I just finished uploading this Sony Pocket Edition video review on YouTube and figured I’d go ahead and post it here now while I continue to work on the written review over the weekend. The written review and photos will be added to the dedicated Sony PRS-350 review page, which currently lists the specs and features for the device.
I also plan on doing a PDF review and video, and a comparison video and blog post about the Kindle 3 vs the Sony Pocket.
The video review below is a walk-through of the Pocket Edition’s main features. It shows the different settings available, the new features, how to add notes, highlights, and demonstrates all the various ways to customize the reading experience.
Toward the end of the video there’s a brief look at a Manga that I borrowed from my local library, and a quick look at Calibre’s version of the USA Today newspaper via the news-fetch feature (here’s a how to article for more about getting free news subscriptions with Calibre).
Hi,nice review. My primary interest is in the EPUB capabilities. Couple of questions if you don’t mind.
1.) Does it support multi-level TOC? I had a Cybook OPUS and it only displayed level one.
2.) Does the user have control over margins and line/paragraph spacing as well as indentation?
Thanks.
Great review of the features,
It certainly has a lot more features than I was expecting.
It looks incredibly tiny and I would have thought it would be difficult to hit the right spot with your finger but that doesn`t seem to be the case.
Looking forward to the written review and your impressions of reading on it for any length of time.
Are fingerprints on the screen a problem while reading?
Many thanks for this review! I just looked at the older Sony readers in Staples today, and I asked if the PRS-350 was expected soon. The sales clerks didn’t know. But they were kind of glad to hear it was going to arrive sometime in the near future. I also downloaded the free Sony reader for the PC last night and was able to easily import free ePUB books onto it. Anyway, thanks again for keeping us up-to-date on the latest!
@purcelljf
1. Yes. There are selections within selections. At least 2 levels anyway; that’s the most I’ve come across.
2. Unfortunately Sony still hasn’t added any way to adjust line spacing or indentation, there’s a margin cut is all, but you can’t select how large you want it. No way to change fonts either.
There are ways to do this however. With a little technical work you can customize margins, spacing, font type, etc., using Calibre for non DRM ebooks. I plan on doing a post about it in a week or two.
Until then, you can learn how to do it by downloading this PDF from MobileRead. I haven’t tried it yet, but it does look pretty complicated.
@Lewis
Fingerprints seem to be less than with the previous Sony touchscreens. They’re noticeable after a while but there’s some kind of finish on the screen that seems to minimize it because if I accidentally touch the screen on the Kindle 3, the fingerprints on it are much more noticeable and harder to wipe off. I’ll update in the written review more thoughts about this after I use it a little more.