Kindle Tips

David Pogue of the New York Times tried out the Sony PRS-700 — and found that it’s much prettier, but all of its improvements make the reading experience worse.

First, it’s gorgeous. It’s made of sleek black metal, which is a better margin around the light-gray reading screen than the Amazon’s strange off-white plastic. And the Sony Reader does away with the vestigial thumb keyboard that makes the Kindle look strangely elongated.

What is it with Amazon, anyway? Why doesn’t it seal the deal by making the Kindle look stunning and sleek? The Kindle 2 is better than the original, but it still looks like it was designed by the makers of the Commodore 64.

Second, the Sony Reader 700 has two things many people sorely wish the Kindle had: a touch screen, which lets you turn pages by swiping your finger, and built-in illumination, so you can read in the dark. (The Kindle screen requires external light to read–like a book.)

So it’s a total Kindle-killer, right?

Actually, not in the least.

The beauty of the E-Ink screen on both the Kindle and the Reader is that it simulates the look of ink on paper. The black particles that form the images on the page are right there on the surface of the glass, as though printed there; it’s extremely satisfying to read at long stretches.

But in order to add the touch screen and the lighting, Sony had to add new layers on top of that screen–and it totally ruined the effect. Now you’re painfully aware that you’re looking at the words through a couple of transparent layers, and contrast suffers as a result; worse, the touchscreen layer introduces an annoying reflective glare that’s almost impossible to eliminate in any light. It’s deeply frustrating.

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Second, Sony’s bookstore is priced higher and contains far fewer titles (under 100,000, compared with Amazon’s 240,000). Both devices also accept text, Word and PDF documents, meaning that you can fill them with the tens of thousands of copyright-expired, free e-books from the Web (at Gutenberg.org, for example). Sony says that the Reader also works with “other eBook stores and sites that offer PDF or EPUB eBooks — with or without copy protection, for purchase or for free.” But I’m not aware of any e-book store that’s better stocked or organized than Amazon’s.

This is for everyone wondering whether to get a Kindle or a Sony e-reader.   You probably figured out my opinion long ago — but now it’s proven: I’m not alone in considering the Kindle above and beyond.