Readers Preference Reviews

 I own a Sony PRS-505 which is the predecessor to the PRS-700.  I love it and have really gotten back into reading in general because of this fascinating technology.  I chose the Sony over the Kindle based on two things.  Price and convenience.  The latter may sound odd, but my fear was that if I had the convenience of wirelessly downloading books, I would go nuts and spend money faster than I could make it.  :)

Replying to the features list... 

1. Sony PRS does support PDF's natively.  Though due to screen size, you either have to read it really small, or things get slightly rearranged when you change to a larger font size.

2. From Sony website "It also supports EPUB/ADEPT and connection with Adobe Digital Editions."  Don't know what that means, but I have read soemthing about Adobe DRM on Sony's website.

3. I am not aware of the technology, but I have been told that there is software that will strip Kindle files of their DRM and make them readable on other readers.  Obviously, Amazon would be upset with this practice, but being a HUGE hater of DRM and what it is doing to media, I could care less!

4. I like the feel of the PRS.  It's light, it never gets hot.  Feels good in my hands.  As for fast page turning, it will come with time, but for now, e-ink makes for slow page turns.  I actually preach out of my Sony PRS and have just learned to memorize the last few lines of each page so I can flip the page early.

5. My PRS has amazing battery life.  I can read 2-3 books without every recharging.

6. The PRS has an "iTunes" like piece of software through which you download books and transfer them to the device.  Very easy to use.  With the answer to question 7, it appears that it can be even easier.

7. My PRS-505 supports both Sony Memory Sticks AND SD cards.  Big shocker to me since SD is not a Sony technology.  I assume the PRS-700 supports the same.  If you copy books onto these cards, you can slap them into the reader and start reading.  That said, I have heard (not experienced) that the larger capacity card you use, the slower page turning becomes because the reader has to access the card for each page turn.  Just something to note I guess.

8. You get this transfer capability with Sony Memory Sticks and SD cards.  Since the USB drives are thicker, it would effect the form factor of the reader.  So I doubt we'll see this, but when you consider that I just bought a 4GB SD card last week for less than $15, I'd say it's just as easy to go buy an SD card.

9. I'm sure it will come with time, but I've not seen anything written on the subject.  I'd recommend Goggling "e-ink" and see what you can find.

10. One of the things I love the most about my reader is how good it looks in the sunlight!!!!  Anything using e-ink technology will be easily read in the sun.

11. I have dropped mine once and since it is solid state (no moving parts) it held up well.  Your biggest risk of shock is braking the screen, not messing up memory.  I can't comment on getting it wet and I'm not really willing to test that for you - sorry! :)  Since it is readable in the sun, I don't think the sun will hurt it.  I'm sure extreme heat (left in car during summer) would effect it, but that's true of most electronics.

So that's my two cents.  I have a bro-in-law that just got a Kindle 2 and he seems to like it.  In my opinion, either Sony or Amazon are the way to go.  Kindle has more titles but if you can strip the DRM, they'll work on the Sony as well.