Sony PRS505 Ebook Reader Product Review

[zanderhoti]

I just got the money to afford an e-book reader and so far, this one has impressed me the most. I have just a few questions though, that I would really appreciate if you answered.Can it read normal pdf files (w/o DMR), and if it does - do the letters of the page adapt to the screen or do you need to zoom in (like PSPs do)? Also, does it have a bookmark option? Does the screen reflect light? Does the battery really last long? Thnx! :)

[Braveluck]

@zanderhoti 1. Yes, it reads PDF. Page headers can get in the way of the text flow, but it's not a big deal. 2. I usually need to zoom on PDF text. The 505 has 3 levels of zoom. 3. Yes it has a bookmark button and each ebook will have a list of bookmarks set for it. 4. Screen hardly reflects. Works great in artificial or sunlight. Battery life is good. My charges last about 2 weeks. Battery will drain quicker when reading PDF though, but still should last days.

[elebouth]

can you play mp3? thanks

[Braveluck]

@elebouth Yes, you can put mp3 files on it, presumably for audio books or music. You have to use ear buds. There is a port to plug them. No speakers on device.

[elebouth]

can you highlight text as the PRS 600 can do ?

[Braveluck]

@elebouth I don't think so. I've never noticed that feature.

[YourFace180]

I was thinking of getting one of these for my Birthday, but that depends on how cheap people are gonna be :(, £250 is alot of money though :S

[Braveluck]

@YourFace180 Yes, this device is not low cost, but sometimes stores have sales on them and there are a couple different models. I think there is a smaller "pocket" version that is a little less money.

[Spartan1910]

can you get grafic novels on the ebook?

[YourFace180]

@Spartan1910 That would probably be more of a picture thing.

[silverthornboy19]

hey tracy falbe i have a question i noticed that the ebook is 348 dollars why is it expensive because it only has black and white and an mp3 whats so special its cheaper to buy 5 book and by bookmarks at the dollar store so whats so good about it

[Braveluck]

Well, not everybody likes ebook readers, and some people who like them can't afford them. But for those who do have them some of the top things people like are: 1. ability to carry multiple books at once, 2. not having books piling up around the house (some readers just don't have the shelf space) 3. many people find using ebook readers to be more comfortable to read than books, ie. easier to hold, lighter than hardcover.

[watchmenow856]

is there a membership fee for this? or some other kind of continual cost?

[Braveluck]

No membership fee. The only costs are for any content you wish to buy. It is NOT wireless so there are no charges for connection or anything. BTW, there's a lot of free ebooks out there, so you don't have to buy everything you read, just some things.

[PointClickKiller]

can this support doc, docx, ppt, publisher, pictures, or video files?

these things are what I use for University and was thinking of getting one instead of endless printing per lectures..

[Braveluck]

It does not display doc, docx. ppt, publisher, or video. It can do picture formats. Documents from a word processing program saved as a rich text file .rtf will display on this device. I'm not sure which other kind of device might serve your needs better, except maybe a small laptop, but I'm sure there are options.

[eltits]

I want to use it to read my encyclopedias of mathematics and physics, does it actually show the images or the graphics which the books have? like triangles or mathematical equations?

[SecondLifeSailing]

how strong is the screen looks a bit flimsy if pressed say with your finger?

[Braveluck]

The screen is rigid and does not give when pressed with a finger. It has a leather cover to protect it from scratching and so forth. My kids have touched the screen with their fingers several times without any ill effect.

[lolsa123]

how much does it cost?

[hellomanscoffe]

i hate these things. takes all of the magic and glamer of turning the pages of a real book. lame things.

[Braveluck]

In my opinion, the content of the book contains the magic and glamor. Whether I'm turning a page, pushing a button, or tapping a screen doesn't matter to me. I've found that after I've gotten used to an ebook reader, holding a book feels awkward, heavy, and less easy to use. But because you hate it, you don't have to get one.

[matto799]

nice review! want one!!

[ThoseDamnGuys]

How i put books in it???

[Braveluck]

You load content onto the reader with a usb cord a computer. It comes with a library management software or you can use other ebook manager software choices out there.

