But, alas, I am not that kind of reader. I do highlight, make “notes in the margins,” and – from time to time – want to turn my book into an audiobook (even if it does sound like a GPS).

Here’s the backstory. I am a kindle user who has become frustrated with several features of the kindle, nonetheleast of which are its lack of page numbers (making it hard to reference passages to others) and its proprietary nature (why can’t it handle PDF’s without a cumbersome conversion process?!). So, I bought a Sony Ebook Reader Pocket edition to play around with.

Immediately, I was struck by its compact design, with a 5” screen perfect for putting in one’s jacket pocket, briefcase, or carry-on bag. I was also VERY impressed with its readability; in my opinion, the resolution and text-to-screen contrast is actually better than the kindle (albeit only barely). It is easy to turn pages, jump from one page to another (this is much easier than on the kindle), and one has the option of text appearing vertically or horizontally on the screen.

Now, the downside: instead of five text sizes, there are only three (sometimes the choice is between just too smal and just too big). AND DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE CLAIM THAT THIS MACHINE HANDLES PDF FILES WELL; it doesn’t. Especially since there are only three text sizes, in order to display with formatting in tact, the text will be very tiny! One can only change text size on some PDF’s and even then the PDF formatting comes completely unglued. Nor can you search for a word that apears in the book like you can on the kindle. [EDIT (12/05/09): Since reviewing this product, kindle has now updated their kindle 2 to accept pdf files. From what I remember about the Sony Pocket, the kindle's new ability to handle pdfs does a better job displaying them than the Pocket.]

And here are the reasons that I personally could not see this device as a worthy kindle replacement: first, one cannot highlight or make notes in the margins. This is crucial for me, as I am a PhD student who often reads research articles on my ereader. One can bookmark pages, but not make any notes or highlights in the text. Also, to be honest, the software the Sony Ereader works with (ebook library) is quite clumsy. I had it for less than a week, and it crapped out on my twice, and since there is no wireless compatibility, when the software doesn’t work, no new books can be downloaded. Lastly, the book selection isn’t there yet. Every single book that was available for the Sony was available and cheaper on the kindle.

As an aside, I was also looking forward to the Sony Ereader’s ability to download any google book (that is in the public domain) for free. While this was something alleged to be exclusive to the Sony Ereader, it is not. While I cannot get into specifics, there exists freeware online that will allow the kindle to accept public domained google books. (And most are available free via other websites, anyhow.) If this is a selling point for you, rethink.

But, for many readers who don’t need to “write in margins,” highlight, or search a book for words that appear in it, this ereader is every bit as solid in performance as the kindle, costs quite a bit less and is more affordable. (Some even say it is every bit as stylish, but that is a matter of taste.) I can fully see most everyday book readers willing to trade bells and whistles for affordability happily using the Sony Ereader Pocket edition.

But for those who want more advanced features, this ereader doesn’t have them.

1. Very Poor Software

The Ebook software from sony is rubbish. It is very sluggish. Mind you it does work, but it is such a drag, that I couldn’t see myself using that thing in the long run. It has lot of quirks and is in early stages of development. I would call it beta rather than full. I came across 1 or 2 errors in the 2 days that I used it, for which I had to google and find a solution.

2. Not so impressive Contrast

When I first started reading on the PRS-600, I thought it looked okay, but nothing to brag about. I couldn’t quite understand what the fuzz is all about with ebook readers. The text was not dark black, it was grayish. I have to say that after using the kindle, I can’t even understand why I bought PRS-600 in the first place. I could have exchanged it for PRS-300 due to better contrast, but then the PRS-300 is even more limited than this device, no memory card, and no other features and it still has all the other quirks of 600 i.e bad software, limited content etc.

3. Limited content

No matter what people tell you about free ebooks from blah blah sites, my experience has been that if you try buying/downloading digital version of a real book, there’s a good chance that you may be able to find a kindle version, especially newer books or classic/famous books. But, you probably won’t be able to find either a free version or a version that works on the PRS-600. I have searched thro’ the Sony book store, and found it really really limited collection of titles.

4. Limited Functionality

Although I was impressed by touch screen and hand writing notes capability, all in all its just an ebook reader not much else. Touch screen is nice for navigating but feels a little unresponsive due to the delays of eink and no audio feedback (like old iPods used to have). Hand writing feature is good but of not much use because it also feels unresponsive, due to the delays of eink. And you can only write like 10-15 words on the screen of that size. So, its just an ebook reader and nothing else.

