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- Low cost
- User friendly, attractive design
- Crisp, eight-level grayscale display
- Support for a large number of file formats
- Lag in page turns
- Few additional features
- No AC power adapter
- Not Mac-compatible
When compared to the Amazon Kindle 2 (*Est. $260), the Sony PRS-505 undeniably falls in a downmarket category. Without features like a touch screen or Kindle 2's wireless connectivity, the Sony PRS-505 is easily overshadowed. In spite of this, the diminutive e-reader quietly but steadily marches its way to the top of more than one reviewer's list of recommended ebook readers by virtue of its utilitarian, but reliable and user-friendly performance. What's more, at $100 less than its flashier competition, the Sony PRS-505 makes e-reader ownership (almost) affordable. In spite of its budget price tag, experts say that the Sony PRS-505 has one of the best e-ink display screens of any e-reader on the market, with eight-level grayscale that delivers crisp, brilliant pages. Additionally, generous file format support enables users to download books from Sony's ebook store as well as from other online retailers, and the navigation controls are intuitive and easy to use.
On the downside, the Sony reader is PC-compatible only and doesn't come with an AC power adapter, so charging must be done by connecting to a PC. Some experts point out a lag in page turns and "ghosting," a momentary flash of black before the next page is displayed. Internal memory is a stingy 128 MB (enough to hold about 160 books), but the Sony PRS-505 has expansion slots to accommodate memory cards. Most reviewers conclude that when it comes to doing what an e-reader is supposed to do -- that is, display ebooks -- the Sony PRS-505 ranks with other leading e-readers, and does so for a lot less money.
Because Sony's PRS-505 is one of the oldest e-readers on the market, reviews tend to be either comparative or informative, but rarely both. Older reviews are especially helpful when it comes to explanations of the Sony PRS-505's technology and specifications, as they were written before e-reader innovations were common. CNET delivers the most detailed description of the device's capabilities, and TopTenReviews.com offers the best comparative analysis. ShinyShiny.tv and Stuff.tv conduct e-reader showdowns that compare the Sony PRS-505 to three competing models. Neither site offers testing results, specifications or performance findings for the Sony reader, specifically, but they do declare unequivocal winners.
| Sony PRS-505 Portable Digital e-Reader System (Silver) | |
(229 reviews) |
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Our Sources
TopTenReviews.com does the best job of pitting the Sony PRS-505 against a wide field of ebook reader competitors, and in its top-10 chart, the Sony PRS-505 ranks an impressive third. Also useful in this chart is the side-by-side comparison of features and specifications of all 10 readers.
Review: Sony Reader PRS-505, Brian Thomas
2. CNET
Reviewer David Carnoy compares the Sony PRS-505 to Sony's preceding model PRS-500 in this article, which is of limited comparative value due to the fact that it was written prior to the release of the Amazon Kindle and Sony PRS-700. Carnoy praises the improvements over the older model, and his evaluation is generally favorable, if lukewarm.
Review: Sony Reader Digital book PRS-505 (silver), David Carnoy, July 28, 2009
3. Shiny Shiny
Blogger Zara Rabinowicz pits the Sony PRS-505 against three competing e-readers in a head-to-head that consists of 10 points of comparison. The Sony reader wins on three counts: price, style and expandable memory. Rabinowicz does not select the Sony PRS-505 as the overall winner, however (that honor goes to the Amazon Kindle) or even the runner-up (BeBook), as it falls short on factors such as display specifications, internal storage, system set-up, connectivity and battery life.
Review: Battle of the Ebooks: The Kindle vs. Sony Reader vs. iRex iLiad vs. BeBook, Zara Rabinowicz, Dec. 3, 2008
In this evaluation of the PRS-505, Lisa Gade provides extensive comparison to Sony's preceding model PRS-500. She makes the argument that the Sony PRS-505 is designed to appeal to bibliophiles, while the Kindle is more of a techie device. As with all e-reader reviews on the site, this MobileTechReview.com analysis doesn't clearly find the Sony PRS-505 to be a better or worse option than any other e-reader.
Review: Sony Reader PRS-505, Lisa Gade, Oct. 5, 2008
5. Stuff
This review from U.K.-based Stuff.tv is not the place to go to gather detailed information on the features, specifications or performance of the Sony PRS-505. The editors set out to do one job -- pick the best e-reader, as they see it -- and they do it in an unapologetically brief fashion. Citing price and design factors, the Sony PRS-505 earns five stars and is named the best e-reader in the lot.
Review: Stuff's Ebook Reader Roundup, Editors of Stuff.tv, Nov. 10, 2008
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