Kindle Vs Sony Reader Pocket Edition becomes rather interesting thanks to the Pocket Edition’s excellent screen contrast, lower size and lower price.
Should the Kindle 2 be worried about the $199 Pocket Edition? Let’s find out.
Kindle Vs Sony Reader Pocket Edition Video
Sony has done well to hit a $199 price point and the Pocket Edition looks good –
Have to admit that the contrast on the Pocket Edition blew me away.
Kindle Vs Sony Reader Pocket Edition – Pocket’s Advantages.
- $60 cheaper than Kindle 2.
- Much more portable and much smaller in size.
- Excellent Contrast - Sony have somehow managed to make the background impressively white. There is a difference in normal lighting. However, in bright sunlight the difference is huge. Do note that the ‘Wow’ and other special effects are courtesy a Sony salesgirl -
- Like the buttons on the right side that can be used to jump to pages, and perhaps for other things.
- ePub Support.
The size and portability of the Sony Pocket Edition combines well with its $199 price to create an entry-level eReader that will appeal to a lot of people who can’t afford a $259 Kindle 2.
Here’s a rather haphazard video contrasting size –
Kindle Vs Sony Reader Pocket Edition – Kindle’s Advantages.
Once again, WhisperNet and the Kindle Store ride in to the rescue -
- 60 second book downloads.
- Better range of books and cheaper prices.
- Free Internet Access.
- Whispernet (wireless downloads for books) works in 81 countries. These countries get Free Wikipedia too and Amazon have said they’ll eventually get Free Internet.
- A larger 6″ screen – 5″ is too small.
- Read To Me is a great feature to have, although some authors turn it off.
- Kindle for PC and Kindle for iPhone. Kindle for Mac is slated to arrive in a few months.
- Syncing across different devices thanks to WhisperSync.
As in our previous comparison, the Kindle as a service totally overcomes the limitations of Kindle the device.
Thoughts on Kindle Vs Sony Reader Pocket Edition
The Kindle 2 and the Sony Reader Pocket Edition really are different devices.
The Pocket should come in at $150 given its total lack of wireless connectivity, expandability, etc. and at that price it would be a huge hit.
At $200, Sony 300 can’t compare with the features of the Kindle 2, which is definitely worth the extra $60. Just the free Internet, free wikipedia, and larger size are worth more than that.
Conclusion – Kindle 2 wins, Sony Pocket Edition sets a new bar for Screen Contrast and Pricing
The Kindle 2 wins, again relying on the wonder that is WhisperNet and its range of content.
Sony do set a new bar for pricing and screen contrast and put a ton of pressure on Amazon for Kindle 3.
Amazon really ought to figure out what deal Sony struck with the devil to get such excellent screen contrast.
Filed under: kindle, sony reader Tagged: | kindle vs sony reader, kindle vs sony reader pocket edition
1. It would be nice if they chose the same fonts with same font-weight, and same margins for each display. Tremendously unfair to the Sony PRS-600 there.
2. The lighting keeps changing. Each unit should be shown in the same spot, sequentially from the same distance and angle. I know how the slightest shift can change the look of the lighting. Given that, the PRS-300 does look to have a lighter background but they have not changed capabilities on that screen. A sony report today said that someone’s spouse’s version had better contrast so it may be as variable (being from E-Ink) as the K2.
3. The Sony PRS-300 has no searching, no highlighting or notes, no in-line dictionary. No reason for a keyboard.
It’s rudimentary and I agree totally that the $150 price would make it a runaway hit for people who want only to read and not have too many books on there (at least not with graphics).
But I’m one that uses the search tool constantly… the dictionary too. Highlighting often.
well, perhaps will put up another video to contrast the screen contrast. I didn’t change the sony font – perhaps the book used italics by default.
However, even where there are no italics the contrast is clearly not as good on the 600 and excellent on the 300. Kindle is good – however, not as good as the 300.
