I’ve had a “reader” for a while now. I don’t mean my kid (though they’re readers, too) but an electronic, handheld reader. You may recall a few years ago when I was debating and debating which type of reader I wanted. Back then, they were so basic and people kept telling me to hold out for the iPad because I could do so much more, but I insisted that I wanted to keep my reading separate from my Social life. You see. I read at night. Every night. And I knew that if I opted out of the e-reader and went for an iPad only, I’d never actually read. I’d always have to do one more thing. And then another one more thing.
Anyway, nearing the completion of my 2nd year with the reader and I never hooked it up to the library. I’m sure I could have, but it seemed so difficult. First, I thought I’d have to actually drive to the library to download the book. (what?! who wants to do that?) Then I heard that you could do it, but first you’d need to apply, get the ebook, download it, send it to yourself… this was just becoming a pain.
And then Sony sent me the new Reader.
Overdrive: the built-in library
Anyway, all that frustrating how do I? business goes away in one quick click (or touch) with the Sony Reader. The Sony Reader has the library e-lending system, Overdrive, built-in to the system. There are no extra steps beyond selecting your local library, entering your library card number and borrowing books. I was amazed how easy it is. (Sadly, my local library has a very minimal selection of books. I looked up about 15 before settling on Wicked, which I’ve never been able to enjoy. All the same, I hear that neighboring cities have phenomenal Overdrives, so I’m tempted to join those libraries… just have to figure out how.) Of course, you can also buy ebooks through the ReaderStore, see details below.
Sony Reader “Specs” (or what it is, because I’m so not a tech-speaky person)
The Sony Reader PRST2HBC has a no-glare, touch screen interface, giving you the feeling of actually being able to turn the page. It’s extremely lightweight with a very clear picture, making the reader feel like it’s truly a 6 inch book she is reading. The Reader comes with a stylus that I’m shocked we haven’t lost yet because it doesn’t clip on anything, but a case would fix that. It also has Evernote (a great app/software program that you can use on nearly all of your electronics to store notes, thoughts, webpages and more) and has web and Facebook access. I would love to see a Good Reads app available in the future for noting quick reviews and finding more books to read from friends. Wouldn’t that be fabulous? It runs on wifi, so you must be in a wifi-enabled location to download a new book, but you can read a downloaded book anytime.
You can get all the real details here.
ReaderStore
In the easy-to-use ReaderStore, there are 11,900 free ebooks available to SonyReader users. The prices are comparable to Nook and Kindle. I price compared Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief and found that Reader and Amazon both listed it at $6.39, while Nook priced at $4.99. Sandra Brown’s Low Pressure is available at all three stores (Reader Store, Amazon Kindle and Nook )for $14.99.
The cons
While I don’t love the use of the stylus, I find with practice it gets easier. My husband, a lefty, finds it to be difficult to write with one on the Reader as his hand leaves track marks. Perhaps the touch screen settings are too strong. I’ve also found the flashing of the screen (which happens as I navigate much more than when I read a book) to be annoying. However, I rarely navigate beyond buying or borrowing a book. Finally, when navigating, it’s also very difficult to scroll which you do need to do when you’re browsing to see what is available in a library.
You can purchase a SonyReader Digital Book, starting at $129.99 at Sony’s webstore and for $132.98 at Amazon, listed as Sony PRS-T2/HBC 6 Touchscreen WiFi eReader – Black
I was selected to be a part of the Sony VIP Mom Blogger Review (#SonyMoms) program. I was given a Sony Reader PRST2HBC for the purpose of this review. I was not otherwise compensated. The thoughts and options shared above are my own and do not reflect those of Sony. This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.
© 2012, Julie Meyers Pron. All rights reserved.
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