Tech From an E-booker’s Viewpoint

I just got up and saw this via Google alerts.  Sony has released their second reader today without fanfare.  The PRS 505 was seen a few weeks ago on a reseller’s web site then promptly disappeared.  The reader comes in two colors, silver and dark blue.  The stock covers seem to match the book, but according to their details it is tan.  This time however, they included a pink cover as an additional accessory.  Borrowing from Apple iPod, the new readers can be ingraved.  I think that’s a nice touch.  The price tag is $300, about $50 less than the PRS 500 debut price.  So what has really changed with this model?  From the picture the number buttons have been moved off to the right side.  I think this should solve the problem I had.  When reading I would often press the #2 button by mistake, and then poof! I was somewhere else.  Another thing I noticed is that the software that comes with the new reader is different.  Currently I have Connect Reader 1.1 and on the site it says that the reader comes with eBook Library 2.0 PC Software.  I did a quick check to see if any upgrades were available for my Connect software, but there weren’t.  I wonder if this will change once the new reader starts arriving to its owners.  I hope so, because the current software is really lacking.  Something else that is missing in the details is whether the new screen is Vizplex.  The specs do not mention it, so that leads to think that it is the same screen as the first generation.  Hope I am wrong on that point. The overall look of the PRS 505 reminds me of a reader called M218.  I stumbled across this reader while surfing You Tube here.  I have no specs on this device, just something for you to look at. 

So October has begun and Sony is first out of the gate.  Funny, that they didn’t announce this with the fanfare of their first reader.  I guess they learned their lesson with release announcements only to retract them.  Actually, I believe they just didn’t want to cannibalize the sales of the original device.  At any rate, doing is better than talking.  The ball in Bookeen’s and Amazon’s court now.  Let me know if you have ordered the new reader.

Added:  More details are available at Mobileread.