Sony Touch Edition PRS-600
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The Sony Touch Edition (or PRS 600) sure is a nice gadget to look at. Positioned right between the Pocket and the Daily edition, it comes with an extensive array of functions and is targeted to the price-conscious but quality minded costumer who does want the little extra something from his/her E-Reader.
Music, Communication, Internet, Games, organizers, and Movies are enjoyed through portable devices called mobiles. 
Now, you can add another activity to the list that will be accessible just when you want it!! Yes, reading your favorite book is no more limited to a specific place. Here comes the Reader Touch Edition™ from Sony, with simplest features like six inch touch screen display, turn pages with swipe of your finger, free hand highlighting and annotation, multiple formats support system, Sony E-book store, and huge storage capacity.
Features
The Reader has a polished touch screen that makes navigation faster and easier than ever. The virtual keyboard helps you take quick notes and search E–books, what’s more is that you can even transfer your notes to the computer through e-Book Library software. It weighs less than 10.1 ounces with a truly portable design increasing the need to have one such device.
The reader is equipped with inbuilt Oxford American English Dictionary, USB 2.0 data and power connection through which you can transfer e-books, and charge power to the device, Advance buttons on both left and right pages for easy and quick viewing are also available. 
There are multiple formats such as Adobe® PDF, Microsoft® Word, BBeB® Book and ePub/ACS4 with Adobe Digital Editions being the foreground of the reader as it makes easy to have a wide range of books from various sources, the e-book Store from Sony just gives you the choice to select books from public libraries, access to over one million public domain titles from Google that is absolutely free, sharing sites, online aggregators and personal publishers.
One can enjoy play back unsecured MP3 and AAC audio files with headphones that are being sold separately for the purpose.
E Ink® Vizplex™ screen technology is used to make reading more natural and provides paper-like display that can be read even in direct sunlight. The device has memory size that limits up to 512 MB and 300MB user available capacity with dual memory card for expension slots for Memory Stick PRO Duo™ and SD Card™ up to 16GB.
Microsoft Windows Vista operating system is preferred with other devices like USB ports, Internet connection, being added advantages for reader usage. The edition’s battery life includes 7,500 continuous page turns on BBeB Book, and 6,800 page turns on ePub. It is a rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery with 8-levels gray scale and has screen resolution of 800 x 600 pixels. When you purchase the device you can expect to have an USB cable, Sleeve, and Quick start guide. Premium Leather Cover is best recommended for maintainance of the device.
Do you have any experiences with the Sony Touch Edition PRS 600? We would love to hear from you and get your opinion! Please see rating section below!
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Reviews (18)
Thorsten Schneider
August 28th, 2009 at 2:46 am
This thing is awesome. We also got one to test it and it simply outperformes the Kindle by miles. What I still think can be improved is the usability, as some buttons are at places where they naturally shouldn’t be, or at least you would instinctively push somewhere else for instance for the back button. However, this Reader is the best one I have seen so far from Sony and I can recommend it to everyone!
Flor
October 8th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Nothing is perfect and this reader is no exception.
Pros
What I like is that I can get any book I want from Google library or internet and I can read any of my 2000 pdf’s easily. When you open pdf it allows you to increase and decrease font. If you increase font from small to large all pictures go away, but you can always go back to small font and even zoom in on pictures. I don’t have to convert text files or MS Word documents on this thing. It allows you to add SD card(I have 2000 plus books and magazines on it now). This thing is fast and software that Sony created for it is very easy to use(I was surprised by that). Now, with all these books I don’t need wireless
It’s shorter than Kindle 2 by two fingers.
Screen is readable outside and I actually like the black letters against gray background as it’s not as blinding as a real book on the very sunny day, but there are cons, see below.
Cons
Compare to Kindle 2 that my friend has at work it has more glare, because of the touch screen. Is it a showstopper? Not sure as adjusting the angle resolves the issue, but you do have to adjust the angle. Also, I find that contrast is not as good as a real book, but it is comparable to Kindle 2.
Verdict, I am keeping it for another 3-4 days to see if the glare gets to me, I will post an update if it does. Also, I think I do like it better than Kindle 2, because of the open format and expandable memory.
Update: Decided to keep it. It really grew on me. Surprisingly the glare is less of an issue outside and inside slight adjustments to the angle resolves it. Also, I like how it’s built like a tank. I am really not afraid of breaking it.
idaho
October 8th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
First digital book I’ve owned and I am blown away. I’ve already torn through two books and have downloaded several free books that I was delighted to find. Amazed out how easy it is to use and read. Glare is a bit bothersome but i’ve adapted and don’t really notice it so much. In full sunlight the contrast is the best. Will this replace real books in my life? No, but it does make reading and carrying multiple literary items around much more convenient!
monte
January 31st, 2010 at 11:02 pm
i like this device in so many ways. there is one MAJOR drawback though. The software on the PC really stinks. It CONSTANTLY crashes and thats very annoying. As a reader, it does a great job though. Thubms up but i have to give it medium scores because the overall package (hw + sw) is not ready for prime time.
Bruce
May 19th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
This thing is awesome. We also got one to test it and it simply outperformes the Kindle by miles. What I still think can be improved is the usability, as some buttons are at places where they naturally shouldn’t be, or at least you would instinctively push somewhere else for instance for the back button. However, this Reader is the best one I have seen so far from Sony and I can recommend it to everyone!
Trish
June 4th, 2010 at 10:07 pm
The 600 reader itself is great, but the sony library software stinks. They fixed this by having you use adobe digital editions to manage your books, but you can’t use the collections feature. So, if you have a long list of books it is frustrating to find the one you want. If I knew it would be like this I would not have bought it.
SharonM
July 28th, 2010 at 1:21 am
I just got a sony prs 600. I am so disapointed that it’s not backlit, what’s the point if I can’t read without a light!! I may as well just buy a regular book!
Ken
July 28th, 2010 at 11:58 pm
I bought my 600 reader two days before they dropped the price to $169.00 so I did not get off to a great start. The device itself is great, fully meeting expectations, but the software and interface with my laptop is horrible. Sadly that more than outweighs the advantages of the device. Constant software hangs and poor design of the ereader software package.
Will
August 2nd, 2010 at 3:53 pm
I bought my 600 both as an eReader, and as a replacement note-pad to carry around at work. After all, you can draw on the screen.
Unfortunately, Sony (in its infinite wisdom) doesn’t provide any mechanism to export your drawings! This isn’t a copyright issue; they’re MY DRAWINGS! Irritating as heck.
There are some nice things about the Sony, but unfortunately the bad outweighs the good. I’m now in the market for an eReader to replace my 600.
Pros:
-Small form factor
-The ability to draw on-screen
-Built-in, easy to use dictionary
Cons:
-Poor screen contrast
-Terrible software
-No export for user writing/drawings
valeriek
August 6th, 2010 at 10:55 am
Got it as a gift but can’t get it to work. It keeps saying this computer is not authorized, so I guess only the buyer is authorized?? “Support” in INDIA is no help at all.
Can’t get it to access public library books either. Not recommended.
Mary
September 14th, 2010 at 12:40 am
I received this as a gift for Christmas 2009 and thought it was fabulous at first then over time the Canadian ereader library got so limited that I find myself buying regular books again because the titles that I want are not available to purchase on Sony EReader site in Canada. VERY, VERY DISAPPOINTED
Paul
October 27th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
Love the PRS-600 but as others mention, the computer software stinks! Now use Calibre on the computer for maintaining the reader library. Loading up a SDHC card has the negative benefit of slowing it down considerably.
I don’t play music on it anymore, drains the battery 10 times normal reading.
Overall I still love it…read many FREE ebooks – gutenberg.org .
Double tapping a questionable word brings up a very good built-in dictionary at the bottom, tap that box and get a full page of information! Very helpful touch screen.
Someone mentioned no backlighting! Do books have backlighting? How many books can you obtain FREE in a matter of seconds?
Reflections can be distracting but a slight turn and all is well. The PRS-600 reads best in bright sunlight but is just at home under a florescent light.
I’d buy it again…PDF’s, ePUB’s, txt, word, and more!
P DeBoer
November 6th, 2010 at 12:33 pm
Device worked well for about two months then started to crash and to freeze. The battery life has become unpredictable but generally speaking much much less than the 7000 page turns touted by the sales ads. I would have sent it back although I understand that the Sony service department does not replace malfunctioning devices and besides I live in Asia. Still use it — but wonder every time I travel if I should take back up REAL books along in case it goes into another funk. Don’t recommend it.
D Cain
April 27th, 2011 at 7:09 pm
Ordered it new on-line and was sent a refurbished model, starting getting large blank areas on the screen within a few weeks, battery life is way to short and customer support is no help. I will never buy another Sony product.
JLD
May 1st, 2011 at 10:47 pm
My Sony PRS-600 has been an extreme disappointment. The screen failed on the unit in the first 12 months of use. Even worse, Sony Support was very difficult to work with on a repair. The unit is not durable for travel and will not hold up to even average use. I would not recommend this unit to anyone. It certainly does not stand up to Sony’s past reputation for quality.
cdelisle
July 9th, 2011 at 5:23 pm
I purchased a Sony Reader not as a reader (reader did not click) but for it’s other functions. I use it to take notes on at meetings and while I have to open a new page to continue it was working great. For Christmas my Gram got a different reader and while I was helping her set it up the bulb came on that my device was called a reader and the rest is history. It has been great and while I did have one issue at first Customer Support was great and helped me fix it. I have found no book site that I can not use for downloading books and am looking for one for each of my grandchildren. Yes I have a grandmother and Grandchildren.
I would not let age stop me from getting one of these for an older person as mine is so easy to use that I feel anyone can use it.
The only thing I would change is the the drawing tool, I would like to scroll down on the page to write more instead of opening new pages. But I get that it is a drawing tool.
I travel about 200 days a year and I love that I can toss it in my bag and I am off. I am never without it.
Janice
August 5th, 2011 at 4:10 am
On my second sony e reader. Loved it at first. Now it seems to have died. I did drop the first one and was told that I would be able to exchange it for a refurbished one but that never happened. This one just quit on me. I charged it and it took forever to open and then the touch screen didn’t work. Now the thing won’t turn on at all. Looks like I am heading to B&N for the Nook.
Natalie
August 13th, 2011 at 1:19 pm
I actually have the PRS-650, I don’t know how different it is to the 600 but they look the same and the specs are the same.
I LOVE mine, bought my mum one for last Xmas and instructed my hubby to get me one as well. My mum lives off her uses it on public transport everyday as well as when travelling o/s.
I use mine for reading but mostly for study, the highlight feature on PDFs and books is fantastic for study anywhere any time, no heavy textbooks in my handbag anymore.
As very heavy users of our eReader neither mum nor I have had a moments problem with them. Mum did have a sync issue one night which stalled her reader (her computer at the time was a dinosaur) but a simple manual reset fixed it right up.
I can’t see either of us parting with them soon, presumably Sony learnt a thing or two from the 600 model? Oh, and the battery life is fantastic, neither of us have ever run it down completely and I don’t take cables with me unless I’m going away for more than a fortnight.
It is at the higher end of the market, especially without wifi, but I don’t want to purchase books ‘on the run’, I want a good quality, sturdy, reliable reader.
Only 2 negatives – you can’t export notes and drawings… oh what I would give for that functionality
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