[Moratorium]

Get a screwdriver.

[josephrigor]

it'd be so cool if schools would just give you one of these.

[barker1151]

so is this like a book but u can have hundreds of books in 1? also does it read it out to you like earphones?

[Braveluck]

Yes, it can hold hundreds of books, depending on the file sizes. I don't think this device can actually read the ebooks and convert to spoken word, but it can play mp3 files of audio books or music that you can listen to.

[Elround4]

Does it support pdb (eReader) files?

[Braveluck]

No, it does not do eReader files.

[gamergrounds]

can you zoom and read PDF files? or change text size on them?

[Braveluck]

For the most part PDF files look fine on the Sony 505 with the occasional reflowing problem with text. There are 3 levels of zoom for the text on this model.

[gamergrounds]

thank you, thank you, thank you!

[AstromechMonkey]

I have used Microsoft Office 2007 with the Adobe PDF exporter to save my personal e-books. It retains charts, graphs, and images. The flow is great, too.

[bubbles574]

can you write your own books for the ebook reader

[Braveluck]

Absolutely. That's exactly what I do. People with all kinds of devices and computers read my ebooks. You save your text in formats that suit ebook readers. The Sony handles LRF, PDF, and rich text word docs among others.

[bubbles574]

so how would i do that

my stories are on microsoft word. do i just transfer that 2 my sony reader???

[Braveluck]

Open your microsoft word document, go to the file menu and choose "save as" and then select "rich text" in the save file type section. This will make a .rtf file that will load onto a Sony reader just fine.

[bubbles574]

thanks so much

[postbox1947]

can we read html. whats the inbuilt memory. can we extend

[Braveluck]

I don't think it does html. You can extend its memory with those little memory cards. I'm not sure what the inbuilt memory is. Sorry. I usually have 2 or 3 dozen books on mine at any given time. I delete most files when I'm done with them, but that's a personal choice.

[HomelessShelterRice]

Say for example I have some books downloaded on my computer as well as some university books. Is it easy to just move those books over to the device?

[Braveluck]

As long as your documents are not restricted by some form of digital rights management, you can load them from your computer on to the Sony reader if they are in formats that the reader can display, like LRF, PDF, epub, RTF, and maybe some others.

[mumihp]

Cool Review, I really want one of these as I have many ebooks, and the Psp is kinda small to read them comfortably. I am hoping the prce goes down as they are like £220. I hope it goes down to £100-150 as this would be cool to have, as you can use it practically anywhere and its cheaper option than buying books.

[bubbles574]

Try ebay

i got mine for 155 and its in perfect condition

[Braveluck]

The mark button is the Bookmark button on the lower left. I know it's not terribly clear but that is what you push when you use the delete book utility and it says "press mark to delete."

[talcaforever]

nice review indeed!

really unnecessary those buttons on the right. just one navigator menu-option button would be enough.

it would be nice if someone skilled makes improvements such as a built-dictionary, a reading voice, calender, crosswords, agenda... imagine that? just in that case, sony ereader would be worth. 250-370 buks is still a lot of money for just a 6" gray screen.

wireless is also unncesary. what is the big deal? purchasing bad books on internet for 10 bucks?

[instructorarmijo]

does it display pdf files?

[Braveluck]

Yes, it does. PDFs sometimes reflow a little weird, but for the most part they are OK. The LRF and RTF formats work better.

[instructorarmijo]

will it zoom in and resize pdf files? i get all my books in pdf format, thats why im so curious.

[Braveluck]

Yes, it will zoom and resize pdf files. I just checked it out to make sure.

[Sinisterene]

This could only be better if it had an earphone plug and stored the audiobook

[Braveluck]

It does hold MP3 files and it does have an audio plug. I guess I could have mentioned that.

[Sinisterene]

So it IS perfect! :O

[muskndusk]

I haven't stopped reading since I bought one of these. It's great! I'll never have to buy another classid public domain book.

[LilMe11434]

This was a very nice product review/demonstration. Thank you so much for the thoughtfulness of your presentation.

[Braveluck]

You're welcome.

[SashoMusic]

They are all so small Screens !

