Sony PRS-505
| Overall |    |
| Usability | |
| Design | |
| Value for money | |
The Sony PRS-505 is Sony’s second-generation e-book reader. It uses the popular electronic paper display format made by E Ink Corporation, displaying an image in 166 dpi resolution, creating a real paper look. The device reads both Microsoft Word and Adobe PDF text files, and can play MP3 format sound files as well as display JPEG image files.The PRS-505 has been set up to go against the Amazon Kindle from the beginning and is said by many to have a little bit more features than its competitor. But let’s see for ourselves what the hype is about and users think about the device by the japanese company.
The Sony PRS-505
The Reader PRS-505 is smaller than you might expect. It measures 122mm wide by 175mm tall by 7.6mm thick and weighs 260g. It comes encased in a brown leather-look pouch that adds a little to the overall size and weight. You’ll need to carry the Reader in its pouch to avoid scratching the screen or casing, or otherwise damaging it. Magnets at the top and bottom edges of the pouch help to keep it closed when the device is in transit.
The Reader isn’t really pocketable — unless your pockets are capacious. Like a real book, it will normally need to be carried in a bag.
The screen is slightly smaller than the page size of a regular paperback book — just 6in. from corner to corner. There’s a trade-off between portability and usability here: a larger screen would make the device more unwieldy and heavier.
Sony’s ability to produce great design really comes to the fore in the Reader PRS-505, which is the most visually attractive device of its kind.
High resolution display
The Sony Reader PRS-505 handles various file formats, including RTF, Microsoft Word, TXT and PDF. It will also display JPEG, GIF, PNG and BMP graphics, although its 8-greyscale display has obvious limitations in this respect.
The Reader PRS-505 can play music in MP3 and AAC formats (not DRM, though). There’s no speaker, so you’ll need to use headphones to listen to music. It also supports some specific eBook file formats — Sony’s proprietary BBeB and the more widely used EPUB. Sony has partnered with Waterstone’s to sell the Reader PRS-505 in the UK and the company has a catalogue of available e-books.
The Reader PRS-505 has 192MB of user-accessible internal memory, which is enough, says Sony, for around 160 eBooks. Sony supplies its own software for managing e-books, and you’ll need this to move content from your computer to the Reader. Mac OS users will be disappointed here: the PRS-505 only supports Windows (XP and Vista) systems.
The device would not read files we simply copied onto an SD card, which will irritate those who don’t like having too much third-party software on their computers. More importantly, it precludes obtaining files from computers that don’t have Sony’s software installed. You can’t for example, take an SD card containing an important document from a work colleague, pop it into the Reader’s card slot, and peruse the file.
I’ve noticed that many reviews of the Sony reader, Amazon’s Kindle, and other competing products, seem to focus extensively on the formats supported by the devices. While formats certainly matter, conversion between DRM-free formats is generally quite easy, and many books are available for each DRM protected format. Accordingly, I’m not too concerned with which devices support which formats.
Small size gadget
That said, the PRS-505 supports TXT, RTF, PDF, etc., and Sony’s DRM protected format. One issue I have found is that PDFs designed for a full page will look considerably smaller on the PRS-505’s screen, but switching to landscape mode will help (as will converting to plain text or rich text, where possible). I certainly don’t think the readability of the PDFs is a bad as many other reviews have indicated.
Playback of DRM free AAC and MP3 files is supported; the volume control and head phone jack is on the bottom of the device, next to the USB port.
The Pro’s:
Sony’s PRS-505 is slim, sophisticated, and easy to use. The device is smaller and thinner than most paperbacks allowing it to be taken anywhere with ease. It’s cover fits well and it has a very sleek design. The button layout and display are very clear and concise, making navigation effortless between pages, books, or other medias. The ability to listen to MP3’s and display pictures is quite an added bonus and makes it a steal at the $300.00 price tag.
The eBook program allows for a simple and familiar sync to your PC and functions much like the program iTunes. You can simply drag and drop PDFs, Word documents, MP3s, or image files into the program and upon disconnecting view them on the reader. Purchasing books from eBooks is a quick process and they have an outstanding collection of titles.
