The ideal (?) Book reader device is the Sony Reader PRS-500. Subjective view

The very first surprise for me was that the Sony Reader purchase in the US was not easy, but very simple. Despite the fact that the sony website indicated “orders are only accepted at the end of January due to high demand,” the first attempt to order from the first web shop (circuitcity.com) came to an end was an immediate success. Everything was ordered and delivered in a couple of days, and when I opened the box, I found the coveted Reader there. It included a case / cover, a power supply for charging and a regular USB cable with a small connector at one end. Looking ahead to say that the power supply is not very clear why you need it. Charging from USB works fine.



The first and strongest impression is how small and thin it is. On photos on the Internet, the reader looks noticeably more massive and coarser than in life. It seemed to me a very thin, compact and quite elegant device. Even in something stylish, if of course you are attracted by the low-key and strict style.



Even before switching on, I tried to connect (and it’s difficult to find the best word here) the reader with the cover. By the way, I read a lot of critical reviews about the cover, starting with the fact that “cheap oilcloth” and ending with “it smells like fish in general”. I didn’t find anything like this, but on the contrary, the cover seemed to me very pleasant both to the touch and smell :) Leather on the edge, some kind of noble material on the outside, and something like suede inside. The cover connects to the device itself in a very peculiar way, by means of a strange-looking ring clip sticking out of the cover. On the reader itself, the corresponding annular hole. This case is inserted into each other with a noticeable effort and frightening clicks. I was even afraid to break something. It seemed that this operation was supposed to be a one-time operation, and you would no longer have to unplug the reader from the cover.

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Turning on the reader did not cause any thought strain, and did not force the instructions to read. A very obvious switch on the end was found instantly, but the activation itself took quite a long time, no less than a minute. Such a waiting time only happens after a reboot or after the first power up. In a normal situation, the reader starts in 1-3 seconds. By the way, the reset button is located in such a way that it is impossible to press it without removing the cover. Although for a week of work there was no need to press it, I checked its work and the time it took to restart, for the sake of curiosity.



The first picture that the reader showed made a very strong impression on me. There was his main menu of 10 items, completely covering the area of ​​the screen. The items are quite expected - Books / By Author / By Date / Collections / All Bookmarks / Now Playing / Audio / Pictures / Settings. But of course, not the menu text made a shock impression, but how it looked on the screen. The Sony Reader is known to use an Electronic Ink-based screen (eInc) and claims to be “almost like real paper.” And although the screen did not seem to me a copy of the paper, but there was a very clear impression that they printed it on a laser printer on a slightly gray plastic. Nothing to do with other PDA screens and other compact devices. It was like anything but

screen. Perhaps the screen should stop in more detail, because this is what people pay $ 350 for this device. So, if in one word - "Unimaginable." If you add a few words - "just awesome." This is the first screen in my long-standing practice of electronic reading, which is so close in sensation to ordinary paper, and to which one practically does not need to get used.



If you touch the details of this impression, then of course the display material itself plays an important role. Light gray, absolutely not glossy and does not send sun glare to the eyes. Visually, it even seems somewhat dull, but it feels completely smooth to the touch. From a consumer-reader point of view, the display is quite “fast.” The entire screen is updated in less than a second, inverting the picture and then showing the new page. With sequential reading, this speed is more than enough, but when you try to scroll up to any particular place in the book, this speed is clearly not enough. And here rescues ten-button navigation. Each button allows you to jump by ~ 10%. In this case, the same buttons in other modes are a kind of keyboard shortcuts. Those. according to the list of books, you can walk around with a small and quite comfortable joystick, or you can immediately press the button with the book number.



The screen contrast is very high - the text is clearly and clearly visible. There is no flicker of the screen, because eInc screens are not constantly redrawn, but are (at the time of display of the text) in a stable state. And the power at the same time the screen does not consume. It seemed funny to me the definition of the reader’s duration, given by the manufacturer - the maximum number of page turning. And the number is considerable - about 7,500!



Reading with the Sony Reader is quite comfortable with natural and artificial light. It is impossible to read in the dark, but a small LED lamp sold in bookstores can be adapted. From my experience, one LED was not enough, but the lamp with a pair - the most optimum. The process of reading itself is very similar to the reading of ordinary books. Approximately the same page is often “flipped” and just like a regular book, the reader can be left “open” (turned on). In an hour he will turn off by himself.



If I didn’t have any complaints at all about navigation, well, except perhaps I quickly get used to some thoughtfulness of the device, then there’s a lot of complaints about turning pages. Two small buttons on the left are located opposite. The one that flips above at the top and the one below - back. Pages can be turned over with an additional button in the lower left corner. Here, too, everything is the other way around - to the left, leafing forward and backward to the right. Why they have it all turned upside down, this is a complete mystery to me. Yes, and side buttons could be more. And although their size is enough for me, people with larger hands will surely seem too small.



Another couple of drops of tar. Sony Reader does not understand Russian right out of the box. Fortunately, Russification has already been successfully rolled up and done in 5 minutes. After that, you can read almost any Unicode Russian texts in formats TXT, RTF, PDF and its native format. I stopped for myself while on RTF files, due to the simplicity of their production and a wide choice of ready texts in RTF. PDF files are not made specifically for its screen, it is difficult to read - very small in full-page mode. The case somewhat improves the transfer of the reader to the horizontal mode.



Texts can be read in 3 sizes (small, medium, large). The first switch to the new size for a particular book may take 20-60 seconds, for reformatting. Such formatting apparently occurs when you first load the text and may take some noticeable time (a minute or two).



In terms of compatibility with something that is not windows, the situation is conditionally satisfactory. Conventionally, because the internal storage can only be accessed from its native program that exists only for the OS from Microsoft. But the slot for SD cards saves the situation and makes it easy and easy to copy texts directly to a flash card from any OS.



As for the "mind", then the reader is all right. I mean the automatic memorization of positions in books, bookmarks and even the history of the read. The organization of books by authors and date also seemed convenient. There are still some “collections” there, but it seems that very few people know how to use them, and the documentation, by the way, presented in the form of a book on the reader, this question lights up somewhat vaguely.



In conclusion, I can say 2 things. Firstly, the Sony Reader PRS-500, in my opinion, is a very successful thing and extremely relevant to the reader’s household. Secondly, although formally the platform is still closed, but the craftsmen have practically opened it. And this means that in addition to the Russification already done, one can also expect the addition of support for additional formats (HTML, FB2, CHM ...) and the development of alternative reading programs.