[ScottishLady11]

A 6 inch screen is too small?  I would rather read from this device than carry my laptop around. And it can hold 160 books! Personal opinion, I suppose. :)

[scottishboy1987]

Hey scottish lady ;-)

[ScottishLady11]

Nice name. :) Are you from Scotland? [I live in Canada, but I am Scottish by heritage]

[scottishboy1987]

Yeah i live in a small town called Paisley which is just outside of glasgow :)

[ScottishLady11]

That is the town where Gerard Butler was born. Do you like it there? I like in a horrid little town called Sturgeon Falls in Canada. Far too many drugs for my liking, but I am leaving here in September for University.

[Geraldinesf]

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cool

[garg654]

How is this e-reader with PDF files? I heard that it was too slow with PDFs? Have you tried using PDFs with this and have you tried converting PDFs to the native sony ereader format?

thanks :)

[muskndusk]

If you download free software called Calibre you can easily convert PDF files into the format used by the reader.

[dylanluver93]

what r your books truly about??? i like fiction :)

[Braveluck]

Well, thanks. I did a few tests fiddling with the focus of the webcam on my desk before I did the review. I know that the SCREEN is what people want to see most.

[uncola1979]

This is the best sony reader review I've seen so far. It shows what using the device is actually like, unlike other reviews. Also the video quality was good enough to see the screen clearly, which is rare.

[SchalaKid]

If I may ask? How are you able to display your books with such narrow margins?  Every time I've used a display copy of the device, the margins are much wider (a peeve of mine, as I like as much text to be displayed as possible).

[Braveluck]

You know, I can't really say. I've never consciously done anything to the margins. Any book I've downloaded or made myself simply fills the screen with text. I poked around the user guide and did not see anything addressing the adjustment of margins. My guess is that any ebooks you've viewed were formatted with wide margins. Sorry, I don't have a better answer, but I think most ebooks will show up with narrow margins.

[dylanluver93]

thanks but i heard there was another e book for Amazon or something...i was wondering if that was better or if sony e book works with Amazon e book???

[Braveluck]

Amazon has its own ebook reader device Kindle and Amazon sells ebooks formatted for Kindle. These will not work on a Sony. Kindle has a higher price than Sony but a larger ebook selection. The Sony device is able to use more types of ebook formats than Kindle. Both devices offer nice text display. Choosing between them is usually a tough choice for consumers. Both are nice.

[iui42]

u r absolutely right...

I have been thinking for 4 days which one I should get..

don't u think it is possible to convert the format of Kindle e-books to be compatible with Sony and vice versa?

[Braveluck]

I don't personally know how to convert a Kindle ebook to other formats or if it is possible.

[dylanluver93]

if u have downloaded a book is there a way to delete it if u dont want that book anymore?

[Braveluck]

Yes. When you're done with an ebook, you can delete it. Look on the menu specific for the book you want to delete. There will be a choice called "Utilities" and after choosing that there will be a choice to delete it.

[Braveluck]

The user guide does not mention the feature of reading the digital words for the visually impaired. It does play sound files (mp3) so it could be used for audio books. You can also listen to an mp3 while reading an ebook. On this subject, Microsoft Reader software does have this ability. Microsoft Reader is an ebook reader software that you can put on a desktop computer or other handheld devices. I know on the desktop it will read the digital text, but it sounds like Stephen Hawking.

[Braveluck]

You're welcome. Glad it was useful to you.

[eyeboah]

Question; does it read the digital word for the visually impaired (i.e. listen to the spoken word of the book)?

[ZZZERO94]

Wow!! Thank you so much for the review!! Very informative!!

[SchalaKid]

Wonderful review! Many thanks. Definitely going to have to add this to my X-Mas list. :o)

[ewsdneax61eaxe10]

thanks braveluck nice one.

[Braveluck]

You're welcome.

[voldemort2123]

thanks trying to ask my parents one for my birthday.

[catz247]

Thanks for doing this video!

I been thinking about getting one.

[Braveluck]

I'm glad this was helpful. It took me forever to finally buy one because I could not look at any type of reader anywhere because they seem to only be available online for the most part. So I realize that there are interested people out there hesitating to buy such a thing for the same reason.