The Con’s:
There are very few complaints about the PRS-505 but I mainly don’t like that it lacks a keyboard. Without a keyboard you are unable to make notes or annotations and cant highlight particularly important sections for future reference. It doesn’t come with an AC adapter standard so you either need to purchase one or be forced to recharge the reader from a PC’s USB port.
Author: James Johnson
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Do you have any experiences with the Sony PRS-505? We would love to hear from you and get your opinion! Please see rating section below!
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Reviews (18)
Melissa
February 21st, 2009 at 10:49 am
I had been thinking about buying this for quite some time. I wanted to read more but reading in bed for me with a big book is a pain. Traveling with just one book is a pain so I don’t, bummed when I show up at my destination (or the airport) with nothing good to read. I was also hoping that I could turn some of my instrument flying charts into PDFs and display on the reader, reducing cockpit clutter.
Amazon has a full description of the unit but in general you can think of it as an iPod for books. It allows you to go to the Sony equivalent of iTunes, purchase and download books. It’s light, extremely thin, and totally lives up to the marketing when it comes to viewability. The breakthrough for this product and others like it is the display technology. I call it etch-e-sketch technology because once it creates the image on the screen, it stays there, no power required. Because of this the unit only uses power to wake up and turn the page (unless you are listening to music), battery life is very long. If the battery goes dead while you are looking at a page, it just stays on the screen (you think it’s frozen). The marketing says it will stay charged for 7,000 page turns. I’m not getting anywhere near that but it does hold a charge for a week and charges by plugging into my laptop.
This is the second rev of the hardware so they are using a newer version of the screen which has faster refresh time and ergonomics have been improved (can easily turn pages with either hand holding the unit). They also let you slew to any page and provide a way to for you to drill down on end-notes and create bookmarks on your books. They have increased the size of the internal memory to hold over 100 books (not tested by me yet) and ability to take not only the Sony memory stick but also SD memory cards. It will play music from any memory store and will read PDFs, text and a DRM format by Sony.
Pros / Cons
On the plus side:
* It makes it super easy to take a bunch of books on vacation (stores over 100 and expandable with Flash [two kinds])
* Super thin and light. Makes it easy to read anywhere.
* Instantly download books that you want. Hear about a new book that I want to read, no more driving down to the bookstore (when I can get some time) only to find out that they don’t have it.
* Price of e-books is competitive.
* Take other kinds of documents, text word, PDF. Big PDFs take too much processing power to change pages. I thought I could take my approach charts in the plane this way but it’s not going to work out. I have not tested taking other documents.
* Page turns much faster than version 1 of the hardware
* UI for drilling down on footnotes or end notes cool. Very quick to browse back and forth.
* Has ability to “bookmark” pages but the name of the bookmark is set automatically (bummer)
* Can enlarge the page/text (small, medium, large).
super clear display in any light. Totally lives up to ALL marketing in this regard.
* NYT top 20 books are almost always available up in eBook format.
* Can read books on a number of devices (multiple computer that I have and the reader also). I am not sure what the limit it or if it is tied to my user account or what. (more research needed)
* Allows you to rotate to landscape but haven’t needed that yet.
Comes with a cover. No longer have to peel off a bunch of cash to buy it then purchase a cover.
Down Side
* Too expensive for what you get. I expect the price to drop.
* Harder to quickly scan books like you can with a book. New version does allow you to jump to a page but you have to know what you want to jump to. You can also use the table of contents.
* DRM. One can hope this changes. Can read books though on a number of devices (multiple computer that I have and the unit). I am not sure what the limit it or if it is tied to my user account?
* How do you loan books to others like physical book if it has DRM on it.
* Lock in like iTunes but I am hoping this will change.
* Not every book in electronic distribution. This is controlled by the publisher author agreements. Most NYT top 20 almost always show up.
* I’m not getting the battery life I expected. I need to investigate but it is lasting over a week (not playing music)
monochrome but will display your photos and images from books.
