Sony Reader PRS- 5. Review . Some think they are the classic example of a solution looking for a problem, while others find them invaluable for carrying around large quantities of information. Sony has been targeting US users who hold the former view with its Reader for some time. That product has now made it across the pond, where its main competitors — in the absence of Amazon's Kindle — are the i. Rex i. Liad and Bookeen Cybook. It measures 1. 22mm wide by 1. It comes encased in a brown leather- look pouch that adds a little to the overall size and weight. The Reader from Sony is the perfect way to store and read digital books. Support - Reader eBook Support for PRS-505. View all specifications. Portable Reader System Browsing this Guide using Reader. 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.
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- 5. The metal casing is matte silver on the front and back, with shiny edging top and bottom. Sony has built more buttons into the Reader's fascia than we've seen on other e- book readers. Beneath the screen are two banks of controls centered on large circular D- pads. Down the right edge, no fewer than 1. If this sounds like overkill, don't worry: we found Reader very easy to use. The top and bottom edges carry a range of connectors and a couple of additional buttons. The main on/off switch, at the top, is a slider. Next to this are readers for Memory Stick and SD- compatible media. The bottom edge offers a USB port, a 3. The Reader PRS- 5. USB connectivity cable, a software CD, a CD containing 1. The complete manual is on CD. You don't get an AC adapter: the connector is a common enough size, though, and you may already have the necessary 5. V adapter. If not, the Reader PRS- 5. USB. Features. The Sony Reader PRS- 5. 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- 5. 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 e. Book file formats — Sony's proprietary BBe. B and the more widely used EPUB. Sony has partnered with Waterstone's to sell the Reader PRS- 5. UK and the company has a catalogue of available e- books. The Reader PRS- 5. MB of user- accessible internal memory, which is enough, says Sony, for around 1. Books. 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- 5. 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. Like the other e. Book readers we've reviewed, the Reader PRS- 5. E Ink screen. This technology has several advantages: the 8 levels of greyscale sit on a pale- grey background; there is no backlight, which means there's no glare from the screen. All this makes the PRS- 5. Another advantage of E Ink is that it only draws power when a page refreshes; when an image is being displayed, there's no power consumption. This helps to give the Reader PRS- 5. Naturally, this will be reduced if you also listen to music through the device. The Reader PRS- 5. The vertical column of buttons labeled 1- 1. You simply press the button representing the menu item you want. The two buttons outside this column take you back and forward through the pages. You can also move through a book using a large round button in the lower left- hand corner, which left- handers may be more comfortable with. A small button lets you toggle through three zoom levels for on- screen text, while another lets you place a bookmark on a page. A bookmark is rather neatly indicated by a turned- page graphic in the top right- hand corner of the screen. The other large circular button is a scroller that handles movement around a screen. Finally, a small Menu button takes you back to the main menu. Performance & battery life. The main problem with the Reader PRS- 5. In our tests, every single 'page turn' brought unwanted attention to something you simply don't notice when reading a paper book. Battery life is very good, although if you like to listen to music while reading, you'll need to recharge fairly regularly. Conclusion. Sony's Reader PRS- 5. However, it's still unlikely to be an everyday replacement for paper. As far as business users are concerned, it doesn't let you take notes, or display in colour. Many professionals will already have a notebook PC that can supply these functions. Away from the office, bookish types may find it hard to relinquish the pleasure of holding 'treeware'. That said, the ability to carry multiple books in the space that one paperback would occupy is a significant advantage when travelling. Trusted Reviews. It must have been CES 2. I first played with the Sony e. Book reader. I remember spending far too much time fondling and playing with the device on the Sony stand, when I really should have been traipsing the show floor looking for scoops. But even more vividly do I remember coming back home and requesting a sample from Sony, only to be told that there were no plans to launch the device in the UK. I was therefore surprised, but very pleased in July when Sony announced that it would be launching its latest e. Book reader this side of the pond. One thing's instantly apparent when you take the Sony Reader from its box - the Japanese giant has hit the bull's eye when it comes to design. The Sony Reader looks fantastic, with the kind of minimalist style that wouldn't be out of place in a Terence Conran design studio. The Reader itself is finished in matte silver, with contrasting darker silver buttons and controls. At first glance, it looks like there are far too many buttons squeezed into the reader, but once you start using it, you'll realise that the controls are just about perfect. With dimensions of 1. Hx. Wx. D), the Reader is very slim, and even when shrouded in its protective case it's only the size of a slim notepad. Although the case, which resembles a book sleeve, isn't made from genuine leather, it has a quality feel to it. Sony has also thought hard about the usability of the Reader while in its sleeve, making sure that the device can be easily read when placed on a desk or table, without having to remove it from its sheath. Of course the highlight of the Reader is the 6in screen, which you'll be spending a great deal of time looking at. At this point I should probably point out that anyone who prefers reading ink on paper, to reading text on a screen should not just dismiss the Sony Reader; in fact you're in for something of a revelation. You see the screen on the Reader isn't a standard LCD, like you'd find on most mobile devices. No, what you've got here is the Holy Grail of electronic literature - digital ink on digital paper. If you think that I'm just spouting Sony's marketing line, believe me when I say that this device has to be seen to be believed.
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Январь 2017
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