HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Sony Reader was a line of
e-book readers An e-reader, also called an e-book reader or e-book device, is a mobile electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books and periodicals. Any device that can display text on a screen may act as an e-read ...
manufactured by
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
, who produced the first commercial
E Ink E Ink (electronic ink) is a brand of electronic paper (e-paper) display technology commercialized by the E Ink Corporation, which was co-founded in 1997 by MIT undergraduates JD Albert and Barrett Comiskey, MIT Media Lab professor Joseph Jacobson ...
e-reader An e-reader, also called an e-book reader or e-book device, is a mobile electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books and periodicals. Any device that can display text on a screen may act as an e-read ...
with the Sony Librie in 2004. It used an
electronic paper Electronic paper, also sometimes electronic ink, e-ink or electrophoretic display, are display devices that mimic the appearance of ordinary ink on paper. Unlike conventional flat panel displays that emit light, an electronic paper display ref ...
display developed by
E Ink Corporation E Ink (electronic ink) is a brand of electronic paper (e-paper) display technology commercialized by the E Ink Corporation, which was co-founded in 1997 by MIT undergraduates JD Albert and Barrett Comiskey, MIT Media Lab professor Joseph Jacobson ...
, was viewable in direct sunlight, required no power to maintain a static image, and was usable in portrait or landscape orientation. Sony sold e-books for the Reader from the
Sony eBook Library The Sony Reader was a line of e-book readers manufactured by Sony, who produced the first commercial E Ink e-reader with the Sony Librie in 2004. It used an electronic paper display developed by E Ink Corporation, was viewable in direct sunlight, ...
in the US, UK, Japan, Germany, Austria, Canada, France, Italy, and Spain. The Reader also could display Adobe
PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...
s,
ePub EPUB is an e-book file format that uses the ".epub" file extension. The term is short for ''electronic publication'' and is sometimes styled ''ePub''. EPUB is supported by many e-readers, and compatible software is available for most smartphones ...
format,
RSS RSS ( RDF Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) is a web feed that allows users and applications to access updates to websites in a standardized, computer-readable format. Subscribing to RSS feeds can allow a user to keep track of many di ...
newsfeeds,
JPEG JPEG ( ) is a commonly used method of lossy compression for digital images, particularly for those images produced by digital photography. The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and imag ...
s, and Sony's proprietary
BBeB BBeB (for Broad Band eBook) is a proprietary eBook file format developed by Sony and Canon. Although initially designed for the Sony Librié, it is also supported by other Sony e-book readers. BBeB files have the following extensions: LRS and ...
("BroadBand eBook") format. Some Readers could play
MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...
and unencrypted AAC audio files. Compatibility with Adobe
digital rights management Digital rights management (DRM) is the management of legal access to digital content. Various tools or technological protection measures (TPM) such as access control technologies can restrict the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted works. ...
(DRM) protected PDF and ePub files allowed Sony Reader owners to borrow ebooks from lending libraries in many countries. The DRM rules of the Reader allowed any purchased
e-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...
to be read on up to six devices, at least one of which must be a personal computer running Windows or Mac OS X. Although the owner could not share purchased eBooks on others' devices and accounts, the ability to register five Readers to a single account and share books accordingly was a possible workaround. On August 1, 2014, Sony announced that it would not make another consumer e-reader. In late 2014, Sony released the
Sony Digital Paper DPTS1 The Sony Digital Paper DPT-S1 or Sony DPT-S1 is a discontinued 13.3-inch (approaching A4) E ink e-reader by Sony, aimed at professional business users. The DPT-S1 Digital Paper can display only PDF files at their native size and lacks the abi ...
- which only views PDFs and has a stylus for making notes - aimed at professional business users.