Combine this with 1, 2 and 3, what you get is an ebook reader which is bad, really realy bad. So, the touch screen is a good cherry to go on the cake, but where’s the cake? Kindle on the other hand, is cheaper ($259 as of now vs $299 for PRS600), and comes with Wi-fi, you can read blogs, news and weather on it, and receive updates over the air. These features make kindle really useful and are important features for me.

Overall, I found this a very clumsy device. We live in the world of bluetooth and wi-fi and Over-the-air sync, putting up with rubbish softwares and lousy USB sync is not something I want to do. I found it really hard to find books to read on this. And then if I was fortunate enough to get one, the contrast was pretty bad, I could always see a reflection of my face in the reader. It would render PDFs well. But I would gladly convert my PDFs to limited text ebooks and read it on kindle, because it looks so much better and darker on kindle. There’s very little content available on this device (at least the content that I care about mainly famous books, blogs, news).

You may say that I’m obviously biased about the kindle and against the PRS 600, but mind you I have used both devices and I returned one, for the other.

But I will make reviews of those products at a later time, perhaps.

I cannot shake the feeling that this eBook reader is a cheaper substitute for what came before it–PRS-505. The underlying technology is the same, as does the feel of the menu. After getting used to the older Sony’s navigation menu for a while, it felt very natural, for better or worse. Also, while the screen has shrunk from 6 inches to 5, you do not miss the extra space… much. You will flip the pages more often. But the flow is still very natural, and while it now misses the page flip buttons on the right edge and bottom left corner of the screen, the repurposed directional pad that moved to the center works very well. In fact, I prefer the feel of the reader; it is very balanced, and you do not get tired as much from holding it for a long time. And the four buttons under the screen are quite intuitive. And PDF reflows do work very well for small 5″ screen.

Now, there are downsides. It does not have slots for additional memory, so you are stuck with the 512MB onboard memory, which also happens to be shared with the firmware, leaving just over 400MB of memory for user. This is plenty for novels, but I can see it being a problem for PDF files with many pictures as well as graphic novels (which I have not yet tested the Reader with at the time). PDF reflow is not perfect, as it reflows the page rather than entire file, and it adapts poorly to the PDF format. But this is a problem inherent to PDF format rather than the Reader, it seems. Also, despite its “support” for Word files, it will not support the later .docx files used for Microsoft Word 2007 and later versions, and even the older files will be converted to .rtf files if imported via the software that ships with the Reader. Lastly, I find that the Pocket Edition feels less durable than the outgoing model–the 505 had a construction that is akin to iPod Nanos and Minis, with solid aluminum body casing. This one, it has aluminum front and rubberized metallic-colored plastic back. Gone are chrome colored trims, replaced with cheaper white plastic trims on the top, bottom, and side edges. This, however, also attributed to making the product a lighter and better-balanced (weight-wise) one. Lastly, it lacks the leather cover that came with older models; it now comes with a pathetically-padded pocket slip. If you buy a leather cover that is similar to what comes with the older Readers (which I advise you do), the price is right up with how much the older reader used to cost. And get this–it has less functionalities than outgoing model.

While what I am writing about look like lot of criticisms, overall I like this. Firmware is solid, and the accompanying software is relatively easy to deal with. Memory is adequate. While the older 6″ model is better value with better construction and more functionality, this is a worthy product… if it is not compared to the outgoing model.

One device with which I was previously as impressed was the iPod Touch, which I’ve found to be simply one of the best consumer goods purchases that I’ve ever made. Funny enough, my principle use for the Touch was as an ebook reader, and it was the Touch’s shortcomings as an ebook reader that eventually prompted me to purchase the Sony PRS-300 “Pocket Edition”.

I read extensively, both on my work commute (1.5 hours each workday on public transit), and in the evenings and on weekends. Conservatively, I probably read upwards of 20 hours each week, both ebooks and downloaded news articles and the like. I previously purchased the Sony PRS-505, in late 2007, and found it to be a good ereader. The PRS-505 provided a sharp, glare-free page image that was easy and relaxing to read. Unfortunately, it was a bit delicate, and within a few weeks of purchasing I had managed to drop it (from only about 2.5 feet) and crush the upper corner, dislodging the power slider. After having it fixed under warranty, I held onto the PRS-505 until mid-2008, when I purchased an iPod Touch. I read on the Touch, and–briefly–on the Amazon Kindle 2, until I purchased the PRS-300.

