Is there anything sadder when you want to read?

One of the problems I'm continually facing with ebook reading activities concerns battery life. When you want to read, there's nothing worse than having a Low Battery! message come up on your device. It's actually quite a design flaw on the Sony PRS-700, particularly if you need to use the backlight. The screen has poor reflection due to the touch screen and lighting element so there are times you need to turn on the lighting to read the content without strain. As soon as you do, the battery reduces quickly. Too quickly! Unlike laptops that indicate how much time you have left, or cars that tell you how many kilometres (or miles for those reading elsewhere!) you have left before you need to refill, the Sony e-reader just shows a battery bar. When the battery bar goes to the last quarter there is no warning, no time message, that instructs you to recharge. You have no idea how much time you have left. You can guess, particularly if you aren't using the light, but when you use the light your number is pretty much up. Sorry folks, I appreciate you can't read particularly well with this lighting, here's a light that helps but did I mention it will prevent you from reading? No? Sorry.

As you know from prior posts, reading on planes isn't as fun with an electronic device, particularly as you have to turn it off for take off and landing. These are the times I WANT to read but I can't. I have to be content with reading the airline's magazine - which usually takes me all of 5 minutes! We're still on the runway and I'm craving something to read. Having the Low Battery message is a KILLER! Yesterday I had 90 minutes at the airport to fill before my flight. I thought I'd have a drink, something to eat, and then get back into the book I started to read on my flight up. There I was in the lounge, and the message appeared. I have no charger, I'm not even on the plane, and I'm prevented from reading!

The device was fully charged when I left Sydney on Monday morning. The total flight time was 90 minutes but of course you have to deduct about 40 minutes that you can't use the e-reader. I read on the flight - when we'd reached cruising altitude and were allowed to switch on electronic devices - and that was it. I should have had PLENTY of charge to get through the book, and perhaps another one. But no, I had to use the light prior to the return flight, and my reading plans were destroyed.

No matter what the marketing says - yes you'll get through 5000 page turns before you need to recharge, yes you'll have at least 24 hours without having to charge, yes yes yes - the reality is very different and disappointing when you use the backlight on the Sony PRS-700.

A day in the life of an ebook reader

I've just finished an ebook (purchased locally surprise surprise) of The Book Thief. What a remarkable book. Will go down as one of the best I've ever read.

I've been laughing at myself lately because I either forget to charge the Sony ereader, or I don't turn it off properly, and then of course there are the problems with the device when I use the backlight (which chews up the battery). Trust me, I made sure I kept the battery strong for this book as I didn't want to get to a critical point and have a battery warning! There's nothing worse than wanting to read and not having the battery charge to do so...

It made me think about school students. I've heard many stories about (mainly private) schools wanting to have content on ereaders for their students but being rejected by publishers who either don't have the content digitised, don't want to participate, or just don't want to provide it for other reasons (piracy? who knows...). Anyway, I don't know about you, but my experience with teenagers in particular suggests they will lose their ereader, misplace it, forget to charge it etc. I can just imagine the teacher saying everyone turn to page 10 and some people have it on large font, some on small, so the page number is irrelevant. Then hearing cries from several students "miss, my battery is dead, I can't read it". Hysterical!

Of course they could always lose the print copy but you don't have battery issues with the traditional format. You don't risk damaging the whole device if you spill liquid on it. You can take it in the bath. You can read it throughout the flight (there's no "switching off all electronic devices" for the takeoff and landing period). The beauty of an ereader is storage and taking choice with you wherever you go.

Oh and further to my previous post, I had the ereader out and about with me yesterday - in a cafe and in a hairdresser. Only men asked me whether it was a Kindle. All older men - as previously identified - and all had lots of questions about it. Most women glance at it and it really does challenge their opinions. I think there's been half for and half against todate. Most add "I really hope the printed book doesn't die though". Me too folks, me too.

Sony Sony Sony

Well, it's in cyberspace. Sony has two new e-readers ready to launch in the US market. The PRS 300 ebook reader will sell for $199. That undercuts Amazon by $100. The larger PRS 600 will have the touchscreen and will sell for $299. I still think it's hysterical that documents relating to the manufacturing of the e-readers were available on the internet prior to the announcement! It was a terrible secret really. Unfortunately the forthcoming e-readers still don't have wireless capability, so Amazon's Kindle still has that key selling point.

