Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 16-20 of 153
 blue one is nice June 22, 2009
richman
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I like how the blue one looks blueish-black , nice color and it looks expensive.
Calibre is the program you need to convert pdf's and other formats to this device.
Some of the negative reviews come from conversion problems but this is fixed if you use the Free calibre program.
You can collect news sites from web and download them automatically to the device everyday using that program.
As to books , Google-sony has 500,000 of them for FREE in format for sony. Public Library has ebooks that are FREE for this too.
Other sites on web have lots of FREE ebooks for this device if you look around.
I like to just convert my pdf books to LRF format using calibre and it's easy and pretty fast.
I have sony psp charger and that works with this device and they are cheap to pick up.
There are replaceable batteries on the internet you can buy for it in the future if you search.
I'm reading again because I can zoom the print and I don't have to use my glasses for reading anymore. Calibre has program to increase font in bulk conversion , and then you can zoom it 3x on top of that. So you can make the font sizes on any of these ebooks as big or small as you want with calibre.
Battery life is fantistic because if you have been using the other devices itouch,zune,dslite, laptops,netbooks, you know they only have a few hours of battery life. This has 3 weeks battery life. So I leave it on and it only uses power when I change the page.
Since it's not backlit like all my other tech gear, I'm not looking into the LIGHT (the screen) and wearing out my eyes. So the sony is easier on the eyes.
Think of this as just a book, don't use the mp3 aspect of it because it will wear down the battery faster, just bring small mp3 player for that.
A Worthwhile Investment June 20, 2009
Socksfan (Chicago, IL)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I just received my blue PRS-505 and let me say, this thing is an absolute beauty. The dimensions are all there, but it is pretty much the size of a normal paperback book, while the screen is slightly smaller. The screen size (or lack thereof) was my first impression; but on my list of things wrong with this device, the screen size will probably be the last on the list. I quickly got used to it to the point that it's really a non-issue. In fact, I see the small form factor a more of a plus than anything, as it increases the portability quotient while still performing its primary task with flying colors.
Reading on this thing is an absolute joy. The screen software is something relatively new called "E-ink" - the name speaks for itself. It's a special kind of screen that basically emulates paper, so that reading on the device is very much like reading a book. The main advantages of this are that you will not get the same eye-strain you get when starting at a computer screen, and that you can read from the device in direct sunlight. The big fallback in my opinion is that the device is not backlit, so you can't read in complete darkness - however you can purchase a book-light as you would with a normal book. But in defense of the reader, it is to my understanding that a backlight would deter from the "paper-ness" of the display, which is why few e-readers on the market provide a built in light. The screen operates much like an etch-a-sketch in that every time you click on a menu option or change the page, the device will write the information to the screen, and then turn off - which explains the flicker every time you turn a page. It can be annoying at first, but you quickly get used to it. The upside to this is that it allows the device to achieve long battery life.
The build quality gives me the impression that the device is built to weather a tornado - or at least everyday use with accidental drops of reasonable heights. The PRS-505 is heavier than it looks, though it is still lighter than a typical paperback. The buttons seem logically placed, however the page-turning buttons on the right offer slight resistance and "clicking" whenever they're pressed, but I imagine they will be burned in with time. On the right side of the screen are 10 numbered buttons that, with the user interface, act much like the menu buttons on an ATM. When reading an actual e-book, they let you jump to a specified page number. I don't really understand the reason for the directional pad at the bottom-right, as I don't really use it, but the rest of the buttons seem logical.
The user interface is quite easy to use, though my only gripe is the lack of a status indicator; loading a book can take anywhere from 3 - 30 seconds in my experience, and you have no way of knowing if the device is actually working or frozen.
The provided software is where the device suffers - though no fault of its own. As many have said, the free software "Calibre" is a godsend for managing your device as it allows you to convert books, and even download content from news websites and blogs and convert them into a readable format so that you can take it to go.
Where the device suffers greatly is Sony's Ebook store. In my experience, the books tend to be more expensive than Amazon's library, not to mention the fact that Sony's library is sorely lacking when compared to Amazon. Luckily there are websites than just Sony that provide usable and reasonably priced e-books. Fictionwise, Booksonboard, Manybooks, Feedbooks, et al. I hope that either Sony gets the memo and steps up the ante to provide more books, or that Amazon will release their books in more than just one format.
Not being overly dramatic, this device has honestly changed my life. I ultimately purchased it for portability and its light-weightedness. I plan on using this overseas and as such the 3g internet connection of the Kindle is quite useless for me, though I can see it as a pretty big plus for those in the States where it actually works. But in the end, it was the prospect of a lighter traveling load that really sold me on the whole "e-book concept." I find myself reading more often, and pretty much everywhere I go. I can find no major flaws despite the included software (though it is pretty much a non-issue with Calibre) and the lack of books in the Sony e-book store. E-books are much cheaper than their paper counterparts, and as such this device is an investment that pays for itself after the first 15 or so books purchased.
Sony PRS-505 June 15, 2009
Sandra Tillis (Steinhatchee Florida)
I was interested in this Sony Ebook because I don't like bulky books. This ebook is wonderful. Works perfectly. The only thing I wish they would change is a formatting for Mac. I can download my ebooks on an old laptop which is fine but sure wish Sony would fix it so we could use our MAC.
I chose the Sony over the Kindle as I didn't care for the keyboard on the Kindle. Plus I saved money going to Amazon and Vann's.
I am an avid reader, love it. Can't find anything wrong with it yet.
Excelent acquisition June 7, 2009
C. POLYDORO (SAO PAULO, BRAZIL)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Hi,
I received my book reader a week ago and I'm fascinated by it. I'm a book worm and now I don't have to travel carring 8 to 10 books. Just my reader. The screen don't let your eyes get tired, it's small and easy to carry around. A tip - I had a lot of books in my computer and when I add them to the reader, some titles desapear, so Instead of the book name , I got just a partial title or so. This is easily solved with the calibre program. It converts your files to the .lrt from the reader and you can fix the book title, writer and so. I very much recomend it.
 Key Features win over the Kindle May 30, 2009
Paco - The Nail
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
After my first PRS-505/LC broke (dropped and hit a table corner at just the wrong place), I considered the new Kindle. Two features prevented the switch. (1) I could still read the eBooks on my computer while the PRS-505 was broken (I was overseas at the time) - you can't do this with a Kindle, and (2) you can set up categories for books (called Collections) - I read many series of books that I like to keep in order - you can't do that with the Kindle.
Showing reviews 16-20 of 153
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