheaper. (To a point, I know, I know.) For two, they're actually not as easily to lose, and far less likely to be stolen. And for three, they don't need to be recharged. (Though they might have to be replaced....then again, books that are taken care of can last decades, even centuries. Can that be said for an electronic device?)


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## Tinsel (May 7, 2010)

The text on the Reader is nicer than text in a book, but I sort of feel that way to for some books, especially history books with photos in them. I don't think that the Reader is ideal for looking at photos (especially color).

If it is just the basic fiction soft covers (under $12) compared to those books on the Reader, than the Reader is much nicer. It is more alluring and pleasurable to read on (once you know how to turn pages with the stylus).

I have some technical background myself, so that makes it easier to deal with the device. I'm also up on iTunes, and I would go with a Sony Reader over a iPad (which are soon coming out) because the iPad as far as I know does not display in the grey scale, and it is the grey scale which makes the text beautiful. A paperback book is nicer than reading on the computer (desktop/laptop), but the Reader is hard to beat.

If anyone has any questions about the Sony Reader or iTunes or their computer, than I will help although I have not used Linux for a few years.


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## HareBrain (May 7, 2010)

Devil's Advocate;1379973[FONT=Trebuchet MS said:
			
		

> I've heard that the screen has a little delay before it loads the next page. Can you tell me if this delay is negligible, or does it get a little annoying?[/FONT]


 
I don't know if this is the exact model you're talking about, but I've recently test-driven one of the Sony e-readers in Waterstones -- presumably a recent model -- and very quickly concluded that the delay between pages would drive me nuts. It's not as if each page holds a lot of text anyway, so if you're a fast reader, I'd say you could easily spend more than 10% of your reading time waiting for the page to update. Bleargh!


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## Tinsel (May 7, 2010)

It comes down to money, because there is no delay between page turning.

I can make a movie with my digital camera and upload it to a free file server, and anyone can download it. I'd have to use a file server because a 10 second video is over 10 mb in size.


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## Devil's Advocate (May 8, 2010)

Tinsel,
Thanks for your take on the 600. I haven't had a e-reader before, so hopefully I will enjoy the experience. I'm putting my plans on hold for now, though. I have a few paperbacks that I have yet to read, and if I buy a reader now than I'll never get to them.

ktabic,
From everything I've read, the PRS-505 is one of the all-time best e-readers. Most people who've had it sing it's praises. The screen's contrast is said to be among the best, and going from that to the 600, you might see a noticeable difference. Unless you really, really want the touchscreen, I'm not sure switching over to the 600 will be of much benefit to you.

Rosemary/Karn,
Believe me, I know what you mean. Ever since I first heard of ebooks years ago, I've been very critical of them. I, too, feel there is no real substitute for a physical book. In particular, I don't look forward to reading books on a bright, backlit LCD display, like on a computer or laptop or the iPad. But the e-Ink largely negates that, as it is supposed to be very similar to print.

For me, the biggest advantage simply comes in the fact that you have this one device, which is probably only a little bigger than a mass market paperback, than can store hundreds of titles. As someone who is running out of shelf space, I find that quite appealing.

HareBrain,
That lag is the biggest concern for me. I've been unable to actually test out a working model, so I've yet to see in person how significant it may or may not be. But too much of a delay would certainly turn me off the whole concept.


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## AE35Unit (May 8, 2010)

The thing with these readers is can you write on them? Cos that would make them ideal!


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## Tinsel (May 8, 2010)

You can write notes on a page of an epub book. I don't use that feature, but it does allow you to do it.

Like I said I could record my Reader with a digital camera and show how fast the pages turn. There is no delay, but the 600 has a faster processor than the previous model.

I've had mine for about 6 months and it is standing up well. I don't use it every day but I use it a fair amount. What I want is a newer digital camera and a newer laptop, the Reader is just fine.

Nothing beats that display but the new laptop displays look good. My laptop is a couple years old, almost three, and the displays change quite a bit it seems, which is a good thing ofcourse.

I use the Reader dictionary quite a bit. You double tap a word and it will look it up in a dictionary. The only delay that I see is when you access a footnote. It takes a couple seconds to find the footnote page, but than you just hit the footnote again and it returns to the reading. It is a nice feature.

I guess that the newest epub books should contain more links, so in a huge book like the Bible (amplified for example) you will be able to look up verses between the two Testaments using the links, which would greatly help because that paperback takes a beating when you have to continually look up passages.


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## HareBrain (May 11, 2010)

I had a quick look at the 600 yesterday, to time the delay. It was quicker than the other one, and takes about a second, maybe a fraction less. For some reason the screen turns black with white text, then white with black text -- almost like a heartbeat, bu-dumm.


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## Devil's Advocate (May 12, 2010)

That's with all e-Ink screens. It refreshed the pixels to display the new page.

They have to do that because a constant image on an e-Ink page for a long time is prone to leaving behind some imprints (the 'ghosting' effect), so by inverting the pixels before refreshing the page, the screen avoids any long-term burn-in.


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