Sony 6 ereader with wifi review

We also liked how you could double-tap on a word to bring up its definition in the built-in dictionary the Reader keeps logs of the words you've looked up as well--nice touch. As you can see from the list above, the one big omission from the features list is wireless connectivity. One can only assume that Sony simply couldn't produce the PRS in a Wi-Fi version for a similar price and turn a profit or even break even. Obviously, the touch-screen interface is costlier to implement, but it's a truly a shame that Sony couldn't include Wi-Fi.

That's our biggest gripe about the device, which we otherwise really liked. Some people aren't fans of smaller e-readers, but the PRS's size is appealing to those who want to carry around a very compact e-reader that easily slips into a coat pocket or a purse and barely weighs you down. That said, if your eyesight isn't great, this probably isn't the e-reader for you. And while it does display PDF files and has zoom capabilities along with Word and text formats , we can't say the small screen is all that convenient for PDF viewing.

But if compact is what you're after, compact is what this is--without being too small. With the Size button, you can choose among six font settings: extra-small, small, medium, large, extra-large, and extra-extra-large. While the absolute sizes vary from title to title, a 5-inch screen diagonal doesn't give you a lot of real estate.

In one case, the large font size yielded just 11 lines with about four words per line; in other cases, it was 15 to 17 lines. However, if you switch to the "medium" setting, you move up to about 24 lines of text with around 10 words per line, which is pretty good. Note: You can manually set the screen to display vertically or horizontally, but we really didn't like the horizontal setting for reading books.

To download e-books from the Sony store, you have to install the Sony desktop app on your Mac or Windows computer. You then "side-load" e-books you've purchased to the device via the USB port. The power button is different from the because it is a simple button instead of a slider.

Finally there is a 3. One of the things I noticed right away was the lack of a physical volume slider on the device. It instead relies on software driven controls within the audio application. The T1 does not have speakers but using the headphone jack you can listen to a wide array of media options in AAC or Mp3 formats.

I found the sound to be crystal clear, but does not have any kind of EQ. On the front of the unit are 5 buttons which you primarily use for navigation. It has two page turn keys on the left hand side in which you can flip books forward or backward. There is a home button which automatically brings you back to your main screen and finally a BACK button!

This is one of the first Sony e-Readers to actually have a backward option! This is exciting because previous models of the companies devices utilize X or close buttons on all menus, making you have to hit a small area.

I am a huge fan of this simple upgrade and makes life significantly easier. Rounding off the buttons on the front features a settings button which ironically does not do anything on the main home screen but gives you valid options on most programs.

There is 2 GB of internal memory to store all of your media content and if that is not enough you can expand it via MicroSD. On the back of the unit is where you will find the memory bay and it is protected by a small plastic flap that protects it from the elements.

It is extremely portable and the piano black finish looks very solid. We did a side by side comparison of both this model and the and this one blows it away in almost all physical respects. This is a tremendous boon because if you are used to tablets or smartphones in your daily life, there is not a huge adjustment with this edition. One of my favourite aspects of this new OS on the Sony Reader is that you can pinch and zoom almost every program on the device!

Most prior models of the Sony product line had a magnifying glass via a physical button or software driven. Whether you are browsing the internet, reading a book, or looking at a picture the device is tremendously responsive using this common feature. When you power on the device for the first time you are greeted by an enhanced home screen.

It shows you the book you recently have read and the three most recent books you have loaded on the device. The Books option leads you to a virtual bookshelf in which all of your ebooks are proudly displayed. You can organize it in a graphical layout with the cover art or make it text based. The text option might be useful if you have a horde of novels loaded on it. Speaking of which, the Collections option is one of the best things on this device.

Most e-reader companies seem never to implement this feature right out of the gates, which contributes to a very unorganized device. Sony understands its customer base because it has been selling e-readers longer then Amazon has. The collection option allows you to start collections on your device, which basically just creates a folder. You then want to copy and paste books into your particular collection directory when you plug the T1 into your PC. Also on the main home screen is a periodicals option which is basically just a devoted collection of manga, graphic novels, newspapers and so on.

