Sony PRS-700
| Overall |    |
| Usability | |
| Design | |
| Value for money | |
The Sony PRS-700 is probably the one reader which is perceived as being the most advanced and most stylish of them all, at least that is what we hear from users around us. Sony of course has some experience with E-Readers by now and had some time to come up with solutions to problems which were reported by the users of earlier versions of the PRS. Let’s have a look how they did with the 700.
The PRS-700 weighs just 10 ounces, so it’s a tad lighter than the Kindle. The six-inch display is exactly the same size as the PRS-505. A thick black cover works as a protective lid, but also offers the added benefit of folling people into thinking you are not an extreme uber-geek. In fact, carrying the PRS-700 in a crowded area looks perfectly normal (well, as normal as you can get with an eBook) since it could be a thin paperback.
The Sony PRS-700
The edge of the Digital Reader is slightly sloped, like the pages of a real book. And, mostly importantly, there’s a subtle-looking hinge that holds the Reader in place when you open the cover that also slides it into position when you close the cover. Frankly, if the gizmo came with a neck pillow and some Earl Gray tea, you’d be all set for a night of catching up on the latest Stephanie Meyer teen vampire tale.
Sony claims the Reader will last for 7500 pages on one battery charge. We set out to test this theory with the Warren Buffet biography, called The Snowball, which is almost 2500 pages long in digital form. Suffice it to say, we used the PRS-700 for several days without needing a charge. The PRS-700 uses digital ink technology that projects text at a very crisp and high resolution (about double the resolution of a computer monitor, at 170DPI) as well – if you leave the book open on a table, text will stay on the screen without using any power because of how the electronic ink works. If you do close the lid, and open the book later, your last page will be on the screen when it powers up (which takes less than a second). You can navigate easily on the device too: One can open other digital books, mark pages with a bookmark, search for text, type in notes about the book (a great aid for students) and more using a virtual keyboard.
The Reader can hold about 350 books on its internal memory. That’s about twice as many as you could stuff onto the PRS-505 and 150 more than the Kindle holds. You load purchased books by connecting to your PC or Mac with a USB cable and copying them over with the Reader software. Mind you, the process is a little awkward, however, because you can only buy books through the software and not directly from an online portal.
comfortable dimensions
Book prices are a couple of bucks more than they are at the Kindle store. For example, Cross Country by James Patterson costs $11.99 at the Sony store, while the same book (like most bestsellers) costs just $9.99 at the Kindle store. Amazon offers some amazing deals, selling some e-books for $5 or less. Sony does offer a wide selection of classic novels (Dickens fans, you are a lucky bunch!) and every PRS-700 comes with 100 free credits for these classics though, which buys you about 40-50 books at around $2-$3 each.
Once you load your Reader with books, there are three ways to turn pages. You can use an included stylus to drag across the screen, click a next page button, or just swipe across the screen with your finger. This latter method is the most book-like method of perusing content, but sometimes the PRS-700 won’t register your swipes unless you push a little harder on the screen that you might expect (don’t press too hard though). Calling the PRS-700 a touchscreen eBook is a stretch: Other than swiping to turn pages, you can also push buttons to select a book or access the main functions. Often, it’s easier to use the hardware buttons. You can’t use gestures to, say, flip to a bookmark or a specific page number.
Sony has positioned the PRS-700 as a more advanced device than the PRS-505 – the stylus allows you to make highlights in books and create notes you can view later, a plus for academics. We prefer the PRS-700 for its style and substance too, as it’s a more elegant e-book than the Kindle. Reading on the PRS-700 is an exceptional experience. There are five text sizes to choose from, including very small (for those with perfect vision) and very large (for those who want to read while working out). Text re-formats quickly and maintains the same page position. Built-in lights along both sides of the screen offer three brightness levels in addition – the PRS-700 looks like a museum display when the lights are on, giving you the sense you’re reading something really worthwhile, even if it’s a tawdry romance novel.
With a pen or the finger
worth keeping in mind: The PRS-700 is missing some key features compared to the Kindle. It does not support mobile broadband wireless access to buy books (Kindle uses the EV-DO network). There are no magazines or newspapers. The Kindle has a hardware keyboard that’s easier to use. You can’t e-mail documents to the eBook reader (Kindle even supports e-mailed photos in multiple formats). Access to Wikipedia.org is unavailable (no major loss there if you care about 100% accuracy). And there are no free samples of individual bestseller chapters as a way to get you hooked on literature that would make James Joyce roll over in his grave.
However, the PRS-700 does offer some cool extra eBook features. You can load any PDF file onto the Reader, and purchase books online that support the Adobe Digital Edition eBook system, which is a content management tool that allows publishers to sell digital manuscripts. In fact, the emerging e-pub standard is becoming popular at libraries so you can check out a book at your library online (oddly, only if it is “available”) and read it for a set time period. (We couldn’t test this feature because our local library is not up to snuff.) There are also many free e-pub books available (e.g. Gutenberg.com). The Reader also supports the BBeB format, the format sold on the Sony store and other sites.