Models and availability

Ten models were produced. The PRS-500 (PRS standing for Portable Reader System) was made available in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in September 2006. On 1 November 2006, Readers went on display and for sale at
Borders A border is a geographical boundary. Border, borders, The Border or The Borders may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Border'' (1997 film), an Indian Hindi-language war film * ''Border'' (2018 Swedish film), ...
bookstores throughout the US. Borders had an exclusive contract for the Reader until the end of 2006. From April 2007, Sony Reader has been sold in the US by multiple merchants, including
Fry's Electronics Fry's Electronics was an American big-box store chain. While operating, it was headquartered in San Jose, California in Silicon Valley. Fry's retailed software, consumer electronics, household appliances, cosmetics, tools, toys, accessories, ma ...
,
Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...
,
Borders A border is a geographical boundary. Border, borders, The Border or The Borders may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Border'' (1997 film), an Indian Hindi-language war film * ''Border'' (2018 Swedish film), ...
and
Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...
. The eBook Store from Sony is only available to US or Canadian residents or to customers who purchased a US-model reader with bundled eBook Store credit. On July 24, 2007, Sony announced that the PRS-505 Reader would be available in the UK with a launch date of September 3, 2008.
Waterstone's Waterstones, formerly Waterstone's, is a British book retailer that operates 311 shops, mainly in the United Kingdom and also other nearby countries. As of February 2014, it employs around 3,500 staff in the UK and Europe. An average-sized Wa ...
is the official retail partner and the Reader is available at selected stores such as
Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece ** Ancient Argos, the ancient city * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...
, Sony Centres and Dixons; while a red edition is available exclusively from
John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...
. On October 2, 2008 the PRS-700, with touch screen and built-in lighting was announced. On August 5, 2009 Sony announced two new readers, the budget PRS-300 ''Pocket Edition'' and the more advanced PRS-600 ''Touch Edition''. On August 25, 2009 Sony announced the Reader PRS-900 "Daily Edition." This features a 7" diagonal screen to compete with the
Amazon Kindle Amazon Kindle is a series of e-readers designed and marketed by Amazon. Amazon Kindle devices enable users to browse, buy, download, and read e-books, newspapers, magazines and other digital media via wireless networking to the Kindle Store. ...
DX. It's also the first to feature free 3G wireless through AT&T to access the Sony eBookstore without the need of a computer, and to increase the grayscale level, from 8 to 16. On September 1, 2010, Sony introduced the PRS-350 ''Pocket Edition'', PRS-650 ''Touch Edition'', PRS-950 "Daily Edition" as replacements for the PRS-300, PRS-600 and PRS-900, with both new models featuring 16-level grey scale touch screens. The launch of the new models also represented the introduction of the Sony Reader into the Australian and New Zealand markets for the first time. On August 31, 2011, Sony announced a new reader replacing all of their previous models, the PRS-T1, featuring a 6" screen. On August 16, 2012, Sony announced the PRS-T1 successor, the PRS-T2. On September 4, 2013, Sony announced the PRS-T2 successor, the PRS-T3. Unlike previous Sony reader models, the T3 is not sold in the US, and Sony has abandoned the North American market due to competition from Amazon, B&N and Kobo. On February 6, 2014, Sony announced that it was closing its North American, Europe, and Australia Reader Stores in late March, migrating all its customers to the
Kobo Kobo may refer to: Places * Kobo (woreda), a district in Ethiopia ** Kobo, Ethiopia, a town * Kōbo Dam, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan * Mount Kōbō, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan People First name * Kōbō Abe (1924–1993), pseudonym of Japanese w ...
Reader Store. On August 1, 2014, Sony announced that it would not release another ereader but would keep selling its remaining stock.


2013 Model (Discontinued in August 2014)


Reader Wi-Fi PRS-T3S

The PRS-T3S is the latest 6", Wi-Fi only model. Announced in October 2013 in Japan, it is a PRS-T3 without a cover that costs $99 and was sold in Japan, the UK, Canada and Germany.


Reader Wi-Fi PRS-T3

The PRS-T3 is a 6", Wi-Fi only model with a snap cover. Specifications * Size: 160 × 109 × 11.3 mm * Weight: 200 grams including snap cover * Display: ** size: 15.2 cm (6 in) diagonal (approx area of letter-sized page). ** resolution: 16-level gray scale ** 6" Pearl HD E Ink screen 1024 x 758 pixel resolution * Memory: 2 GiB of internal storage (1.3 GiB available to use) plus microSD expansion of up to 32 GB * Battery Life: 6–8 weeks, assuming 30 minutes reading per day * Connectivity: Micro-USB * PC interface: USB port * Supported e-book formats: EPUB, PDF, FB2, TXT * Supported picture formats: BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG * Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g, n, simple Web browser * Colors: Black (Matte), Red (Glossy) and White (Glossy)


2012 Model (Discontinued late 2013)


Reader Wi-Fi PRS-T2

The PRS-T2 is a 6" Wi-Fi only model. Its touchscreen supports zoom in and out, dictionary and adding notes, including export to
Evernote Evernote is a note-taking and task management application. It is developed by the Evernote Corporation, headquartered in Redwood City, California. It is intended for archiving and creating notes in which photos, audio and saved web content can ...
. The device has two English languages and four translation dictionaries built-in. PRS-T2 specifications. * Size: 173 × 110 × 9.1 mm * Weight: 164 g * Display: ** size: 15.2 cm (6 in) diagonal (approx 1/4 area of letter-sized page) ** resolution: 16-level gray scale E Ink Pearl display ** portrait: 90.6 × 122.4 mm (3.57" × 4.82"), 600 × 800 pixels , effective 115.4 × 88.2 mm (4.54 × 3.47 in), 754 × 584 pixels ** minimum font size: 6 pt legible, 7 pt recommended * Memory: 2 GB of internal storage (1.3 GB available to use) plus microSD expansion of up to 32 GB * Battery Life: Up to 2 months with Wi-Fi off * Lithium-ion battery: up to two months battery life, with wireless off (on reading 1/2h per day). * Connectivity: Micro-USB * PC interface: USB port * Supported e-book formats: EPUB, PDF, TXT, BBeB*, Rtf*, Doc* (*After conversion with Sony software) * Supported picture formats: Jpg, Gif, Png, Bmp. * Wireless: Wi-Fi, simple web browser. * Colors: Black (Matte), Red (Glossy) and White (Glossy).