* Bookmarks don’t allow you to change the name of them, it uses text from the bookmarked page
* When taking large PDF files (like approach charts for flying) it’s too slow to be usable.
* No back light but I don’t mind sacrificing for battery life, size and weight (I use a simple book light for total darkness).
Summary
I think I like it. It solved all the things that I was purchasing it for except for in-flight charts which are just too big. I’m reading a lot more and really like the instant gratification of being able to just click, download and read within one minute. I am bummed about not being able to share books that I read but we will see where this goes. I’ll update this review as I get more flying time on it.
John Macklod
February 26th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
This second generation device is twice as fast as its PRS-500 predecessor and it has eight black and white shades instead of the previous 4. Also, this version is recognized under linux so you no longer have to remove the memory card and plug it into your computer to copy files to the reader. All you do is plug in the USB port and linux recognizes the internal memory and the additional SD card you might have on your machine. Fast, brighter than before – very clear text too.
Note: I use rtf and pdf files. If you use rtf, select all text and save as 16 font. For those who wish it read html, suggest you cut and past html text into your favorite word processor and format as just discussed. This process gives you a nice large font and is very easy on the eyes (three size settings are small, medium, and large). Using open office writer you can save your text to a pdf file and read it that way if you prefer pdf format (the rtf documents are faster). Great product. Desired improvement would be a version in a 8 and a half by 11 inch screen.
Horst
February 27th, 2009 at 6:35 am
I own this device. Love it. The screen is perfect. It’s easy to read on. It holds a ton of books and the biggest features is Sony Connects availability of titles. I always find what I am looking for. http://ebooks.connect.com/ I would recommend this device over the $100 more expensive Kindle unless your desire is to read the newspaper on your device. I don’t read the newspaper so I don’t want that one feature. I can easily buy and download books onto my Sony and the prices of the books are very reasonable. I love the product. I am a hardcore reader and that is what this device is made for. Someone who wants to save the wear and tear of reading on a device on their eyes. E-ink is worth the price.
Kindle
6 inch screen
4 level grayscale
10.3 ounces
Sony E-book
6 inch screen
8 level grayscale
9 ounces
Hmmm…..if what you are paying for is the e-ink technology then Sony has Kindle beat with a savings of $100.
Sabs
February 27th, 2009 at 6:38 am
I like it. I have had the reader for about two weeks now and downloaded around 20 books. 6 free ones and 2 bundle packages. I like that I can buy 6 books bundled by author, limited selection mind you, for the price of 3 or four books. Also I have found the device very easy to read on your eyes and not strenous at all. It does enlarge text on the screen, although i do not use that option usually, as I am 22 and although need glasses read normal print in paperbacks fine. I read about 1/2 a book a day now that I have a full time job and find this device great for that purpose.
I have not tried to download PDFs on it, but pictures and music are fine as long as you like black and white and if you want a lot of music i suggest a memory card. The 8G is only about 60 dollars on amazon..my next wish list item. It theoretically downloads e pub files, but i am still working the kinks out of that application. Mostly because I am horrible at technology, not through any fault of the device.
Overall if you just want to download books and carry around a small library to read on your lunch break or after work/school its great. I enjoy how you can close the device and it will pick up on the page you left, no more having you search through 20 pages to find out where you were.
Paul Barnes
August 8th, 2009 at 7:25 am
the hardware is nice but totally useless as the software does not work. Having imported folders and files of pdf format to ereader library, the program does not open a GUI window. Though it still runs and has to be shut down in task manager. This means you can’t transfer any ebooks to the ereader. the problem can not be resolved – at all. System restore, remove and reinstall all fail. Additionally the company are uncontactable by email etc. you have to phone them between 9 to 5 Mon to Fri (you know – when you are at work). Their website is operated by CRM Right Now and won’t allow you to submit an email to them because of a website coding error. The latest software is only for North American customers. Avoid this product, and seriously consider buying anything from Sony again. I have loads of Sony stuff but this one case of absolutely diabolical quality control has changed my attitude.
klaus d.