Specifications:
Weight: 10 ounces
Screen size: 7-inches
Resolution: 170DPI
Expansion slots: One SD and one MemoryStick Duo card readers
Internal memory: Holds 350 books
Battery life: 7,500 page turns
Other features:
Lights with three brightness levels
Photos: JPEG
Music: MP3, AAC
Sony offers 90% of the best-seller list
Author: Ben Jeremy
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Do you have any experiences with the Sony PRS-700? We would love to hear from you and get your opinion! Please see rating section below!
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Reviews (6)
William N.
February 2nd, 2009 at 12:51 pm
This is a 2008 Christmas gift for my wife since she loves to read and due to the limited amout of space in our home I was tired of trying to find places to keep these books so after doing some research I took the $400 plunge and I must say I love it. Im a big electronics geek and of coarse had to open it up and play with it for a while. The prs700 seemed very well built and I was impressed right out of the box.
I keep hearing complaints of no wireless capability to download books but Ive been so used to using pmp (personal media players) and mp3 players where you must connect the device to a computer to add video or music files that I did’t find it a problem whatsoever. I found the addition to play audio on the reader, very cool. The fact that it was able to read my pdf files with no problem and that the zoom capability from small to XXL works perfectly especially for me since my eyes are getting pretty bad.
The touch screen was kind of awkward at first I assumed all you had to do was drag your finger accross and it would turn the page but it was not that sensitive. I found that I have to press my finger lightly then drag my finger accross for the page to turn. After using it a while I realized it is better that it wasnt that sensitive cause I could of turned pages accidently.
I read a review that stated it could not be charged while reading which I found upsetting but fortunately that is only the case when using the usb charger. If you plug in the wall charger it can be used and charged at the same time. One thing I found cool was that my sony psp’s (playstation portable)charger works perfectly with the prs700 so I dont have to dish out more cash for a new charger.
I found that the reader was very easy to understand and use. Between the touch screen and the buttons my wife should not have a problem using it. A built in slot for the stylus and memory card slots supporting SD cards and PRO DUO cards was a nice addition.
The two stages of brightness of the side lights work well for bedtime reading. I like the fact that the reader seems like an all in one item (as far as reading is concerned)and you dont have to carry around a night light. In all anyone who loves to read as much as my wife does (atleast a book every week)should love this and although expensive a very good device which serves its purpose. Anyone in the market for a reading device like this cant go wrong with the SONY PRS700
Corinne M
August 15th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
I purchased the PRS 700 in December 2008 in Canada, it is less than 8 months old and the side of the unit started coming out on it’s own, with no abuse or having been dropped, I find this to be a shoddy product. AND, the best thing is the horrible customer service I am getting with my extended warranty. I brought it in to be fixed, thinking it would be a smooth transaction as it was not damaged in any way, it seemed to be a manufacturer’s defect. They want to charge me $250 to fix the unit as they say I Must have damaged it, which is not the case. So much for an extended warranty. I treated my unit like Gold as I am an avid reader, and when the unit failed me, so did SONY. I would not recommend buying this product to anyone because of this. I have to try to fight with them now to get it fixed, for what they charge, and having bought an extended warranty, it is robbery they are trying to charge me to fx it!! Stay away from Sony!! A consumer should not have to fight to get something fixed that they did not break!!
Angelina Manzi
January 22nd, 2010 at 6:03 pm
I agree with Corinne M. The same thing happened to me and now it won’t even turn on. I was told I would receive a phone call to get it fixed within 4 hours and it’s been almost a month. When I called back Sony just told me that they extended warranty dept was very busy. No one has called me in a month. I don’t know what to do.
admin
January 23rd, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Hi Angelina,
Might be an idea to sue them or at least tell them that you will, that might speed up the process a bit!;-)
Autumn
June 26th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
I agree with Corinne M. The same thing happened to me and now it won’t even turn on. I was told I would receive a phone call to get it fixed within 4 hours and it’s been almost a month. When I called back Sony just told me that they extended warranty dept was very busy. No one has called me in a month. I don’t know what to do.
Tiffany
September 13th, 2010 at 3:46 am
NEVER BUY ANYTHING FROM SONY! My husband was so sweet to get this when they first came out and he even bought the “I dropped it in a puddle then ran over it with the car” warranty, and had it engraved. The battery died which I guess to Sony’s credit may not have been their fault – I plugged into my phone charger that had a usb charger on it and it must have fried the battery. I requested they fix the one I had since it had my name on it and after literally 7 hours on the phone with customer service (seriously between my husband and I trying to tag team them it was 7 hours) they sent it back fixed. I sent it in again recently because it wouldn’t turn on. And again the customer service was the WORST! I was telling the woman answering the phone about how I called and was directed to 4 different places before I had her on the line and she said “that is not what I asked you”. Turns out the extended warranty people don’t actually talk to the Sony people. They wanted me to send Sony a check and then they would reimburse me. Sony should be put out of business. I abhor them and will avoid buying anything from them in the future just in case it would break.
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