2011 Model (Discontinued late 2012)


Reader Wi-Fi PRS-T1

The PRS-T1 is a 6", Wi-Fi only model. Its touchscreen supports zoom in and out, look up in dictionary and adding notes. Up to 16 different languages are supported. PRS-T1 specifications * Size: 173 x 110 x 8.9 mm * Weight: 168 g * Display: ** size: 15.5 cm (6 in) diagonal (approx area of letter-sized page) ** resolution: 16-level gray scale E Ink Pearl display ** portrait: 90.6 x 122.4 mm (3.57" x 4.82"), 600 x 800 pixels , effective 88.2 x 115.4 mm (3.47" x 4.54"), 584 x 754 pixels ** minimum font size: 6 pt legible, 7 pt recommended * Memory: 2 GB of internal storage (1.4 GB available to use) plus microSD expansion of up to 32 GB. * Lithium-ion battery, up to one month per charge. * PC interface: USB port * Supported e-book formats: EPUB, PDF, TXT. * Supported audio formats: MP3, AAC. * Wireless: Wi-Fi, simple web browser. * Colors: Black, Red and White.


2010 Models (Discontinued late 2011)


Pocket Edition PRS-350

The PRS-350 was launched in August 2010 and it is also known as the "Pocket Edition". The PRS-350 was announced at the same time as the touch-screen PRS-650. It is Sony's smallest ereader as well as its entry-level device replacing the PRS-300 and it is priced at US$179. It has a touch screen, and two GB of Memory but lacks an SD Card Slot and does not support MP3 playback. PRS-350 specifications * Size: 145 × 104.3 × 8.5mm * Weight: 155 g * Display: 5 inch. E Ink Pearl, touch-screen, grey scale 16-levels * Resolution 600 × 800 pixels * Document Search Capability * Built in flash memory: 2 GB * Font Size: 6 sizes (XS - XXL) * Supported e-book formats: EPUB, PDF, Microsoft Word, TXT, RTF, BBeB * Hi-speed micro USB * Color: Pink, Silver, Blue, Red, Black


Touch Edition PRS-650

The PRS-650 was launched in August 2010 and it is also known as the "Touch Edition". The PRS-650 was announced at the same time as the touch-screen PRS-350. It is Sony's mid-range device, priced at US$229. As the replacement for the PRS-600 model, it is Sony's higher-scale, touch-screen edition of the reader. It has a similar interface to the PRS-350. PRS-650 specifications * Size: 168 × 118.8 × 9.6mm * Weight: 215 g * Display: 6 inch. E Ink Pearl, touch-screen, grey scale 16-levels * Resolution 600 × 800 pixels * Document Search Capability * Built in flash memory: 2 GB * SD card slot * Memory Stick PRO Duo slot * Font Size: 6 sizes (XS - XXL) * Supported e-book formats: EPUB, PDF, Microsoft Word, TXT, RTF, BBeB * Supported audio formats: MP3, AAC * Available case colors: ** PRS-650BC: Black ** PRS-650SC: Silver ** PRS-650RC: Red


Daily Edition PRS-950

The PRS-950 was launched in August 2010 replacing the PRS-900 and it is also known as the "Daily Edition". It was introduced as Sony's top-of-the-line device, priced at US$299. The device has a larger display (7"), 16-levels of grayscale, touch screen Wi-Fi and 3G wireless access (through
AT&T Mobility AT&T Mobility LLC, also known as AT&T Wireless and marketed as simply AT&T, is an American telecommunications company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Inc. and provides wireless services in the United States. AT&T Mobility is the thi ...
in a manner similar to the Kindle's whispernet) which enables computer-free access to the Sony eBookstore in the United States. Like earlier Sony Readers the display can be oriented horizontally, enabling a landscape style mode, and adds a new mode displaying two portrait-mode pages side-by-side (in a similar fashion to viewing a book). PRS-950 specifications * Size: 199.9 × 128 × 9.6mm * Weight: 272 g * Display: 7 inch. E Ink Pearl, touch-screen, grey scale 16-levels * Resolution 600 × 1024 pixels * Document Search Capability * Built in flash memory: 2 GB * SD card slot * Memory Stick PRO Duo slot * Font Size: 6 sizes (XS - XXL) * Supported e-book formats: EPUB, PDF, Microsoft Word, TXT, RTF, BBeB * Supported audio formats: MP3, AAC * Color: Silver only * Wireless: 3G, Wi-Fi, Web Browser