The new PRS-300 “Pocket Edition” over-comes several of the short-comings of the Sony PRS-505 and Amazon Kindle 2:

1. Great form-factor: The PRS-300 really will fit in a pocket, either a jacket pocket or very comfortably in a pocket of my cargo shorts on the weekend. This is an improvement over the PRS-505, which always seemed either slightly too big (to fit in a jacket pocket, or anything short of backpack or my briefcase), or not quite large enough (to read work PDFs with charts and graphs, or more structured documents, like instruction manuals). The PRS-505 and the Kindle 2 were also awkward to tote by hand (which is why I dropped the PRS-505, while trying to get my mail). While the Pocket Edition won’t display large, structured documents either, you recognize this as a trade-off for this model, in favor of its truly convenient size. It’s perfect for books, news articles, blog posts and the like, and, not having to carry it by hand or in bag, I take it with me more often when I’m out, and use it more than either the PRS-505 or Kindle 2.

2. Excellent ergonomics: The PRS-300 simply feels great in the hand: it has excellent balance, and a really comforting heft that reminds me of the way a solid paperback book just rest in your hand without the need to consciously grasp it, or constantly adjust it. This is a true improvement over both the PRS-505 and the Kindle 2: Both of these devices were very, very light, which in consumer electronics is usually the Holy Grail of product design, but neither was particularly well-balanced and I was always conscious of having to exercise control of the device, especially when clicking the page-turn buttons. The Pocket Edition isn’t by any means heavy–it’s actually a lighter than both the PRS-505 and the Kindle 2, at about 7.5 ounces–but the smaller form-factor, coupled with its superb balance, allows you to comfortably fade into your reading, without the physicality of the device intruding. While that kind of device transparency was a stated goal of the Kindle, I have to admit that I only rarely was able to read with the Kindle 2 without it intruding in some way (usually to re-balance it in my hand). The Pocket Edition has only one page-turn button–the large round navigation pad in the bottom-center–but the pad is in comfortable reach of your thumb while holding the Reader on the side. The button is firm without being obtrusively difficult to press (which was often a failing I noticed on both the PRS-505 and the Kindle 2). Of all the things that I enjoy about the Pocket Edition, its truly comfortable, unobtrusive physical design is probably the stand-out quality.

3. More durable design: The PRS-300 is, like the iPhone, or iPod Touch, or your laptop, a piece of consumer electronics that you simply don’t want to drop. Electronics are delicate (unless you spend ungodly amounts of money on Toughbooks and the like), and not tolerant of abuse. That said, the casing and design of the Pocket Edition is a very large step up from the PRS-505, which as I mentioned I managed to grievously injure with one (not very far) drop. I have “Whoops”-ed the Pocket Edition a couple of times, and was impressed that the more solid aluminum casing, coupled with the plastic end-caps and power slider, made it a great deal more resilient than its predecessor. In terms of durability, it’s probably about comparable to the Kindle 2; the Kindle 2, though, at least from Amazon’s marketing materials, does seem designed to “bounce back” from drops and falls that the Sony Reader was not made to withstand. In comparison with other ereaders on the market, the Pocket Edition is far sturdier, in terms of its heft, the resilient aluminum front buttons, and the (very) slightly elastic plastic end-caps.

4. Excellent screen image: The screen image of the Pocket Edition is crisp, clear, and CONSISTENTLY easy to read in both high- and medium-light conditions. The screen is non-glare, and there has been only one occasion (under somewhat harsh artificial light) when I needed to shift position slightly to remove a light-diffraction effect from the screen. The screen quality is comparable to the PRS-505, and considerably better than that of the Kindle 2. I’m somewhat puzzled by this, because there’s only one e-ink technology on the market right now, and the manufacturers of the screens all license the same process, with the same quality control parameters (the parameters are part of the license agreement), so I don’t really understand why the Kindle 2 screens seem to perform a notch or two below their competitors. I did read that Amazon made a decision to lighten the font image on the Kindle 2 (which owners of the Kindle 1 noted and complained about), so perhaps it’s simply a software issue. However, I finally decided to ditch the Kindle 2 when I noted the screen image literally fading away in direct sunlight (this issue has been commented on by a number of users, and Amazon will happily provide a replacement Kindle for units that experience this). The Sony Pocket Edition, though, has provided a much crisper screen image, with noticeably darker fonts, a whiter (lighter) screen background, almost no glare, and no funky fades, distortions, or other effects that inhibit reading. The clarity and comfort of reading the screen image is as good as (and sometimes better than) that of a physical book.

