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Sony Reader Pocket Edition
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The pocket edition of Sony's popular 'Reader' measures 10.5x15.5x1cm. The viewable screen is 7.5x10cm. It weights 170grams, and sad to say from a male perspective mine was pink. So just like the Cool-Er I needed to review it in the privacy of my own home. No wonder the PR lady apologised to me before sending it out saying it’s the only unit we currently have available.
The top has an on/off slider. Both the left and right side as well as the back are clear of controls. The base has DC input, USB input and what looks like a Kensington Lock port. The rest of the controls are on the face around the screen.
Below the screen is a line of four clearly labelled buttons and of course the ubiquitous five position joystick. Down the right edge are a line of five rocker buttons numbered from 1 to 0 whose job will become clear when in use.
There is a Quick Start guide the first eight pages are in English. The guide is well illustrated and I doubt anyone will have difficulty following the instructions. To add extra books of .PDF files you need to download some software from a given link. You can of course purchase books and a link is given for this action.
However a more interesting idea is that you can upload your own documents and PDF files to the reader and this I see as a big plus for those needing to read a lot of documents on journeys to and from the office on a bus or train.
To switch on just slide the button on top to the right and hold for a couple of seconds and the Home screen will appear this has seven items each beside the numbers 1-7 on the right allowing you to very quickly select your choice. Continue Reading, Books By Title, Books By Author, Books By Date, Collections, All Bookmarks and Settings. You can also use the down arrow on the joystick to get to whichever item you want to.
Along the bottom of the screen (white on black) is the battery state and the page number of whatever you are reading.
There are three font sizes so if your document fits the page it might well be small to read and a press on the + button should make it easier to read another will suit even those who would normally struggle, as this on a toggle the next press returns it to the original size.
I found on occasions some PDF files gave unusual results but a move to the next page and then back resolved most problems. There are eleven books provided (not all in English) and indeed most are excerpts of full texts.
The cost of the books to download of course varies. This Pocket Edition by Sony I find a better size (pity about the colour supplied to me) than the Cool-Er and perhaps even a little easier to use. With all these products you use zero power while viewing a page the only power used is the energy required to put the next page on the screen.
This unit does not support external cards (unlike the Cool-Er) but is stated to have memory for around 350 books and should have power in the solid battery to support around 6800 page turns (slightly less than the Cool-Er claims.
Doing my Internet searches found the Sony Reader Pocket Edition at a best price of £138 from the first link below. The link goes to blue one if you want other colours including pink they are £3 more.
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