2009 Models (Discontinued late 2010)


Pocket Edition PRS-300

The PRS-300 was launched in August 2009 and it is also known as the "Pocket Edition". The PRS-300 was announced at the same time as the touch-screen PRS-600. It is Sony's smallest ever ereader as well as its entry-level device, priced at US$199. It has a smaller screen than the PRS-600, no touch interface, no MP3 audio or expandable memory. It has a similar interface to the PRS-500 and PRS-505. Specifications * Display: 5 inch. * Resolution: 600 × 800 pixels * Dimensions LxWxD (approx.): 6 × 4 × 13/32 inches (approx. 159×108×10 mm) * Weight (approx.): 220 g (7.76 oz) * Gray scale: 8-levels gray scale * Internal Memory: 512MiB, 440MiB accessible * Font Size: 3 adjustable font sizes * Battery: Sealed internal, up to two weeks of reading on a single charge * MSRP: US$150 * Available case colors: ** PRS-300BC: Navy Blue ** PRS-300RC: Rose Pink ** PRS-300SC: Silver


Touch Edition PRS-600

The PRS-600 was launched in August 2009 and it is also known as the "Touch Edition". The PRS-600 was announced at the same time as the non-touch-screen PRS-300. It is Sony's middle-Range device and it priced at US$299. It is the replacement for the PRS-700 model (although it is missing the front-light feature). It is Sony's higher-scale, touch-screen edition of the ereader. It has a similar interface to the PRS-700. Unlike the PRS-700 which was only available in black, the PRS-600 is available in three colors. Note if the device is locked, using the optional 4 digit pin it will not mount via USB, the lock option needs to be disabled in order to mount the device. This edition has been criticized for having a very reflective screen, making it hard to read unless it is angled just right in relation to the light sources. This edition offers the possibility to highlight, quote or underline the text you are reading. Moreover, it comes with features such as Music player via a jack. Specifications * Size: 175.3 × 121.9 × 10.2mm (6.9" × 4.8" × 0.4") * Weight: 286 g (10.1 oz) * Display: 6 inch. touch-screen * Resolution: 600 × 800 pixels * Document Search Capability * Built-in Dictionary: American Oxford and English Oxford * eBook support extension * DRM Text : ePub (Adobe DRM protected), PDF (Adobe DRM protected), BBeB Book (PRS DRM protected) * Unsecured Text : ePub, BBeB Book, PDF5, TXT, RTF, Microsoft Word (Conversion to the Reader requires Word installed on your PC) * Gray scale: 8-levels gray scale * Internal Memory: 512MB, 380MB accessible * Expanded Memory: Support for Sony Memory Stick Pro DUO and SDHC up to @16 Gb * Font Size: 5 adjustable font sizes * Battery: Sealed internal, up to two weeks of reading on a single charge * MSRP: US$170 * Available case colors: ** PRS-600BC: Black ** PRS-600SC: Silver ** PRS-600RC: Red


Daily Edition PRS-900

The PRS-900 was launched in December 2009 and it is also known as the "Daily Edition". The PRS-900 was announced at the same time as the touch-screen PRS-300. It is Sony's Top of the Range device and it priced at US$399. The device has a larger display (7"), 16-levels of grayscale, touch screen and 3G wireless access (through
AT&T Mobility AT&T Mobility LLC, also known as AT&T Wireless and marketed as simply AT&T, is an American telecommunications company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Inc. and provides wireless services in the United States. AT&T Mobility is the thi ...
in a manner similar to the Kindle's whispernet) which enables computer-free access to the Sony eBookstore in the United States. Like earlier Sony Readers the display can be oriented horizontally, enabling a landscape style mode, and adds a new mode displaying two portrait-mode pages side-by-side (in a similar fashion to viewing a book). Specifications * Size: 206.4 × 127 × 15.1 mm (8.1" × 5" × 0.6") * Weight: 360 g (12.75 oz) * Display: 7.1 inch touch-screen * Resolution: 600 × 1024 pixels * Gray scale: 16-levels gray scale * Internal Memory: 2 GiB, 1.6 GiB accessible * Expanded Memory: support for Sony Memory Stick Pro DUO and SDHC up to 32 GiB. According to Sony, it can take up to a 32 GiB Memory Stick. But, according to its manual, 32 GiB memory sticks are not guaranteed to work. Therefore, it is recommended to use 16 GiB memory sticks. * Font Size: 6 adjustable font sizes * Battery: user replaceable, up to two weeks of reading on a single charge * Wireless: AT&T 3G wireless (free), access to eBook store only, no Web browser * MSRP: US$250 * Available case colors: PRS-900: black


