SONY Ereaders

The Sony brand is everywhere. Sony has been selling ereaders since 2004 and their product line is taken very serious so much that they have edged out Barnes and Nobles, The Nook ereader out of second place spot. Industry analysts in September 2009, stated that Amazon Kindle had 45% of the ereader market, Sony in second place with 30% of the market and the rest with a 25% share of the market. Sony offers three types of ereaders. In an effort to show the differences between them I will provide a short overview of their differences so you will have some idea which one would best suit your needs.

The key thing to remember about the Sony ereaders is that each one offers something slightly different and being able to discover what you like best really depends on your needs. For example, the Sony Pocket Edition ereader is small enough to fit in your pocket book or pants pocket. If you are wanting to be able to annotate, highlight or like the use of a touchscreen, then the Sony Touch Edition or the Daily Reader should be considered. If you like to read your morning paper on the go in electronic format without having to fuss with the paper or being able to review your work reports on the way to the office, the Sony Daily Edition is the way to go.

The Sony Reader Daily Edition

The Sony Daily Edition Reader was given its name because you can subscribe to newspapers and magazines. The Sony Reader Daily Edition includes a touch screen with on-screen keyboard, not like the hardware keyboard on the Kindle and the separate color LCD touch panel on the Nook. The Sony Daily Edition PRS-900 has a full 7.1" clear touch screen navigation and paper-like display. The touch screen navigation allows you to turn pages, bookmark your spot, adjust the font, and search for ebook titles all with the swipe of your finger. Despite its large screen, the Sony Reader Daily Edition still manages to be portable. It also includes Wi-Fi and free 3G wireless access from within most of the United States that is powered by Gobi technology for direct access to the Sony ebook store. You can take freehand notes and highlight sections of text you want to revisit later, just as you would in a real book, using the included stylus. If you prefer, a virtual keyboard is also available for entering quick notes or searching your eBooks. You can even export your notes to your computer using the Reader Library software.

The Reader Daily Edition uses high contrast E Ink Pearl technology on its anti-glare touch screen to deliver an amazing, paper-like display that's more like ink on paper and fully readable in direct sunlight. The screen also offers a high contrast ratio ensuring that text and images are crisp and easy to read. It has six adjustable font levels, you can read in either portrait or landscape format.

The Sony Daily Edition doesn't have the Kindle's basic web browser, so the wireless connection is just for shopping, downloading books and periodicals. If you leave the wireless on in standby mode, the PRS-900 will automatically download your new subscriptions, so they'll be waiting for you each morning. Inside the box are the necessary accessories where you are not having to make extra purchases. Out of the box, it includes the device, stylus, charger, USB cable, travel and leather cases.

The Reader Daily Edition gets a thumbs up over the Nook because although the Nook has a color LCD, it doesn't improve the navigation of the device and at times is difficult to use. Additonally, the Nook uses proprietary DRM with ePUB, which is misleading to consumers when they think the Nook is compatible with the more open ePUB standard DRM. This locks buyers of the Nook into being able to only purchase ebooks from Barnes and Nobles. Further, Amazon is just as guilty with it's proprietary ebook format and lack of ePUB support.

The supported ebook formats for the Sony PRS-900 include: ePUB (standard Adobe DRM), PDF (and standard Adobe DRM protected PDF), text, RTF and Word (requires conversion using Sony desktop Reader software). It also works with library books in ePUB and PDF format that use Adobe DRM (Adobe Digital Editions used by most libraries), which means you download and read books from your library if they offer digital services. It will work with Google books (over a million free public domain ebooks). It has a music player onboard that supports MP3 and AAC files (not copy-protected). The Sony has both an SD and Memory Stick Pro Duo slot for extra storage (the Kindle 3 and DX have no card slots to load books and expand storage).

Storage includes 2 gigs of internal flash storage with approximately 1.6 gigs available and memory expansion with an SDHC SD card slot and a memory stick pro duo slot. The battery is lithium ion and is user replaceable. E-ink readers like the Sony use very little power and with wireless off the battery can last up to 2 weeks on a charge versus five days if wireless is left on. This is because they only use power to re-draw new pages and don't use any power to display a page. Check out Amazon for the latest up to date prices on the Sony PRS-900 Daily Edition Reader.

The Sony Reader Touch Edition - Sony's Best Seller

The Sony Touch Edition is an update and is one of the most popular of the ereader products that Sony produces. Some industry experts even places it as the best seller among readers as it jockeys for first place with the Kindle 3. The Reader Touch is an ultra-slim ebook reader that is very portable. The Reader features the industry’s paper-like E-ink screen with a built-in light. You also get a special bookmark so you can easily resume your reading. The most unique feature in this series is its touchscreen navigation. The display screen also works in both portrait and landscape modes.