October 8th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
I’ve read e-books for years on my PDA’s from Palm to Pocket PC. I recently bought this reader from Sony, and I really like it. It has a much bigger screen than the Pocket PC phone I’ve been using most recently (XV6700), or any PDA I’ve used for that matter.
Pros:
-Supports RTF, TXT and PDF formats without any conversion. The included software makes it easy to add books to either the main memory or one of the memory cards-simply drag and drop.
-Nice, clear text, readable under the brightest of lights. It’s easy on the eyes, and after reading for hours on it, my eyes are not strained.
-Supports mp3 playback while you’re reading. Not a feature I use, but it may be nice for some.
-It’s light enough that my hands don’t get tired holding it for extended periods.
-Supports additional books on Memory Stick Pro Duo and Secure Digital. It’s the first Sony product I’ve ever had that supported anything other than Memory Stick.
-Ability to store multiple bookmarks to keep your place if you’re like me and read many books at the same time.
-Reads PDF files. None of my PDA readers could do that, I had to use Acrobat on the reader, which I didn’t like.
-Good battery life. My PDA’s got 3 hours or so if I was lucky. Not sure how many hours I’ll get off of a charge, but it seems like it’ll be a lot.
Cons:
-No HTML support. Seems like it would’ve been easy to add this. There are free converters to convert HTML to RTF/TXT format.
-Refresh rate is a bit sluggish. On my PDA’s it would turn the page instantly, this one has a small delay to draw the page, but it doesn’t bother me. If you think it might, you might want to try a demo unit at a retail store first. Still, it draws the page in a second or less.
-No backlight. Probably not included due to battery life, but you can’t read it in bed at night with the lights off. I bought a 15 dollar LED clip on light and use that, and it works great with it. This way I can read at night w/o bothering my spouse.
-Price. This isn’t cheap. It was worth it to me since I read virtually all my books as e-books, and I was sick of the small screens on my PDA. So I guess the value depends on how much you’ll use it.
ohio n.
October 8th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
The PRS-505 is Sony’s second version of its portable book reader. This unit supports written documents in Sony’s proprietary eBook format as well as PDF, RTF and text formats.
The display on this unit is improved from the 1st generation, and the text is highly readable. The display could appear a bit brighter, but does not strain the eyes as the first generation did. Because of the display technology, the brighter the light in which the page is viewed, the more readable it is.
There are a great many public domain titles available around the Internet for free. And Sony’s CONNECT software enables users to brows the Sony bookstore and purchase titles.
For a limited time, purchasers of this unit receive credit to download 100 books free from the “Classics” collection at Sony’s CONNECT store.
This unit also supports playing MP3 and AAC audio files, a feature that I haven’t as yet tried.
When connected to a computer, the memory of this units shows up as a USB Flash Drive, and unencrypted book and audio files can be “dragged” to the memory for viewing and listening without having to use Sony’s software.
Sony’s software requires MS Windows, thus Macintosh and Linux users are out of luck; Macintosh users with Intel processor machines that can run windows via Boot Camp or virtualization (Parallels or VMware) can run Sony’s software successfully through those mechanisms; this is the method that I am using on my Macintosh.
All in all, if you are looking for a way to carry a bunch of reading material as well as personal documents, this product offers a way to do so conveniently and provides the possibility of traveling without a cumbersome laptop computer.
Jim DeFilippi
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Which e-readers flawlessly handle PDFs, such as the free book downloads at Brown Fedora Books?
Ursula Geibert
February 23rd, 2010 at 10:17 am
I bought by 505 a couple of month ago and I have to say I’m really satisfied with how it works. I think you really feel that sony has a lot of experience in usability of electronic consumer products, you feel that every step of the way!
DooT
April 8th, 2010 at 11:14 pm
I am fairly satisfied with the prs-505 especially because I grabed it at discount price before the 600 came out! =D
Why my overall is just 4 starts: the software is useless. Better get Calibre. Also you can’t personalize it (in case you lose it) and can’t change the firmware language (this has been changed in the prs-600).
