Sony PRS 500

Ask anybody about the meaning of the term PRS in the Sony PRS 500 and they will come up with a blank. In fact this terminology means `personal reader system’. The Sony PRS 500 is yet another ebook reader of the many available in the market. So what are the specs of this gizmo and why are these ebook readers taking off in such a big way? The Sony PRS 500 uses the E ink technology and boasts of a 166 dots per inch display with 8 levels of grayscale. The main advantages of such readers are their capability to be viewed in direct sunlight.

This makes it a major force to contend with against laptops which cannot be read in bright ambient light. The Sony PRS 500 can be used in either landscape or portrait mode and needs zero power to display a static image. One can download and store ebooks on the Sony PRS 500 and read them as and when required. The Sony PRS 500 supports lots of formats including .pdf, .epub, .jpeg, and .bbeb. This ebook reader can also playback unencrypted .aac audio files and also .mp3. The Sony PRS 500 has been launched quite some time back (September 2006) and nearly 6 updated versions of the same have also appeared in the market as of date.

Those who have purchased the Sony PRS 500 know the advantages this ebook reader provides them with. There is no need for you to lug around hundreds of printed books, magazines, and newspapers along with you when you own a Sony PRS 500. Hundreds of such publications can be stored in this reader in the digital format and can be retrieved as and when required. This provides a huge advantage since one can read books on the go on their Sony PRS 500.

The display of the Sony PRS 500 consists of a white background with the text in black. This makes the Sony PRS 500 look like a real book. The size and shape of this gizmo is also like a normal book. A bit heavy at 250 g, the thickness of this ebook reader is 13.8 mm. Its other dimensions are 175.6 x 123.6 mm. With a display size of 6 inches diagonally the Sony PRS 500 can easily display 6 point type legibly. The Sony PRS 500 ships with 64 MB memory though this can be increased by the addition of memory sticks. The lithium ion battery powering the Sony PRS 500 is sufficient for reading 7500 books on a single charge.

Now this is something awesome. You might well go for a vacation and read your favorite books to your heart’s content on the Sony PRS 500 and yet return back with an unexhausted battery. The Sony PRS 500 also boasts of a USB port that helps users to download their favorite books and music from their PC to this portable ebook reader. If there is something to crib about, it is the slow page refresh of the Sony PRS 500.