Seven days with the Sony Reader Pocket Edition

This year, I felt that the time was right for me to adopt e-books as a way to kickstart a new reading habit in my life. As with other personal electronics, I wanted to get some hands-on time with the contenders. After pondering many online reviews, I spent an hour at a local Best Buy last weekend test-driving various e-ink screens from four of the big names -- Kindle, Nook, Sony, and Kobo.

I had entered the store thinking of the third-generation Kindle Wi-Fi as my first choice. But surprisingly, when the madcap page-turning battle among the endcaps had wrapped up I walked out with the Sony PRS-350SC, the company's second-generation Reader Pocket Edition.

I'm smitten with the Pocket's form factor. At roughly 4-1/8" wide it actually slips easily into most of the shirt pockets in my closet (nice dress shirts: NO, casual button-down flannel or Hawaiian print: YES) so I'm more likely to bring it with me. With a brushed aluminum frame it's really lightweight (5-1/4 ounces), with a "spine" bulge running down the left-edge that makes it easy to hold one-handed, leaving my right hand free to reach for the stylus tucked in the opposite side. Text on the "Pearl" e-ink display is suitably crisp and flicking the screen to turn pages feels quite natural. (There are also hardware buttons below the screen dedicated to page turning as well.)

Not choosing the Kindle meant forgoing advantages of the Kindle ecosystem, especially access to Amazon's vast e-bookstore and Whispersync. But the world outside of Amazon's "walled garden" has much to explore as well. Sony is a company with a history of locking in their customers with proprietary formats, so I'll give them credit for embracing the EPUB file format and Adobe's digital rights management (DRM) scheme for transferring copy-protected e-books. So far I've exercised this "freedom to shop and browse" to purchase or borrow titles from:

• Sony Reader store
• Kobo
• Google Books
• Houston Public Library
• Harris County Public Library

Not having Amazon or Barnes and Noble (which uses EPUB but their own unique DRM for copy-protection) as shopping options is a definite limitation. So is a lack of wireless capability, as the device must be loaded with content through a micro-USB cable attached to a PC or Mac loaded with Sony Reader and Adobe Digital Editions software. Finally, while the 5-inch monochrome screen is perfect for the text of paperback novels, it's not suited for larger books with illustrations, such as technical references or comics. That's an area where something like the Nook Color would be nice to have as a supplement.

A note from my test drives: I couldn't help but notice that one of the page turn buttons on the demonstration Nook (the original, not Color) was cracked at Best Buy. Previously, I saw a similar crack in the buttons on the demonstration Nook at a Barnes and Noble store. I suppose it could be just coincidence, and store demos do take a lot of abuse, but seeing this damaged my confidence in the long-term durability of that product.

With this blog post written, I'd better get back to reading. Next week my download of Helen Hollick's I Am The Chosen King will expire. Unlike a paper book checked out from the library, hanging on to this copy and paying a little overdue fine isn't an option. Welcome to the 21st century!