From what I can gather, the PRS 300"pocket" version has a five-inch (12.7cm) screen which is smaller than Kindle and other competitors. This smaller version won't play mp3 files, there is no slot for a memory card. I believe it's designed to hold 350 books.

The PRS-700 will be replaced by the PRS-600. The 600 will have the same six-inch screen as but not the built-in light. As you know from my previous review of the PRS-700, the light chews up battery. Steve Haber, president of Sony's Digital Reading Business Division, has confirmed that removing the light will also correct some screen clarity problems it has caused.

The second bit of news was the repricing of their ebook content to $9.99 to match Amazon. Personally, I didn't care about the $11.99 price point - or even dearer - because if I want the content I will pay for it. (The only thing I have to consider is the price conversion to Australian dollars!) I don't have a Kindle, I rarely use Amazon (afterall I have access to an extensive book database day in and day out with my job), and I'm interested in what is available in ebook format through the Sony ebook site. To me, the difference of $2.00 was irrelevant. And I definitely don't give a rat's arse about 4cents, which I believe is the difference between Amazon's Kindle books and Barnes & Nobles new ebooks. Everyone is trying to outdo everyone else!

On the local front I keep hearing mixed messages from Sony re releasing them here. A Marketing Director for a major trade publisher advised they were planning to launch them in September, albeit a soft launch due to the lack of content available in ebook format from local trade publishers at present. I'd assume they'd be looking at the new e-readers? Who knows...

My own enquiries to Sony have received somewhat automoted and impersonal responses. When I responded to the initial correspondence, I received "We have not been updated on any future release dates. This is why we cannot supply you with any particular information. To be honest, we are unsure as to whether the e-book reader will be released in Australia, simply because our head office has not informed us of this." Ah customer service vs customer demand.

It will be interesting to see whether Sony makes any waves in Australia. There are quite a number of ebook readers available now. We hear about a new device every other day and of course everyone always mentions iTunes and the Stanza application as being the focus. Alternatively I hear publishers discuss smart laptops and the Apple iTablet. Who knows where this market will go? It's a moving target in many ways and that also makes it exciting.

The long-awaited Hanlin Review

The poor Hanlin e-reader hasn't been used much in recent times. Once the Sony PRS-700 arrived, it was dropped like a hot potato! I'm finding the Hanlin very difficult to pick up again after the touchscreen experience of the Sony - I keep hitting the screen only to remember I have to ENTER the number of the book I want! Having to enter a number to either bring up a book or even perform a function is a little out-dated I must say. In addition, the menu structure needed work. The ebooks menu, for example, would take you to another menu that appeared by format of the book. I don't recall whether a book is in mobipocket, EPUB or pdf format so I found this functionality useless. Once connected to the laptop, I reworked all the files so it came down to two basic structures - audio and ebook - and I filed everything in alphabetical order. That way when I wanted to read Bram Stoker's Dracula (yes I loaded the file on this device as well) I didn't have to remember what menu it was in. Drove me nuts one day trying to find an ebook I was reading because I didn't know what the original format was nor what menu it was hiding in! In addition, the User Manual on the device and the one that was in the box were poorly written. The translation to English really hasn't worked and you are often left to figure it out for yourself! Some of the other problems with the Hanlin include the blank pages between page changes - they are more obvious/longer than the Sony, the Go to Page function is very poor, as is searching across an ebook. God forbid you lose your page! If it doesn't open at the page you left it at, trying to find your position is a nightmare. You can't scan across like the Sony or do a text search. It doesn't have a keyboard to search on! On a positive note, one of the features I like is the ability to actually change the font. On other devices you can change the size, but the Hanlin lets you choose most times between an Arial or a Times face. The crispness of the text on the screen is better than the Sony. It's stronger. Both of the devices have a long battery life - except the Sony if you use the backlight. Don't use it folks! It drains really fast. The Hanlin doesn't have one, and that's probably a good thing. All in all, the Hanlin reads ok as a basic device, the functionality is no frills, very simple and outdated in many respects. I link it to the Mobipocket ebook portal and I think that works well when reading on the computer as well. It has a lot more functionality than the Sony portal. If only the content was better I'd be a little happier. To compare content go to mobipocket (and check out the Best of on the RHS) and then go to Sony - do you see what I mean???!!!!

