I was walking by the Sony store when I noticed they had their eBook reader out on a stand. What surprised me was that no one was using it. The stand made the Reader look like a cheap plastic display model and even my girlfriend didn't know what it was. I made a bee line to it so I could use it. I have no idea why Sony isn't hyping this thing like crazy.
Heres some quick facts.
- It looks like paper which is why it looks like a cheap plastic model.
- Its got a touch screen with annotation. This is the only time touch screen is needed. I swiped to change pages and to make visual notes on the pages. Its a bit laggy but the Readers are only in their 2nd/3rd generation. They still have a long way to go in terms of usability.
- It can play music (although not easily - you have to quit your book to access the menu). I love the music player because its the only application I found that did animation. It was wonderful to see the ink move, even though it was just a tiny progress bar.
- You can zoom in and out. Theres also a landscape mode too.
- It feels solid. Its got the weight of a hard cover but with a smaller footprint.
- The screen isn't big but the text was very clear. It is faux paper, not LCD.
- You need to shine light on it. Since its not a LCD, it doesn't produce light so it needs an external light source. Just like a real book. Not sure why this model didn't come with a built in lamp, I think their old models had it. A few LEDs can't be that expensive, right?
I would love to get my hands on any eBook reader at this point.
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