Kindle Alternatives – the Sony Prs-505 E-book Reader

Lucy Thatcher asked:

The Sony Prs is one of the strongest rivals of the Amazon Kindle. Launched a few weeks after Kindle, Sony’s e-book reader is quickly catching up in terms of sales and popularity. Both e-book readers basically share the same functions. The biggest difference in the features of the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Prs 505 would be their price, design, user friendliness, and readability.

One of the major differences is the price of these two models. Kindle cost about $100 more that the Sony model. Does the Kindle have any additional features that warrant this hefty premium? The main difference between the Amazon Kindle and any other e-book readers is Amazon’s own wireless connectivity, Whispernet. This uses the mobile phone’s 3G technology, enabling you to access the Amazon E-book store wherever you are. The Sony Prs-505 on the other hand uses normal WI-FI wireless technology. You will only be able to access Sony’s E-book store though internet connection. Does this extra feature warrants the additional $100? You be the judge.

Another great difference between these two e-book readers is its design. The Amazon Kindle has a bright white exterior with a minimalist design. The Sony Prs 505 on the other has a metallic silver exterior, which is more sleek and thin-looking compared to the Kindle. Many reviews sited Sony’s model as having a higher ‘cool-factor’ compared to the other models.

Personally, I think that one of the best features of the Sony Prs-505 is its user friendliness. Its user interface is shockingly simple and easy to use. Once connected to your PC, you can download over a dozen e-books in less than 2 minutes. There are nine buttons on the left side of the screen that allows you to easily access pages that you have book-marked. The only set back is that the page turns of the Sony Prs 505 is a little sluggish compared to Kindle.

Readability would be another highlight of the Sony model. The screen is bigger than the Kindle, which is a big plus. In addition to that, Sony has improved on the screen’s readability under bright light where the words on the screen become more visible under bright lights. The screen contrast is sharp but yet easy on the eyes.

Kindle: Amazon's 6" Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation)