OCT 23

I'm a huge ebook dork. I've had Sony's first and second generation e-readers and loved them both. I started out with the Japan-only Librie, and after being initially frustrated with the DRM, eventually managed to crack the firmware and fell in love with the device.... Until the unit stopped booting one day.

And then came the PRS-500 reader, with its instant boot, better refresh rate, English operating system and DRMless firmware. The gigantic improvement has kept me reading from the PRS-500 for over a year now. I've been through dozens of novels since purchasing it.

Now Sony is hitting us with yet another generation, so though I'm too happy with my 500 to upgrade, the 505 does have some useful qualities that will make it more appealing to some. First, the contrast ratio is better, as good as a modern paper back. The whites are whiter, the blacks are blacker. Also, a doubling of intermediate grayscale shades (from four to eight) makes images and text even more crisp.

Finally, the refresh rate (or page-turn rate,) is faster than the 500, though the page-turn rate for the 500 was already faster than the page-turn rate for a physical book. The extra 100 megs of space isn't especially useful, as books don't tend to take up much space (unless you're reading a lot of manga, or using the device as an MP3 player.)

But the biggest problem with the Sony Reader, the price, hasn't changed. While you can get the now-outdated PRS-500 for as little as $100, the price of the 505 jumps back up to $300. And I imagine you'll have to wait another couple years before prices get truly manageable.

Comments (11)

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CHeap DRM free eBook reader
written by some guy, October 23, 2007

Some folks from the baen forums have been trying to put together a nice DRM free eBook reader.
Their initial target was supposed to be under $200 but it looks like they might not make it.

It is definitely slated to be DRM free though.

http://www.naebllc.com/page4.html

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written by yvanleterrible, October 23, 2007

There is a nice forum dedicated to reading devices. For more go to mobileread.com

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written by Pat, October 23, 2007

I don't have that much of a problem with a little unrestrictive DRM, but Sony needs to make this Mac compatible.

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written by Drew, October 23, 2007

I'm not sure if you're aware, you might be interested in this:

http://www.bookeen.com/ebook/ebook-reading-device.aspx

The CyBook Gen3, due out next month with an expected price of $350.

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Where for $100?
written by Catmullrom, October 23, 2007

I'd love to know who's selling the outdated model for $100. I can tolerate the features of the previous version if it's saving me $200. I see many places have already reduced the price, but not by that much.

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Pictures in PDF?
written by Niels R., October 24, 2007

Hey,

This might sound stupid, but does it also display pictures/images that are embedded in the PDF-file?
Like when you read a book that also includes schematics etc...

Might consider bying one when it does that!

Greetings,
Niels

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written by Nguyen, October 24, 2007

Sure, it does display pictures and other stuffs just like you see it on your computer ;D

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50 bucks, if there's no bait and switch
written by David, October 25, 2007

The Sony credit card has an offer that lets you get a reader (I think the 300) for 50 bucks. But so far, the place where you redeem has been out of stock. So maybe there's a 50 dollar reader - I'm checking fairly often.

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A price close to $100 for the 500-model?
written by Cailin Coilleach, October 26, 2007

> I'd love to know who's selling the outdated model for $100.

Likewise!

My wife is an avid fan of fanfiction and always takes printouts with her to the office. She tears through a pack of paper in a week or two :/

An e-reader like the 500 sounds awesome, especially if it can be had for $100. Amazon has it for a huge price though :(

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E-ink
written by Magnulus, October 26, 2007

It's worth mentioning that the Sony e-book readers of late (the librie, 500 and 505) are the only Sony readers so far to use e-ink, a display technology that makes them much more energy efficient and a lot more practical to read than the Sony readers of old. There are a lot of manufacturers these days making their own readers that all use some form of e-ink, and I think we might be arriving to the point e-books never got to originally, namely the point where e-book readers are a viable and comfortable option for students and avid readers.

Of course, e-book readers probably won't replace e-books themselves for at LEAST a hundred years, if at all, but they're becoming a green and awesome option for those who don't like carting around huge mounds of books everywhere they go. Think about stuff like... Oh, I dunno... State budgets! They're HUGE fat tomes! I bet they could save in the cost of making those every year within a few years' time if they bought an e-reader to all state officials.

The biggest challenge, I think, is to create software that can give you the experience of flipping through a book on the screen. Searching is very useful, but it's also something very gratifying about flipping through a book to find what you're looking for... Maybe something like iTunes' cover flow.

I'm rambling. Sorry about that!

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vacations
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