2008 Model (Discontinued late 2009)


PRS-700

The PRS-700 was launched in October 2008, it has a
touchscreen A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is often ...
that can be used as a
virtual keyboard A virtual keyboard is a software component that allows the Input device, input of characters without the need for physical keys. The interaction with the virtual Computer keyboard, keyboard happens mostly via a touchscreen interface, but can also ...
. It became available in the U.S. in November 2008 at a
MSRP The list price, also known as the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), or the recommended retail price (RRP), or the suggested retail price (SRP) of a product is the price at which its manufacturer notionally recommends that a retailer ...
of $399; in April 2009 it was selling for $349.99. Unlike Sony's LIBRIé, a close cousin of the Sony Reader, the PRS-500 and PRS-505 offered no way for the user to annotate a digital book since those lack a keyboard. This was addressed by the release of the PRS-700. Improvements of PRS-700 vs. the PRS-505 include the following: * The 6-inch
E Ink E Ink (electronic ink) is a brand of electronic paper (e-paper) display technology commercialized by the E Ink Corporation, which was co-founded in 1997 by MIT undergraduates JD Albert and Barrett Comiskey, MIT Media Lab professor Joseph Jacobson ...
display (same resolution as before) is now a touch screen, removing the need for the 10 side buttons. * Note taking and virtual keyboard, made possible by the touch screen. * Page turning buttons remain but can also be accomplished by touch screen gestures. *
LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...
lighting for use in poor lighting conditions. * Internal storage is doubled to 512 MB. PRS-700 specifications * Size: Approx. 174.3 × 127.6 × 9.7 mm (6" × 5" × 0.4") * Weight: 283.5 g (10 oz) * Display: ** size: 15.5 cm (6 in) diagonal (approx 1/4 area of letter-sized page) ** resolution: 170
dpi A Daytona Prototype International (DPi) was a type of sports prototype racing car developed specifically for the International Motor Sports Association's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, as their top class of car, acting as a direct replaceme ...
, 8-level gray scale ** integrated touchscreen * Memory: 512 MB standard (350 eBooks at 1.2 MB each average, 420 MB available),
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
Memory Stick Pro Duo The Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, originally launched by Sony in late 1998. In addition to the original Memory Stick, this family includes the Memory Stick PRO, a revision that allows greater maximum storage capacity an ...
8 GB,
SDHC card Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices. The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between SanDis ...
expansion up to 32 GB *
Lithium-ion battery A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also se ...
, up to 7500 "page turns" per charge * PC Interface:
USB port Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad v ...
2.0 * Built-in
LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...
reading light


2007 Model (Discontinued late 2009)


PRS-505

The PRS-505 was launched on 2 October 2007, a software and hardware updated version of the PRS-500 Reader, which it replaced. The 505 keeps the 6"
E Ink E Ink (electronic ink) is a brand of electronic paper (e-paper) display technology commercialized by the E Ink Corporation, which was co-founded in 1997 by MIT undergraduates JD Albert and Barrett Comiskey, MIT Media Lab professor Joseph Jacobson ...
display of the original Reader, but uses an improved version of E Ink Vizplex imaging film with faster refresh time, brighter white state, and 8-level grayscale. The PRS-505 is thinner than its predecessor (8 mm vs. 13 mm) and comes with more internal memory (256 MiB vs. 64 MiB). Other new product features included auto-synchronization to a folder on a host PC, support for the USB Mass Storage Device profile, and full USB charging capability (the PRS-500 could only be recharged via USB if the battery was not fully drained, and if the Sony Connect Reader software was installed on the host PC). Also, adding books to "Collections" (a feature to organize and group book titles) is now possible on the storage card, unlike the PRS-500 model. Version 1.1 firmware, available as a free download since July 24, 2008 adds support for the
EPUB EPUB is an e-book file format that uses the ".epub" file extension. The term is short for ''electronic publication'' and is sometimes styled ''ePub''. EPUB is supported by many e-readers, and compatible software is available for most smartphones ...
format,
Adobe Digital Editions Adobe Digital Editions (abbreviated ADE) is an e-book reader software program from Adobe Systems, built initially (1.x version) using Adobe Flash. It is used for acquiring, managing, and reading e-books, digital newspapers, and other digital p ...
1.5 and Adobe DRM protected PDF files, automatic reflow of PDF files formatted for larger pages enlarges the text to improve readability, and support for high capacity
SDHC Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices. The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between SanD ...
memory cards. Specifications * Size: 175 × 122 × 8 mm (6.9" × 4.8" × 0.3") * Weight: 250 g (9 oz) * Display: ** size: 15.5 cm (6 in) diagonal (approx 1/4 area of letter-sized page) ** resolution: 170
dpi A Daytona Prototype International (DPi) was a type of sports prototype racing car developed specifically for the International Motor Sports Association's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, as their top class of car, acting as a direct replaceme ...
, 8-level gray scale ** portrait: 90.6 × 122.4 mm (3.57" × 4.82"), 600 × 800 pixels , effective 88.2 × 115.4 mm (3.47 × 4.54 in), 584 × 754 pixels , for the Pictures application effective resolution is 600 × 766 pixels ** minimum font size: 6 pt legible, 7 pt recommended * Memory: 256 MiB standard (200 MiB accessible),
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
Memory Stick Pro Duo The Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, originally launched by Sony in late 1998. In addition to the original Memory Stick, this family includes the Memory Stick PRO, a revision that allows greater maximum storage capacity an ...
8
GiB The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable unit ...
,
SD card Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices. The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between SanDis ...
up to 2 GiB (some non-
SDHC Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices. The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between SanD ...
4 GiB cards may work), or up to 32 GiB with SDHC cards and version 1.1 firmware *
Lithium-ion battery A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also se ...
, up to 6800 "page turns" per charge * PC interface:
USB port Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad v ...
2.0 * Available case colors: ** PRS505/LC: Dark Blue ** PRS505/SC: Silver ** PRS505SC/JP: Custom Skin (James Patterson Special Edition) ** PRS505/RC: Sangria Red (introduced in August 2008)