What's wrong with ebook readers

Where do I begin? Yes, I'm a newcomer to this area and this blog is all about sharing my opinion on ebooks and the like, but there's something wrong when you have to RESET an e-reader so you can continue the reading experience. There's also the slight problem of RECHARGING the e-reader and when you are busy, you don't really notice that battery button going down. I haven't received any WARNINGS that I've got 10 minutes left or something and don't start me on the POWER the Sony PRS-700 consumes if you use the backlight! The REFLECTION can be problematic and the FILE FORMATS distort. I had a business e-book on project management. Picked it up free somewhere on the net. The format was in PDF and was so incredibly small that when I enlarged the font size on the Sony, the entire thing became UNREADABLE. Then there's ebooks I've purchased in proprietary formats like mobipocket that are NOT TRANSFERABLE. The ebook portals are still in their infancy and NEED BETTER SEARCH FUNCTIONALITY. The content can be LIMITED or DELAYED so as a consumer I don't have the choice I would like to have. Very frustrating people!!!!

That's the ramble for today but keep in mind, I'm READING on an e-reader and on the computer. I'm discovering new works and old ones, and LOVING IT! I'll do what's right with ebook readers another day. :-)

Sony e-reader review

I'm currently trialling the HanLin and the Sony PRS-700 e-reader for an ebook project at work. When I started this blog I thought I'd review the HanLin e-reader first, but it's actually the Sony one that I'm reading more from at present, so it's going to end up reviewed first.

So my first thoughts about the Sony? Easier to use and more modern than the HanLin. Unfortunately the screen isn't as clear and the reflection from lights is annoying. You can't change the font - only the font size. The touch screen is good, I like it a lot. The main menu has the Continued Reading button, Your books, Your notes, Collections, Audio, Pictures and Settings (see image). I think the picture option is stupid, as the e-reader doesn't come in colour. Why would I want to look at a black & white picture? Not sure what Sony was thinking here! Once a title is selected, it's easy to set up how to turn the page. You can use the buttons or the touch screen. I'm actually using the stylus that came with it and you can set up what direction you'd prefer when turning the page. Once reading you can increase the size of the font to suit your needs and if it's your cup of tea, you can change to landscape. I'm finding the search function works well as does the Go To page. I haven't really used the Notes component but I played around with it, and no issues there. The synching from the Sony ebook portal isn't as good as I would expect and they have a bit more work to do until it has the same functionality as iTunes, for example. My main concern relates to the downloading of ebooks to the reader and for me, it's not as obvious as I would like as to whether the books have successfully loaded onto the e-reader. I need to keep playing with the type of books placed on the reader and moving content on and off the device so I am more familiar with the process. Lastly, the battery life is not as good as I would expect. The website says it lets you turn up to 7,500 continuous pages (or up to 2 weeks reading) on a single charge.. However if you use the built-in light, it chews up the battery very quickly. I would not recommend using it unless absolutely essential.

The Sony e-reader was sourced through our office in Portland Oregon. I believe it cost around $350 U.S. from the Sony website exclusive of shipping and extras like the charger (although you can charge by connecting via USB to your computer). The U.S. website advises the eBook Store is limited to U.S. and Canadian residents so my address is c/o our Head Office and I used my hotmail address so it would not impact on my project. I hear rumours Sony Australia may be launching towards the end of the year but have concerns about what product will be able to be sourced from them. Will they be creating a Sony Australia ebook store? I haven't heard from any publishers about being asked to provide Australian content. I DO know some trade publishers have made the Sony e-reader available to their publishing and senior sales/marketing staff. I can imagine how brilliant it would be when assessing manuscripts - no more paper, just the electronic file downloaded to the reader. Portable, paper-saving, easy access. Makes sense. And it also helps publishing staff become familiar with the device and thinking about the reading experience overall. So far, I've only heard a few publishing contacts mention they may move to reading all their books electronically but most in the publishing industry love the look and feel of a book. I'll continue this train of thought somewhere in future..... that, and a review of the HanLin. The one I thought I'd review first!