Just one week ago I finally got my self an eReader. Since reading documents on a screen (even the screen of a Mac) is not what you intend to do for hours. In addition to that: most of what I read are PDF documents or other website contents. That lead me to the conclusion that a eReader would be a good choice. First I intended to go for the Kindle [ref] and it is a awesome device if you read a lot of ePub files. But I read mainly PDF and since in Germany the Kindle touch is not available, which would make zooming a little easier, the Amazon device was not an option.

I went with Sony

First I even thought about going with the OYO 2.0 by Thalia. But the problem is it is heavy, has a bad contrast and the PDF support is bad! But looking at the OYO 2.0 I had a look at the Sony which was next to the OYO and just released one week earlier. I lifted it and it is really light weight. The contrast is good. This thing has touch abilities and the zoom abilities with pinch two fingers is awesome (just like the iPhone). Decision made, device bought.

Features

Not to forget the Sony can do much more than display books. You can take notes, make bookmarks, organize Photos (in B&W still) and draw notes. But that is not yet all: it also has an integrated WiFi card and a browser to go into the internet and to Wikipedia or Google. You also have an included dictionary (English->German, German->English and many more).

Hard things

The problem which I faced than was how do I get my files onto that thing? And even worse: how can I organize them on that device?

I found a freeware program called Calibre. It is great for managing all your ebooks, pdf’s and other document files. In addition to that it can handle tags and is able to sync with the Sony eReader and many others. But I think it is not perfect yet.

I think it would be much nicer to be able to sort through the files like you do in iTunes. Where you have Playlists and different criteria. That is the bad thing about this device. But if you think about it and find yourself a system you can work pretty easily with a lot of books.

Conclusion

The Sony eReader PRS-T1 is a great device. I can handle my eBooks ok. Read with a great ‘screen’ and take my library where ever I want. And if need be, I can take notes too!