prs-700
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Sony brings over a million Google Books to the Reader
Cool move by Sony to bolster the number of titles in its Reader ebook store -- it's linked up with Google to provide over a million free public domain works from Google Books, just like those fun folks at Barnes and Noble. The books are in the EPUB format and will work with the PRS-505 or the PRS-700 in the US only for now -- different countries have different copyright terms, so we'd imagine the lawyers are busy sorting it all out. Sure, none of this will do much to shake the Kindle's market- and mindshare, but at least Sony won't be deleting this stuff off your device without your permission, right?[Thanks, Tom]
Nilay Patel07.29.2009
Sony's new Reader close to greatness, but a bit too dim
Sony's lithe new PRS-700 conquers many of the most annoying faults of Amazon's chunky little fire-starter, but falls just short of greatness according to MobileTechReview. First with the good: the touchscreen enables page turning with the flick of a finger (or stylus), note taking via virtual keyboard, responds quite well, and doesn't even smudge! It supports PDF and Word files, can be used landscaped, and even has LEDs built into the screen's border for reading in the dark. Sadly, though, that display can't even match the contrast of its predecessors, which are plenty murky to begin with, and with no wireless of any sort you're stuck filling this one via USB, SD, or MS Duo. In other words there's still no perfect choice in the world of the e-ink reader -- but it is awfully hard to ignore the Reader's sleek exterior when compared to the Kindle's distinctively sci-fi doorstop look.
Tim Stevens11.12.2008
Sony announces PRS-700 Reader with touchscreen
Sony's plan to launch an updated Reader today wasn't exactly a secret, but there are still some surprises to the new PRS-700 -- particularly the new six-inch touchscreen E-Ink display. Page turning is now accomplished by a swipe motion with faster refreshes, and there's a stylus and on-screen keyboard for searching and note-taking -- plus an LED reading light (not a backlight) for reading in the dark. Apart from that, it's basically the same deal as the PRS-505 -- internal storage for about 350 ebooks with SD and MS-Duo expansion and a 7500 page-turn battery life round out the package, as well as an updated online store. Of course, there's no Kindle-killing integrated wireless for the $400 price tag, but it'll be interesting to see how they stack up when the PRS-700 hits shelves next month.
Nilay Patel10.02.2008