The Touch Edition features makes it stand out from the competition. It is the same 6"size as the Kindle 3 and The Nook. It is small enough to place in a purse, gear or laptop bag. It's light, so it's easy to hold for hours while you read.  The touchscreen navigation allows you to turn the pages in your ebook, bookmark your spot, adjust the font and search for titles all with the swipe of your finger.  However, the unit still retains a few buttons, but they are laced discreetly at the bottom of the display screen. An included stylus offers freehand highlighting and annotation. If you want, you can even export your notes to your computer using the eBook Library software for PC and MAC computers.

The Pocket Touch is thinner, smaller and lighter than most magazines and books with a resolution of 800 x 600 pixels. It has five adjustable font sizes so you can customize your reading text. The device supports multiple file formats including : ePub (Adobe DRM protected), PDF (Adobe DRM protected), BBeB Book (PRS DRM protected), ePub, BBeB Book, PDF, TXT, RTF, Microsoft Word (conversion to the Reader requires Word installed on your PC), JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, MP3 (non-encrypted), AAC (non-encrypted). The unit also has a built-in audio player for MP3 audio files.

The onboard memory of 512 MB with 380 MB availabe to the user limits the unit to just 350 ebooks at one time. However, for additional book storage, the optional removable Memory Stick Duo media or SD memory can be utilized. Check out books from public libraries (with a 21-day expiration), access over one million free public domain titles from Google Books.

You can  read for about two weeks due to the Sony pocket Edition reader's long battery life.  Keep in mind that the included lithium ion battery isn't user replaceable--you have to send the unit back to Sony if the battery dies. It uses the same 5.2v PSP style charger as other Sony Readers and automatically sleeps after 60 minutes (unless music player is playing). The Reader will turn completely off after five days of inactivity.  As for the lighting, it's not backlighting. Rather, it's more like side-lighting, because the LEDs are placed on the sides of the display. You can increase and lower the intensity between three levels of brightness. The lighting isn't terribly uniform over the display but it will allow you to read your Reader in the dark.

Besides the Sony Touch Edition reader, inside the box it comes with the USB sync/charging cable, black neoprene padded sleeve and Quick start guide. The unit does not ship with an AC adapter (it's an optional accessory that costs $29.99). Instead, you can only charge the unit by connecting the Reader to your PC with the included USB cable. If you happen to own a Sony PSP, the charger from that device will work with this unit. It's also worth noting that you won't be able to charge the Reader with a standard USB cable connected to a 5V power adapter, such as the standard iPod wall charger. Software installers are pre-installed in memory on the Reader so no CD is included. The Touch Edition reader supports USB charging and file transfer.

The Touch Edition does not offer wireless connectivity. You will still need a computer to purchase and store your ebooks. You’ll need to connect the reader to the computer via usb to copy over books. The library software also allows access to the Sony bookstore and manages books checked out from your local library. This software has always been available for Windows computers, and it is now available for Mac users. Visit Amazon for up to date pricing on the Sony Reader Touch Edition.

The Sony Pocket Edition

If you looking for a small compact ereader, the Sony Pocket Edition is the way to go. It is the smaller of the three at 5" and comes in pink and silver. This updated reader got rid of the toggle buttons and included a touch screen which uses Sony's unique optical technology to allow for navigation on the device. The optical-technology touchscreen uses infrared sensors to detect the location of your finder. It compares that information against a matrix that identifies your finger's position and what action you are trying to accomplish, and then performs the action.

The touch navigation allows you to simply touch to turn pages, touch for one of the 12 pop up dictionaries, entering quick notes or search for your ebooks. You can even export your notes to your computer using the Reader Library software. There is also a built-in slim stylus that comes with the device that allows for taking freehand notes and highlight sections of text you want to revisit later, just as you would in a real book,. There is a row of buttons located beneath the screen that are for page-back and page-forward buttons, a zoom button, a font button, and an options button. The display screen can be manually set to display vertically or horizontally for reading books.

Among the options is the ability to adjust the contrast and brightness ratio further--a first among the e-readers on the market. You can also choose from among six font sizes, from XS to XXL. If you opt for the last of those sizes, however, expect to do an awful lot of page turns on this small unit. The unit also now charges using a micro-USB port, there is no ac adapter. All charging has to be done by USB cable. There is 2GB of on-board storage that can store up to 1,200 books at a time. The battery allows for two full weeks of reading on a single battery charge.

The Reader has support for the ePub e-book standard, which allows you to buy books from the Sony's sttore (you upload to the device after downloading books to the Mac/PC Sony desktop client) and other stores with ePub, as well as to download books from libraries. Unfortunately, the Pocket Reader does not come with 3G or Wi-Fi, memory card slots or MP 3 capability.

Besides the Sony Pocket Edition reader, inside the box it comes with the USB sync/charging cable, black neoprene padded sleeve and Quick start guide. The unit does not ship with a cover. The Sony Pocket Edition reader is a really nice unit. If you just want to read e-books in a variety of formats, the Sony Pocket Edition is well worth consideration. Check on Amazon for the latest up to date prices for the Sony Pocket Reader.

Being able to discern each of the ereaders specs can be difficult. Here's a short video that compares the Sony eReader devices.