5. Very good on-device interface: The on-device interface of the PRS-300 is straight-forward, uncluttered, and relatively easy to navigate. Since the Pocket Edition (unlike the PRS-505, the Kindle 2, and the new Sony PRS-600 Touch Edition) does not include an MP3 player and image viewer, the Pocket Edition’s interface is strictly for book navigation and the better for it. It does take a click or two more than it “seems” like it should to access a book, or navigate to a specific goal, but I’ve decided that this expectation is formed largely from our use of personal computers (and iPod Touches/iPhones), which provide an instantaneous response (unlike e-ink) and the possibility for much more flexible menu designs (a virtue that the PRS-600 Touch Edition captures to some extent with its touch-screen). In comparison with the PRS-505, or the Kindle 2, the on-device interface of the Pocket Edition is at least as simple/easy to use, and perhaps slightly better, since it doesn’t have music, image, browser, text-to-speech, etc. options. The on-device interface is very good, and given the technology, it’s only the adoption of the touch-screen that will likely improve on it.

6. Acceptable Sony Library software: The Sony Library software has always reminded me of Apple iTunes: It’s slower than it should be, less intuitive than it could be, less flexible than its competition, and usually at least slightly frustrating. On the most basic level, as a tool for transferring content from your PC/Mac to the Reader, the Library software meets its goal; the software is, though, always slower than it “seems” like it should be. Like iTunes, it makes you wonder why it takes twice as long to transfer a file than it would through Windows Explorer/Mac Finder, and ask, “Why can’t a large consumer electronics company like Sony (and Apple) do better?” The Library’s short-comings are especially puzzling when you consider that there is a free software program, Calibre, designed by an ardent ebook enthusiast, that does more than the Sony Library, faster, more intuitively, less obtrusively, and without regularly freezing. I use the Sony Library for my Sony-purchased content, and Calibre for my personal content. If you have personal, non-DRM content, I can’t recommend Calibre highly enough (did I mention it’s free?); additionally, Calibre provides extensive, easy-to-use news media feeds, which it will painlessly transfer directly to your Reader, from both newspapers and news magazines. (If you do decide to use Calibre, please consider making a donation; it’s truly a masterful program that is continually up-dated and improved.) The Sony Library itself, however frustrating it can sometimes be, isn’t a reason to reject the PRS-300. The Library software does its job, and is reliable and improving. The local library finder is a great new feature, and one that–finally–has me using my local library for ebooks, rather than continually purchasing them. When I first read the press releases for the new Sony Readers, I discounted this feature, but quickly (as in the course of a weekend) realized that the ability to access library ebooks is a feature that I will frequently use.

It should be said that the Kindle 2, which foregoes a software interface with your PC/Mac in favor or an online library, truly enjoys an advantage over other ereaders; the Whispernet feature of the Kindle 2 (which was mimicked on the iPod Touch by the Touch’s WiFi access) is the only one that I vaguely miss. Of course, I don’t miss Amazon reaching into my Kindle and deleting MY content, from both my device and online library. As internet-based data storage expands in consumer electronics, I have really come to appreciate the advantages of having my personal content available to me off-line and distanced from vendors/service providers. When it comes down to it, I don’t have any need for book content always-on-demand, such as is offered by the Kindle; that’s a nice feature, but one that caters solely to an almost pathological consumerist tendency for instant gratification. I buy fewer books without that feature, and enjoy my books more (and persevere longer with books that don’t immediately engage me).

The Sony PRS-300 “Pocket Edition” is honestly one of perhaps only 2 or 3 consumer electronics purchases that I’ve ever made that make me sit back and say, “Wow, I’m really glad that I bought this.” The Pocket Edition is like one of those books that you begin reading, and after a few chapters pause, smile, and get the slight rush that comes from true enjoyment. As I mentioned, the iPod Touch was one of the very few devices that gave me similar enjoyment, but the eye strain that came from reading from an active LCD screen was simply not worth the convenience of the device’s form factor. I have, too, really begun to appreciate the slightly larger screen on the Pocket Edition, and enjoy the “muscle memory” experience of my eyes scanning across a screen that’s almost the same size as my favorite old paperback books.