2006 Model (Discontinued late 2007)


PRS-500

Launched in September 2006, it has a six-inch E Ink display from and is 13 mm thick. There is an internal memory of 64 MiB. This model was superseded by the PRS-505 in 2007. On November 16, 2009, Sony announced that a firmware update is available to owners of the original PRS-500. This update "will allow your PRS-500 to support the
ePub EPUB is an e-book file format that uses the ".epub" file extension. The term is short for ''electronic publication'' and is sometimes styled ''ePub''. EPUB is supported by many e-readers, and compatible software is available for most smartphones ...
and Adobe DRM format and add the ability to re-flow PDF documents". Owners must send the ereader in to the Sony Service Centers for the updated firmware. Specifications * Size: 175.6 × 123.6 × 13.8 mm (6.9" × 4.9" × 0.5") * Weight: 250 g (9 oz) * Display: ** size: 15.5 cm (6 in) diagonal (approx 1/4 area of letter-sized page) ** resolution: 170
dpi A Daytona Prototype International (DPi) was a type of sports prototype racing car developed specifically for the International Motor Sports Association's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, as their top class of car, acting as a direct replaceme ...
, 4-level gray scale ** portrait: 90.6 × 122.4 mm (3.57" × 4.82"), 600 × 800 px , effective 115.4 × 88.2 mm (4.54 × 3.47 in), 754 × 584 px ** minimum font size: 6 pt legible, 7 pt recommended * Memory: 64 MiB standard,
Memory Stick The Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, originally launched by Sony in late 1998. In addition to the original Memory Stick, this family includes the Memory Stick PRO, a revision that allows greater maximum storage capacity an ...
(Pro Duo High Speed ''not'' supported. Normal memory sticks are only supported up to 4 GiB, despite Sony compatibility claims) or
SD card Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices. The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between SanDis ...
expansion up to 2
GiB The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable unit ...
(some non-
SDHC Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices. The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between SanD ...
4 GiB cards may work) *
Lithium-ion battery A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also se ...
, up to 7500 "page turns" per charge * PC interface:
USB port Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad v ...


2004 Model


Sony Librie EBR-1000EP

Launched in April 2004, it has a six-inch E Ink display and a Qwerty keyboard that was released in Japan. Specifications * Display: 6-inch screen with a resolution of 600x800 dots at 170dpi * 10 MB, Memory Stick support * Size 126mm x 190mm x 13mm * Weight: 300 g


