Product Review of the Sony Reader Touch

The electronics world is raving over the new "in" gadget of 2009-2010, the e-book reader. The Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader Touch, and the Barnes and Noble nook are among the most popular gifts for reading enthusiast due to their lightweight design, easy to use features, and overall "cool" factor. The readers allow users to read and download e-books almost anywhere in the continental U.S., and allow them to store hundreds of books on the ultra-portable devices. The Sony Reader Touch edition is making headway in the e-reader world by offering a great easy to use design and a very easy to use touch screen. This article will look at the Sony Reader Touch by looking at the pros and cons of the device, and if it is really worth the investment.

Sony Reader Touch

The Sony Reader Touch edition offers a slim portable design, long battery life (two weeks), easy to use touch screen, paper like display for easy reading, and a multi-million book library.

Pros

• Slim portable design- The Sony Reader Touch is only .4" thick, which means it can easily be carried in a briefcase or backpack for frequent travelers.

• Notes- A unique feature of the Reader is that the device allows you to freehand notes for future reference when reading via an included stylus.

• Built in dictionary- The built in Oxford dictionary is a great tool when reading because users do not have to use a standard print dictionary if they need to look up a word. This feature is very good when on the go.

• Screen clarity- The screen is the standard high-resolution grayscale that resembles an actual book reading experience.

• Battery life- The battery life is rated at two weeks of continuous use, which is an industry standard, but a feature that should not be overlooked.

• Touch screen- The touch screen is intuitive and very easy to use and makes the device look more elegant than the Amazon Kindle with the built in keyboard.

Cons

• No backlight- Although currently the industry standard is no backlight on e-book readers, it would have been nice to see a unique feature on the Sony Reader Touch. The contrast ratio can make it hard to see the words in low lighting conditions, but this problem is the same with a print book.

• Memory- The Sony Reader only has 512MB of built in memory, which is low in comparison to the completion. The reader may be able to take additional memory cards, but having plenty of on-board memory is much better than fumbling with memory cards.

• Text-to-speech- One neat feature with the Kindle is the text to speech feature, which actually reads to book to you, similar to an audio book without the dramatization. The Sony Reader does not have this feature.

Bottom Line

There are many e-book readers currently available, all of which are competing for the main market share in this niche. The Sony Reader Touch is a standard competitor that has some unique features, but overlooked some features that set the Kindle and nook apart. Priced at $299.99, (www.sony.com) the Reader is more money than the nook and Kindle. The Sony Reader Touch is a solid device, but be aware there are other competitors that offers different features and a cheaper price.

Sources:

www.amazon.com

www.barnesandnoble.com

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10551&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665921192#overview