I recently had the opportunity to review the new Sony Reader Digital Book, courtesy of Sony. I rarely accept review requests but this one looked like a cool gadget and since I write ebooks, I thought, "Why not?"
Honestly, I expected to tell you in this review that the Sony Reader was a cool gadget–and an expensive one at that. I assumed something like this would never be an item I might actually recommend someone buy unless you have cash falling out of your pockets.
Believe it or not, though, I was quite impressed with this gadget. So much so that I could see real benefit for a number of individuals. I’d even go so far as to say it could save you hassle and even money in certain circumstances.
PROS
--The Sony Reader is very light and compact, but not too small so that reading is cumbersome. Being an avid reader and always one to pack at least 4-5 books each trip we take (and sometimes even just for an hour-long car ride!), the realization that I could download books and store them all in one place with the Sony Reader was quite incredible. No more bulky bags or extra suitcase weight!
–The Sony Reader is user-friendly. I’m no techie, but in about ten minutes, I had set the Reader up, installed the software, and begun reading my first book.
–The Sony Reader is easy on the eyes. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I certainly was not expecting a digital ebook reader to have an exact page replica on my screen. It was almost as if I were holding the book in my hands!
–The Sony Reader is perfect for multi-task readers. If you’re like me in that you never can just stick with reading one book at a time, this Reader saves you the trouble of having to keep everything bookmarked or lug all the books with you when you go places. You can just whip it out, choose the book you’re in the mood to read, and click the button to go to the page where you left off!
CONS
–The Sony Reader can’t exactly replace a real book. At least for me, having a real book to mark up and dog ear just can’t ever be replaced by something on a screen.
–The Sony Reader is rather expensive. You knew I’d have to mention this, didn’t you? While I definitely think the Sony Reader is a fun gadget and would be especially beneficial to those who travel a lot, read a lot, and often buy books, I don’t think it’s for everyone. If you are barely making ends meet, save your money to buy groceries and pay your electric bill.
–The ebooks you can download for the Sony Reader are rather expensive. While Sony does offer a large library of Classics which can be downloaded for only $1.99 each and while the Reader comes with 100 free ebooks, if you want to buy newer releases or even some not-so-new releases, the prices are not much less than what you’d pay for a printed book. (You can browse the book titles and prices here.)
Subscribe for free email updates and be entered to win $100!
{ 9 comments }
Crystal,
Check your local public library for free downloadable ebooks. Mine has tons of ebooks on their website.
My wife is really wanting a Kindle but cost is also prohibitive, though the book prices are much better ($9.99 for the newest ones and much less for older stuff). Have you had a chance to play with one of those?
This is less expensive than the Amazon Kindle, a similar device. I wonder if there is a difference in the cost of downloading materials for each of them. Cheapskate and homebody that I am, I’ll stick with the public library for now! If I was traveling a lot though I would seriously consider this lightweight way to take books with me.
I have often thought that the Amazon Kindle, as it evolves, if it keeps the free web browsing, and incorporates a calendar/planner, would be my dream device. I would rather have web+books than web+phone, for certain. And I love the idea of having the stories without the clutter.
But for us, for now, the library remains the absolute #1 source of books. The library saves us thousands of dollars a year, and is IMO one of the absolutely most valuable government services imaginable. Ours does not have free downloadable e-books, I thought there was a licensing issue?
I’ve wanted one of these for awhile now. When we travel it would so much easier to carry one of these instead of books for me, husband, an 11 year old, and a 9 year old(both who love Chapter Books). Not to mention, it would help with a clutter issue at home(are house resembles a small libray)
I really want this item. I am hoping it will get less expensive as time goes on.
Suzy
Recritique.com
I got one for my birthday this year and absolutely love it. I agree that the cost of books is a little high, they sometimes offer some great bundles at good prices and there are tons of free ebooks sites unless you have to have constant new releases……I also get to download books from relatively unknown or currently unpublished authors and some of their stuff is great……..I never wanted this gift — it was a complete surprise because I too love the actual feel of a book but this fits in my purse and I can pull it out and read anytime……..I love it.
How do you get companies to offer you to review something? Is it just because of your blog readership or do you contact them?
Stephanie:
Companies always contact me–I somehow got on some PR and marketing lists so I get requests to review things quite often (as in, multiple requests per day). I very rarely accept review opportunities unless it’s something I’m really interested in and something I think you all would be interested in, too.
I think that having a somewhat-large and loyal readership is probably the best way to get lots of review offers. However, I do know some larger companies that go after the “smaller” blogs on occasion (blogs with, say, like 1,000-2,000 visitors/day).
I don’t know any hard and fast rules for how to get reviews, though. If I did, I’d be sure to mention them.