When you buy content from the Sony Store it is automatically put in that section. The Sony Store is front and centre on the T1! It is the first Sony Reader that allows you to directly access the ebook store the company has been running for a number of years.

Previously, if you had a Sony device you would have to shop for books on your PC and then find one you like and buy it. Using this program you would transfer the DRM protected content to the correct directory. This is making a new customer have to jump through too many hoops to simply buy a book. The new store allows you to register on the site and then create a billing profile. After that it is one click buying and then transferring it directly to your reader after purchase.

The Sony Store is optimized to the reader and looks amazing! It presents three of the most recent books on a slide show and you can gesture to switch to the next books.

All of the books I saw where by popular authors such as; Harlan Coben, J. Rob b and Sherrilyn Kenyon! You can click on the book cover and read the book description, book reviews, description, author profile, wishlist and related books.

I am in love with the Sony Store! The real benefit is that you can load your own books in PDF or ePUB format and you can buy get access to the store internationally. The big problem with Amazon and Barnes and Noble is that they region lock the books. If you have a Nook and live outside the USA you cannot even buy anything unless you fake an address. Unfortunately, we found that when you tap on the highlighted section, it didn't always pull up the note-taking menu. It was a bit frustrating at times.

After annotating a book on the Reader, you can "merge" those annotations with annotations you may have already added to the same book using your computer from within the eLibrary software. Viewing--and reviewing--text, notes, and any markups using a larger computer monitor is preferable to viewing them on a dull, 6-inch screen, so if you're a big annotator, you'll probably find yourself reading a lot more on your computer than you think. While this all sounds quite sophisticated and potentially useful, we'll warn you that to get the hang of the markup features, you're going to have to do some digging in the user manual it's available as a PDF file.

And even then, you may run into some snafus. As for more mundane items such as battery life, these devices are designed to go several days or even weeks without needing a recharge. According to Sony, you should get up to 7, page turns or about two weeks of usage from a single charge. However, like the PRS, the included lithium ion battery isn't user replaceable--you have to send the unit back to Sony if the battery dies.

It's also worth noting that we couldn't charge the Reader with a standard USB cable connected to a 5V power adapter, such as the standard iPod wall charger. With the addition of thousands of free public domain titles from Google which includes many pre-WWI classics , Sony boasts more than 1 million titles in its e-book store, and that number continues to grow.

Sony's also upgraded its eBook Library PC software it's up to version 3. While the process of transferring content to the device isn't as convenient as downloading books wirelessly to the unit as you can with the Kindle as long as you can get a signal , Sony's improved its software to the point where it's become fairly easy to use and is not the liability it once was.

Still, there are some small quirks you'll discover that make you think there's room for additional tweaks. Downloading a purchased book is a two-step process. You launch the software, connect the Reader via USB, and browse the e-book store, which in some ways is better organized and superior to the e-book store built into the Kindle.

After you purchase a title, it goes into a special folder; you then drag the title onto the icon for the device and it transfers to it. Overall, it's pretty simple. And adding nonencrypted files isn't hard either. After downloading a file to your computer, you import that file to your library using the "import" function and drag it over to the "Reader" icon on the left side of your screen. In fact, as we've said before, one of the Reader's strengths is its capability to read other formats besides encrypted Sony e-books from the store.

The zoom functionality on PDFs is more robust on this model than the PRS, but those who are looking for stronger PDF support should probably check out a larger format e-reader like the 9. Another big plus is that the PRS and other Sony Readers are compatible with digital books from local libraries, which have just begun lending out e-books using an EPUB file format with day expiration.

The selection is currently very limited, but anything that's available, is free to download. There's a lot to like about the Sony Reader Touch Edition. It's slim, relatively lightweight, more compact than the Kindle 2, and it is classy looking. We also continue to be fans of the touch interface for e-readers and its feature set is quite good, despite lacking a wireless option. All told, it's hard to ignore the fact the PRS is hampered by screen issues.

While they may not be complete deal breakers, they're definitely something you should be aware of and we recommend that you check this product out in person before buying it. David Carnoy.