Formats supported

DRM DRM may refer to: Government, military and politics * Defense reform movement, U.S. campaign inspired by Col. John Boyd * Democratic Republic of Madagascar, a former socialist state (1975–1992) on Madagascar * Direction du renseignement milita ...
-free Text: BBeB Book (LRF), TXT, RTF,
EPUB EPUB is an e-book file format that uses the ".epub" file extension. The term is short for ''electronic publication'' and is sometimes styled ''ePub''. EPUB is supported by many e-readers, and compatible software is available for most smartphones ...
(PRS-T1: EPUB, PDF, TXT only).
Typeface A typeface (or font family) is the design of lettering that can include variations in size, weight (e.g. bold), slope (e.g. italic), width (e.g. condensed), and so on. Each of these variations of the typeface is a font. There are list of type ...
s in PDF files formatted for 216 × 280 mm (8.5 × 11 inch) pages may be too small to read comfortably. Such files can be reformatted for the Reader screen size with
Adobe Acrobat Adobe Acrobat is a family of application software and Web services developed by Adobe Inc. to view, create, manipulate, print and manage Portable Document Format (PDF) files. The family comprises Acrobat Reader (formerly Reader), Acrobat (forme ...
Professional, but not by
Adobe Reader Adobe Acrobat is a family of application software and Web services developed by Adobe Inc. to view, create, manipulate, print and manage Portable Document Format (PDF) files. The family comprises Acrobat Reader (formerly Reader), Acrobat (former ...
software. The Reader does support
Microsoft Word Microsoft Word is a word processing software developed by Microsoft. It was first released on October 25, 1983, under the name ''Multi-Tool Word'' for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms includin ...
DOC DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to: In film and television * ''Doc'' (2001 TV series), a 2001–2004 PAX series * ''Doc'' (1975 TV series), a 1975–1976 CBS sitcom * "D.O.C." (''Lost''), a television episode * ''Doc'' (film), a 1971 Wester ...
format. The 'CONNECT Reader' application uses Word to convert the .DOC files to RTF before sending them to the Reader. DRM-protected Text: BBeB Book (LRX); ePub. Audio:
MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...
and DRM-free AAC (except on the PRS-T2, PRS-300 & PRS-350) Image:
JPEG JPEG ( ) is a commonly used method of lossy compression for digital images, particularly for those images produced by digital photography. The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and imag ...
,
GIF The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF; or , see pronunciation) is a bitmap image format that was developed by a team at the online services provider CompuServe led by American computer scientist Steve Wilhite and released on 15 June 1987. ...
, PNG, and BMP (Loading an animated GIF will freeze the Reader)
RSS RSS ( RDF Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) is a web feed that allows users and applications to access updates to websites in a standardized, computer-readable format. Subscribing to RSS feeds can allow a user to keep track of many di ...
: Limited to 20 featured blogs such as Engadget and Wired, no ability to add others and no auto-update (as of 2006-12-01) The Reader supported TXT and RTF documents with Latin character set only. Other character sets (such as
Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = G ...
, for example) are not displayed correctly, but Cyrillic patches are available for
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n (and
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
n) users (see the sit

. Sony Customer Support have confirmed that units sold in the US only work with Latin characters (as of 2007-03-02). On August 13, 2009, Sony announced that by the end of 2009, it would only sell EPUB books from the Sony Reader Store, and would have dropped its proprietary DRM entirely in favor of Adobe's Adobe Content Server, CS4 server side copy protection.


Official software


MS Windows

Sony Reader came bundled with Sony's proprietary software called Sony Reader Library (or formerly eBook Library and
Sony Connect , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
). It requires MS
Windows XP Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and ...
or higher (MS
Windows Vista Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released five years before, at the time being the longest time span between successive releases of ...
or 7), an 800 MHz
processor Processor may refer to: Computing Hardware * Processor (computing) **Central processing unit (CPU), the hardware within a computer that executes a program *** Microprocessor, a central processing unit contained on a single integrated circuit (I ...
, 128 MB of
RAM Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...
, and 20 MB of
hard disk A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magnet ...
space. This software does not work on the 64-bit versions of MS Windows XP. 64-bit MS Windows Vista and 7 is supported since Sony eBook Library version 2.5 for all but the 500 models. In February 2014 Sony Reader announced that they were transferring content to the Kobo Store. In March 2014 the Sony Reader store was closed and account holders received an email with a link that enabled them to transfer their library to Kobo. Most titles transferred; however, some were not able to be transferred even though the titles were sold on Kobo; the transfer period ended in May.


Apple Mac OS X

Sony released an official
Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
Mac OS X client for the Reader with the release of the PRS-300 and PRS-600. It is reported to work with the PRS-505, PRS-700, Reader Pocket Edition and Reader Touch Edition. The software now works under 10.7
Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
.


Linux and other OS

Sony eBook Library was not officially supported on
Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
-based systems or other operating systems, although when the device is connected it grants access to its internal
flash memory Flash memory is an electronic non-volatile computer memory storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. The two main types of flash memory, NOR flash and NAND flash, are named for the NOR and NAND logic gates. Both us ...
and any memory card slots as though they were
USB Mass Storage The USB mass storage device class (also known as USB MSC or UMS) is a set of computing communications protocols, specifically a USB Device Class, defined by the USB Implementers Forum that makes a USB device accessible to a host computing devi ...
devices (on all models except PRS-500s that have not received the free EPUB upgrade from Sony), allowing the user to transfer files directly. See the Third party tools section below for a third-party software utility that provides comprehensive support for MS Windows, Apple Mac OS X, and Linux. Note if the device is locked, using the optional 4 digit pin it will not mount via USB, the lock option needs to be disabled in order to mount the device.


