Critique of the Sony 900 Day-To-Day Model
The Sony PRS-900, famously known as the 'Daily Edition', is Sony's latest e-reader offering and it flaunts a built-in 3G wireless connectivity. Despite being old hat today, this innovation was a game-changer in the e-reader world back in the day.
Oh, did I mention the wireless connectivity? You guessed it, it's AT&T-powered, granting you free access to e-books from Sony's Reader Store - within the U.S. and Canada only, though.
Now, let's dive into the nitty-gritty, shall we?
First off, the PRS-900 comes with a squeaky-clean, uncluttered look. Four bottom buttons will navigate you through 'Home', 'Store', 'Applications', and 'Settings'. Five hard buttons below the screen, including a dedicated 'Home' button, round up the control scheme.
The 7.1-inch screen might be a tad bigger than the standard 6-inch one, offering a resolution of 1024 X 600 pixels and 16 levels of grayscale. But don't expect a capacitive screen integration like an iPhone or smartphone. You'll need to put some pressure behind those taps, buddy, and reaction times may not be as lightning-fast as you'd like due to the E Ink technology it employs. Alternatively, a stylus is available for more tactile control or annotating books, and there's even a notes application for your jotting needs.
You want fancy gestures? The PRS-900's got 'em! Swipe your finger along the screen to turn pages, or swipe and hold your finger to zip through pages like a boss. But if that ain't your jam, old-school hard buttons are always at your service.
But let's face it, an e-reader is all about the reading experience. And while the PRS-900 lags in terms of text quality and reflectivity compared to the Nook, the improved quality of text and a bigger screen make for a better reading experience overall, especially under a reading lamp or in bright-lit areas.
Unfortunately, the lack of an adjustable contrast or font style can be made up for only with the ability to adjust font size. So, no worries if your eyesight ain't what it used to be – the PRS-900's got you covered with six typeface font sizes to choose from. A built-in accelerometer would have been the cherry on top, but you'll have to manually set the display mode for landscape or portrait.
However, improved text quality and a larger screen do go some way towards offsetting the reading experience. Text is legible even in low-light conditions, especially for the medium and large font sizes. But things are peak performance under a reading lamp or in bright-lit areas as the E Ink technology jacks up its clarity against the background and there are no reflections.
In terms of content, the Sony Reader Store doesn't match Amazon or B&N stores in terms of breadth, but you'll still find a decent number of books across various categories and genres. Plus, you'll have access to online versions of newspapers and periodicals at monthly subscription fees. Hey, you'll even receive e-paper versions of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, or the Financial Times automatically through wireless connectivity.
The PRS-900 supports a variety of file formats, including ePub, PDF, TXT, RTF, and Microsoft Word, as well as image files of type JPEG, PNG, GIF, and BMP. Wireless connectivity makes it a breeze to download content from the comfort of your device.
When it comes to performance, the PRS-900 works like a charm with Windows 7, Vista, and XP, as well as Mac OS X. It ships with a 800MHz Celeron class processor for Windows and an Intel, Power PC G3, G4, or G5 processor for Mac.
The device comes with 2 GB of internal memory, with 1.6 GB available to users. It also includes memory stick and SD card slots for expandable storage up to 32 GB, more than enough for storing several thousand e-books and documents.
The PRS-900's battery life clocks in at a monster 12,000 page turns per charge – the highest among current e-readers. However, battery consumption increases quickly when the wireless signal is weak, so keeping the wireless off during low connectivity is a great way to save power. When left on for more than ten minutes, the wireless feature enters standby mode to conserve power, drawing minimum power from the battery while periodicals are still delivered.
One interesting thing about the PRS-900 battery is that the firmware sometimes confuses battery levels. This usually happens when you first start using the device – just charge, cycle through drain and recharge a few times, and you'll be golden.
Additional features include a built-in dictionary, the ability to add bookmarks and highlight words and sentences, a 'Zoom' feature for magnifying e-books and PDF files, and the 'Crop Margin' feature for cutting white space around pages. The 2 Page View feature allows you to view two pages at once in landscape mode, aiding visual scans of pages.
Now, there are a few drawbacks to this e-reader. For starters, no internet browser is available, and there's no option to download free e-books from the internet via wireless. The screen can also be reflective from certain angles, but adding a clip-on reading light should take care of that. The contrast is lesser in comparison to non-touch e-readers and Sony's e-books are generally pricey. Furthermore, the zoom feature has a tendency to reset when turning pages, and Sony's desktop software can be finicky, with Calibre being a better alternative.
So there you have it – the ups and downs of the Sony PRS-900. Admittedly, it's a bit on the pricey side at $399, but bear in mind all the goodies it offers out-of-the-box, such as the AC adaptor, a leather cover, travel case, USB cable, pre-installed card, stylus, and battery pack. And don't forget about the free wireless service!
If you've got any questions or comments, don't hesitate to hit me up anytime!
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Sovan Mandale-Readersovy@our website
With a passion for tech, I'm always in the loop on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. Smarten up on smartphones, tablet devices, AI, self-driven automobiles – you name it, and I've got my eyes peeled for updates! Besides writing, my pastimes include watching films, reading, listening to music, experimenting with new recipes, and dreaming up my directorial debut in motion picture.
The Sony PRS-900, equipped with a built-in 3G wireless connectivity, sports a reading light for enhanced visibility in various lighting conditions. The e-reader's battery life catering to up to 12,000 page turns per charge sets it apart from other e-readers due to its impressive longevity. The PRS-900 is a gadget that seamlessly integrates technology into the reading experience, ensuring an immersive experience for its users.
