First, The Credits:
Photography: The exceedingly talented and incredibly beautiful Shaifali
Kindle Courtesy: Same as above
Sony PRS-T1 and The hand and Words: Courtesy, Yours, truly.
Now, the Real Deal:
Ever since I laid my eyes on the E-ink display, I have always wanted an E-reader. I love to read, and like most who really love to read, I love the smell and feel of paper and the the pleasure of holding a real book, but then, the e-ink display begged for a portion of my heart and I gave it, willingly.
My love of the real book is still a lot greater than my love for e-ink, but e-ink has a niche and it seems like it is not willing to let it go anytime soon.
I wanted the kindle, but my aversion to closed/restricted software, further strengthened by my stint with the iPad (yes, jailbroken, but still no comfort in certain cases) coupled with the terrible lag I have seen on some e-readers has so far kept me off.
That however did not stop me from gifting a Kindle, but I somehow felt that it was not for me.
True there is Calibre, allowing me to convert my entire Epub collection into Mobi, that could be read by the Kindle, true, I have the iPad and the Note to allow me to read, but a open, free-for-all, reasonably snappy reader was what my heart really wanted.
Did I find it in the Sony PRS-T1?
Read on.
The Packing:
The Sony comes in a very simple package. Clean, no wastage and efficient. I like it.
The rear of the package is as pleasantly non-flashy as the front:
Now a look at whats inside:
The Inside is also very neatly done without any unnecessary paper or plastic. Functional is the word that comes to my mind.
The package contains the reader itself, a micro-USB connecting/charging cable, a stylus, and instruction manuals.
Things to note, there is no bundled charger. If you do want a charger, there is one available at an extra cost. Also, the reader itself does not have any place to stow the stylus. If you want to use the stylus, you will have to carry it on person or somewhere. It however comes with a clip, allowing you to put it in your pocket like a regular pen.
The Connectivity Options
All the connectivity options are found on the base of the PRS-T1. Not that there are much. You will have to make do with the Micro-USB port and a 3.5mm auido jack. Both these are flanked by a hard reset punch-hole and a power button with an LED indicator that blinks orange when the device is busy.
Things to note: Unlike the kindle, the PRT-T1 does not come with a set of external speakers, so audio listening is available is only via the headphones. The reproduction is pretty neat. Although it does not really deliver soul thumping bass, it is good for general listening, and will more than do the job if audio books are your things.
Over-all, over the headphones, the audio quality is better than what a kindle delivers.
The Physical Appearance
The reader is available in three colours - red; white; black. (Pretty evident what colour I chose
). I have had enough of only white and black devices.
The back of the device is finished in a sort of velvety plastic that found favour in a few devices, and no matter which surface you inspect, barring the brushed metal strip above the buttons and below the screen, the device is a veritable finger print magnet - more so the back.
The Memory and the Shebang:
The Device comes with a memory of 2GB, 1.4 of which is usable space, easily good for about 3000 - 3500 titles.
The back also has a micro-SD slot that can support cards upto 32GB, and that should be more that sufficient for most needs. I presently have about 600 books on the device and they occupy about 200MB of space. The card slot cover is firm, but the latch mechanism could have been better. But considering you would not need to open it too often, it should suffice.
The transfer speeds are as good as any other device over USB 2.0. No worries there. No support for USB 3,0 here yet folks.
How Big is it?
Big enough, or small enough. Depending on how you swing. The pictures that follow should answer most, if not all, of your questions:
Is the pen mightier that the e-ink?
Sleeping with the enemy?
Have you held anything larger than 6 inches lately?
Or do women really dig the pinkie?
The story so far:
The devices have not been turned on yet, and they will soon be. But that will be in the post that follows. (The mods really need to consider having a save draft and an Edit feature really soon, or posting reviews could get really tiring!)
Photography: The exceedingly talented and incredibly beautiful Shaifali
Kindle Courtesy: Same as above
Sony PRS-T1 and The hand and Words: Courtesy, Yours, truly.
Now, the Real Deal:
Ever since I laid my eyes on the E-ink display, I have always wanted an E-reader. I love to read, and like most who really love to read, I love the smell and feel of paper and the the pleasure of holding a real book, but then, the e-ink display begged for a portion of my heart and I gave it, willingly.
My love of the real book is still a lot greater than my love for e-ink, but e-ink has a niche and it seems like it is not willing to let it go anytime soon.
I wanted the kindle, but my aversion to closed/restricted software, further strengthened by my stint with the iPad (yes, jailbroken, but still no comfort in certain cases) coupled with the terrible lag I have seen on some e-readers has so far kept me off.
That however did not stop me from gifting a Kindle, but I somehow felt that it was not for me.
True there is Calibre, allowing me to convert my entire Epub collection into Mobi, that could be read by the Kindle, true, I have the iPad and the Note to allow me to read, but a open, free-for-all, reasonably snappy reader was what my heart really wanted.
Did I find it in the Sony PRS-T1?
Read on.
The Packing:
The Sony comes in a very simple package. Clean, no wastage and efficient. I like it.
The rear of the package is as pleasantly non-flashy as the front:
Now a look at whats inside:
The Inside is also very neatly done without any unnecessary paper or plastic. Functional is the word that comes to my mind.
The package contains the reader itself, a micro-USB connecting/charging cable, a stylus, and instruction manuals.
Things to note, there is no bundled charger. If you do want a charger, there is one available at an extra cost. Also, the reader itself does not have any place to stow the stylus. If you want to use the stylus, you will have to carry it on person or somewhere. It however comes with a clip, allowing you to put it in your pocket like a regular pen.
The Connectivity Options
All the connectivity options are found on the base of the PRS-T1. Not that there are much. You will have to make do with the Micro-USB port and a 3.5mm auido jack. Both these are flanked by a hard reset punch-hole and a power button with an LED indicator that blinks orange when the device is busy.
Things to note: Unlike the kindle, the PRT-T1 does not come with a set of external speakers, so audio listening is available is only via the headphones. The reproduction is pretty neat. Although it does not really deliver soul thumping bass, it is good for general listening, and will more than do the job if audio books are your things.
Over-all, over the headphones, the audio quality is better than what a kindle delivers.
The Physical Appearance
The reader is available in three colours - red; white; black. (Pretty evident what colour I chose
The back of the device is finished in a sort of velvety plastic that found favour in a few devices, and no matter which surface you inspect, barring the brushed metal strip above the buttons and below the screen, the device is a veritable finger print magnet - more so the back.
The Memory and the Shebang:
The Device comes with a memory of 2GB, 1.4 of which is usable space, easily good for about 3000 - 3500 titles.
The back also has a micro-SD slot that can support cards upto 32GB, and that should be more that sufficient for most needs. I presently have about 600 books on the device and they occupy about 200MB of space. The card slot cover is firm, but the latch mechanism could have been better. But considering you would not need to open it too often, it should suffice.
The transfer speeds are as good as any other device over USB 2.0. No worries there. No support for USB 3,0 here yet folks.
How Big is it?
Big enough, or small enough. Depending on how you swing. The pictures that follow should answer most, if not all, of your questions:
Is the pen mightier that the e-ink?
Sleeping with the enemy?
Have you held anything larger than 6 inches lately?
Or do women really dig the pinkie?
The story so far:
The devices have not been turned on yet, and they will soon be. But that will be in the post that follows. (The mods really need to consider having a save draft and an Edit feature really soon, or posting reviews could get really tiring!)