Otherwise it is perfect for reading paperbacks! Good battery lifetime (weeks), design and the layout of the buttons is perfect for holding it with one hand (right hand) and with both. And, personally I don’t miss the charger as I use a USB cable with my ipod wall charger =D. The pdf compatibility is very good as long as you have only text (which is a given with paperbacks). If you are reading things heavy with images I suggest you get another reader, as the PRS-505 presents them only at the smallest font setting and they just disappear in higher fonts settings.
In reality I prefer this model to the newer one with touchscreen (keyword: fingerprints on the screen). If I lose it to theft/forgetfulness/water, I’m buying the same model.
GJMS
Patricia
July 6th, 2010 at 6:59 am
I never see anything in the Sony E-reader reviews about the fact that one can download books for free from your local library. I rarely ever buy books & have always been a frequent library user. With the Sony E-Reader I can continue this practice. I have had my reader for almost a year & really enjoy reading with it. I have yet to buy an e-book, however, as I still download from my library. I would not recommend buying the back light, as it adds too much weight. If needed, I use a book light bought at my local dollar store. Works great.
Rebecca
August 20th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
I had one of these until my husband stood on it and broke the screen! I absolutely loved it and am struggling to replace it because the reviews of all of the newer ones seem to have problems that this one just didn’t have. The screen is amazing and feels just like reading a book.
Tim
September 20th, 2010 at 10:44 pm
an excellent ebook reader, I use it in conjunction with Calibre to download newspapers and magazines.
I recommend it.
Al
November 18th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
I have had my 505 for 3 years. I purchased it to read books; period. This is one of the best value purchases I have ever made. I can carry multiple texts in my pocket. The screen is clear and I have literally downloaded hundreds of books. Best of all are the library books I can download to this device (pdf drm or epub) and after 2 weeks, poof, they’re gone. Wonderful. 3 years down and I see no reason to change. Lots of websites on line support this ereader. I am a very satisfied customer.
Carol H
March 6th, 2011 at 10:33 am
Overall, this article is a good review. However, it does contain some inaccurate information. That is the statement:
“More importantly, it precludes obtaining files from computers that don’t have Sony’s software installed.”
I have had this device for over almost three years and only used the software a few times when I first got the reader. I have not used the software for over two years. I have loaded .PDF and .EPUB files MANY TIMES on my reader without the software by plugging the USB cord into the computer and transferring these files into the book folder. Also I have had no problem with reading the same type of files from an SD card. To do this, I first inserted the SD card into the reader and loaded the files on to the SD card from the computer through the USB cable. (When the SD card is inserted into the reader, while the reader is plugged into the computer, the computer will recognize the SD card as another removeable drive. The reader will show on the computer as a separate removeable drive. For example, the reader as Removeable drive E and then the SD Card as Removeable drive F.) My reader not had any problems reading files from the card when loaded this way.
Carol H
March 6th, 2011 at 10:33 am
I also meant to say that I have loaded Microsoft Word documents on my reader as well as PDF and EPUB files.
Dan Hobson
March 14th, 2011 at 8:04 pm
“JUST 6 inches corner to corner”? And the Kindle is 6 in diagonal. Same size, but gets a perfect review. Why the negative overtones? Is there a little bias going on here?
Kathy Powell
April 16th, 2011 at 8:28 am
When I first got my reader I thought it was great. But 2 weeks later it went blank, it was charged but wouldn’t work. I exchanged it for another one, but then I couldn’t download the software, as I had downloaded epub software to get library books and it wouldn’t let me download the Sony software. After fighting with it for 2 hours I had enough. Since all our Borders stores are closing, I decided just to return it.
What I loved about it:
crisp pages to read
lightweight
easy to use when working
the built in light in the cover (separate charge) was wonderful. That was my favorite part.
What I didn’t like:
Took 3 hours to charge. While charging unable to use.
First one died after 2 weeks.
Trouble downloading software.
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