Third party tools

Several third-party tools exist for the Sony Reader. For example, the PRS Browser for Apple Mac OS X from Docudesk allows Apple Macintosh users to manage content on the Sony Reader. Users can also use the
free software Free software or libre software is computer software distributed under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, and distribute it and any adapted versions. Free software is a matter of liberty, no ...
library and utility called
Calibre In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore match ...
to communicate with the Reader and manage their digital library. Calibre can convert many ebook formats as well as collate multiple HTML pages into a single ebook file with an automatically generated table of contents. Calibre can also manage
RSS RSS ( RDF Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) is a web feed that allows users and applications to access updates to websites in a standardized, computer-readable format. Subscribing to RSS feeds can allow a user to keep track of many di ...
subscriptions, including scheduled pushes of newsfeeds to the reader. It has both a command line and graphical interface, and is available for MS Windows, Apple Mac OS X and Linux. Calibre notably does not offer MS Windows 64-bit support for the PRS-500 model either. Specialized on notes, annotations, bookmarks and other input by the user, noteworks allows for listing, exporting and other handling of this data, extracted from the device. In addition,
Adobe Digital Editions Adobe Digital Editions (abbreviated ADE) is an e-book reader software program from Adobe Systems, built initially (1.x version) using Adobe Flash. It is used for acquiring, managing, and reading e-books, digital newspapers, and other digital p ...
can deliver DRM-locked
PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...
and
ePub EPUB is an e-book file format that uses the ".epub" file extension. The term is short for ''electronic publication'' and is sometimes styled ''ePub''. EPUB is supported by many e-readers, and compatible software is available for most smartphones ...
documents to the PRS-350, PRS-505 and PRS-700. The software is officially available for Windows and Mac OS. It can be run on Linux using
Wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
. After activating the reader on an officially supported platform, DRM-locked media can be downloaded and transferred to the reader on Linux as well.


Alternative firmware


PRS+

PRS+ project seamlessly integrates into Sony UI and adds support for folder browsing, dictionary, key binding, book history, custom epub styles, games (Sudoku, Chess, Mahjong, etc.), localization (Catalan, German, Czech, English, French, Georgian, Russian, Spanish, and Simplified Chinese) and has built in fb2 to EPUB converter.


Ebook applications

Runs as an independent application. Adds support for FB2 / CBR / CBZ formats, drops support for LRF. Currently in beta state.


Internal OS

The PRS-T1, PRS-T2 and PRS-T3 run a heavily modified version of the Android operating system, which Sony mentions in the Legal Notices installed on the device. Its predecessors run the
MontaVista Linux MontaVista Software is a company that develops embedded Linux system software, development tools, and related software. Its products are made for other corporations developing embedded systems such as automotive electronics, communications equ ...
Professional Edition operating system with
Kinoma Kinoma, a division of Marvell Semiconductor, is a software engineering group providing an open-source, cross-platform ECMAScript stack aimed at developing software for Internet of Things products and other embedded devices. Additionally, Kinoma ...
FSK, a JavaScript virtual machine, optimized for devices with limited resources.


Sales

In December 2008, Sony disclosed that it had sold 300,000 units of its Reader Digital Book globally since the device launched in October 2006. According to an IDC study from March 2011, sales for all e-book readers worldwide grew to 12.8 million in 2010; 800,000 of those were Sony Readers.


See also

*
Comparison of e-book readers An e-reader, also known as an e-book reader, is a portable electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading e-books and Periodical literature, periodicals. E-readers have a similar form factor (design), form factor to a table ...
*
Amazon Kindle Amazon Kindle is a series of e-readers designed and marketed by Amazon. Amazon Kindle devices enable users to browse, buy, download, and read e-books, newspapers, magazines and other digital media via wireless networking to the Kindle Store. ...
*
Barnes & Noble Nook The Barnes & Noble Nook (styled nook or NOOK) is a brand of e-readers developed by American book retailer Barnes & Noble, based on the Android platform. The original device was announced in the U.S. in October 2009, and was released the next m ...
*
Calibre In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore match ...
an
open source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...
third party
software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...
to manage digital library with support of conversion between common e-book formats. Created originally for Sony e-readers, it supports over 30 different brands and types of readers. *
Kobo eReader The Kobo eReader is an e-reader produced by Toronto-based Kobo Inc. The company's name is an anagram of "book". The original version was released in May 2010 and was marketed as a minimalist alternative to the more expensive e-book readers avai ...
* OverDrive, Inc.ebook borrowing services for public libraries *
Tablet computer A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being comput ...


References


External links

* .
SONY Digital Reader
* . {{Linux mini computers Sony products Dedicated ebook devices Electronic paper technology Linux-based devices