I decided last week to sell my Sony Reader PRS-600 Touch and replace it with an Amazon Kindle. Why would I do that? After all, you can do things with the Sony that you can’t with the Kindle: ‘reflow’ PDFs, write notes using a stylus, add extra memory with the minimum of fuss? I’ll perhaps compare and contrast the Sony Reader and the Kindle in more depth another time, but suffice to say that the things that the Kindle can do – namely wirelessly sync, have access to other people’s annotations, and make notes using a keyboard – slightly edge out the Sony Reader for me.
I’ve been very impressed with my Sony Reader PRS-600 since I got it last week. It’s a great device for reading, highlighting and taking notes on academic articles. Since before I couldn’t find much useful video on how the highlighting and note-taking functionality works, I’ve quickly put together the above two minutes by way of demonstration.
Hope it helps. 🙂
Note: those reading via RSS/email may need to click through to see the video – or view it on YouTube!
Introduction
I learned today that the best gadget purchases are those that solve a problem. Whilst it’s wonderful to have the latest and greatest (I’ll be getting a free iPad via my attendance at the Handheld Learning Conference later this year) it’s very satisfying when something plugs a gap.
The Problem
Briefly stated:
I’ve got lots (probably hundreds) of journal articles to read for my Ed.D. thesis.
I use a computer screen for my work much more than I used to, meaning on-screen PDFs is problematic.
I get the train (c.30 minutes each way) and then walk to work. I don’t want to have to carry around anything heavy.
The Solution
Today I bought (or should I say my parents, who are extremely supportive of my studies, bought me) a Sony Reader PRS-600. It’s the one with the touch screen for highlighting and annotation. It’s got an e-ink screen meaning it appears like a physical book instead of a flickering screen.
What I’ve tried previously:
Printing out articles (cumbersome, expensive and not environmentally-friendly)
Dropbox iPhone app (doesn’t ‘reflow’ PDFs meaning horizontal scrolling which isn’t very user-friendly)
GoodReader iPhone app (iPhone screen too small for annotation)
I considered an Amazon Kindle, but after seeing and handling the Sony Reader at the JISC Conference earlier this week, I was sold on it. JISC had funded a project where the Sony Readers were used by previously technophobic academic staff to mark student essays. They loved them and if they’re good enough for that purpose, it’s good enough for me!
It’s still (very) early days. I’ll let you know how I get on! 🙂