That would be great ! Maybe have both do a copy of a Project Gutenberg book, the same book, on the same page.
I am with you that this particular Sony 300 and that K2 show this Sony 300 has a lighter background for one thing and better definition in the font shown. Models vary too, not because it’s Amazon or Sony but because it’s E-Ink (and PVI).
You know that the K2 is said to have inferior screen contrast to the K1, but it was difficult to prove this when I did photo comparisons on the K2 & K1 that I have. By eye, I could see the font was -somewhat thinner-, with less spread but that would be seen as less black then. I am nearsighted so it was ok.
My impromptu nearly side-by-side of the K2 with a Sony PRS-505 (which has what is considered a screen that generally has good contrast like the Kindle 1) shows them somewhat similar when I encountered the Sony at Target. Unfortunately they’re not equidistant in my shots.
http://www.pbase.com/andrys/image/111640848
On that page, you can press ‘next’ and/or ‘previous’ to see other shots of these units.
#44 shows the K2 menu, and looks the way I see it but darker than most K2 pictures seen on the web.
# 46 is the K2 with a default font used for a web-page document I found and sent to my K2. The font looks good.
#47
The Sony has a thinner type of font there and the focus is very clear on the Sony bezel and the use-flaws on it but seems not quite ‘in’ for the Sony screen though as you can see the difference in distance is really slight.
At any rate, you can see how different angles of shooting and the way light is shining on them affects the relative brightness and contrast of the screens in those.
A shot of the K2 (almost equivalent to K1 in screen contrast though 16 shades vs 4 shades) alongside the DX, while having to be far from both to show them together, the DX is clearly more legible.
#37
It’s hard to capture, but in person the DX is almost mesmerizing in the solidity of its fonts at any size. It’s hard for me to use either the K2 or K1 now.
i’m very curious what the Sony Daily Edition will be like, with the somewhat larger screen, though with the touch screen layer too. Will watch for your further tests.
I like the speed of page turns and less black on the PRS-600.
You are forgetting a couple of other factors. The Sony has much better battery life–very handy if you take an ebook device on vacation, with no charger to worry about. Also, I disagree with the “better range of books and cheaper prices” comment. The Sony accepts many more formats (without conversion hassles). Sony’s ebook prices have come down recently, often to below Amazon prices, and ebooks in other Sony-compatible formats may be cheaper than the Kindle format. Finally, the Sony Readers can BORROW ebooks from local libraries, which is definitely cheaper than BUYING them.
The ability to borrow from the library cannot be underestimated here. Since I got my Sony Pocket Reader last Summer when it came out, I have read over 50 books on it and only paid for one (and that one was available from my library a week after I bought it). Virtually, everything I read is recent NF releases. I have managed to get them all by using two library systems near where I live. This alone places the Sony (or any other ePub reader) way above the Kindle, which I owned for a while and spent as much money on books as I did the device.
dr moze,
not sure where you got the data that says sony has better battery life. do let me know so i can update.
as far as books. fair point on library usage being a big sony advantage.
however, the number of new books available in the sony store is still limited.
not only is searching around for books rather time consuming, there is also the problem that a lot of new books are not available.
its a problem with both kindle store and sony. however, much more so for sony.
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I am interested in whether both the Kindle and Sony Reader can be used to download available e-books from public libraries for free. My public library offers a wide selection of free downloads and I would be interested in taking advantage of them.
Only the Sony Reader.
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i have a sony prs-505 it is good, but my mother has one to, and the difference between the two is very big. her’s has very hi beautiful easy to read contrast. my not so much? it is the same device how come?
i like my prs-505 any way
My husband just got me a Sony Reader for Mother’s Day and I love it! To answer someone elses question,once you charge it,it lasts a longggg time!It will be a week tomorrow the last time I charged it and it still has a full charge and I read constantly! The books are very nicely priced.I just bought a series of books that I was wanting to read and only paid 12.99 for a set of 5 books.I also get alot of books from my local library with is also great.Overall a great product!