Sony Pocket Edition Reader Review

The built in dictionary is a great idea.

All you do is double touch a word with your finger or the stylus that slides in and out at the top of the device, and the dictionary opens at the bottom of the screen. When done simply touch the "X" and resume reading. You can add notes, bookmarks, and highlights using the same types of commands.

There are many ways to turn the pages.

The two most popular are simply pressing the buttons at the bottom of the device which are conveniently located where your thumbs would rest if you were reading a book or by flicking the screen itself in the direction you want the page to turn.

Since I am se-retired, which translates to working for my children and grandchildren without pay instead of a company, I travel from my home in Boston to my obligatory condo in Florida and back. I will be able to bring my entire library with me and actually pick up more books on the way if I want to. You know how it goes. You purchase a book to read while you are traveling and you have to carry it around with you where ever you go. I usually finish the book half way through the first week and have to find a place to buy my next book. If I enjoyed the first book I will have to carry both for the remainder of my trip. From now on, all I have to do is to log on to the e-book store, download my next selection, and move it from my PC to my reader and I am good to go. There are some models that allow you to download from a wireless hotspot such as Borders or Starbucks but I am not sure at this time if that is important or not. My laptop is never more than arms length away. I will get into downloading books in more detail later in the article but believe me, it couldn't be easier.

 There are three major sources to receive your books that I am aware of so far. Notice I did not use the word purchase because some books are free. You are able to download free books from Google Books any time you want. They have the classics such as Catcher in the Rye, Tom Sawyer, Treasure Island etc. The first book I downloaded was Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn which I am in the middle of right now. I read all those books when I was in school but had a teacher or a parent standing over me if you know what I mean, so it wasn't much fun.  As I approached retirement, I always wanted to re-read them at my leisure. Now with the e-reader, I am able to read the classics for free and any time I want. I have not tried it myself yet but I understand you may actually download books from an e-library, and just like the old fashion library, you have to kind of return them because they will disappear in two weeks. You may also purchase books from the book stores any time you want for $7.99 to $14.99 which is still a lot less expensive than a hard copy edition. You may purchase any of the best sellers that you would find in the book stores. Book stores don't seem to hold back product like they do with movie DVD's trying to make sure you go to the movies if you want to be the first to see it.

Our purchasing adventure began at our local electronics store. My main concern was readability in direct sunlight. I spend a lot of time reading at the pool in Florida and on our boat the MsLIz. One of our favorite pastimes is to venture out to one of the Boston Harbor islands, drop the anchor, and spend the day and evening reading. Therefore if the device was unreadable in direct sunlight, I would pass and stay with my bulky old paperbacks. We were advised by the salesman at the electronics store to make sure we selected a reader with the "E-ink display" technology. They are the best for use in direct sunlight. He was absolutely correct. I am able to go out onto the deck and use the reader anytime during the day. I have not tried to use it on the boat yet but I am sure it will be fine.

When I first unpacked the reader and turned it on I found that like most battery devices the battery was half charged so I plugged the USB cable from my laptop to the reader and waited for an hour or so for the charge to read "complete." It has been two weeks since then and the battery gauge at the bottom of the screen just dipped to half way which means a charge will last around 2 weeks. I wish my cell phone would do that.

Okay, now to tape up your reading glasses, grab your pocket protector, and get into the technical stuff if you want. Or not and just buy the thing and enjoy it.
This is the model I am using.
Sony PRS-350 Pocket Edition Reader with a 5" E-ink Display.
The unit has a touch screen or you can navigate using the soft keys at the bottom.
The unit communicates with your PC by a USB cable.
The memory has 2GB or 1,200 books
Battery life is around two weeks obviously depending on how much you use it
The exact size is 5.7"x4.1"x.3" and weighs 5.7 oz. It is a little bigger than my hand and weighs as much as a cell phone.

If you have any questions or comments, I would be glad to answer them for you.