Sony PRS-600
Featuring a touchscreen for the first time, the PRS-600 introduced intuitive new ways to use eReaders.
At a Glance
The Sony PRS-600 was distributed directly in Germany by Thalia and succeeded the PRS-505 as their flagship model. It was the first dedicated eBook reader with a touchscreen, highlighting Sony’s pioneering role in the market and aiming to compete with the rapidly growing Kindle devices in the USA.
In the end, while the screen made operation straightforward and user-friendly, it also resulted in poorer contrast. The touchscreen foil used at the time darkened the display to such an extent that readability noticeably declined compared to its predecessor (the PRS-505). The Kindle 2 also offered better readability. Sony addressed this issue with the next model (the PRS-650), which, for the first time and setting a new standard, used infrared touchscreen technology.
Another point of criticism was the lack of Wi-Fi support. While Amazon had already realized early on that easy eBook purchasing was key to success and included wireless connectivity from the first Kindle, Sony also omitted Wi-Fi from the PRS-600. This meant users still had to rely on memory card expansion or the mini-USB port to transfer eBooks to the device.
Along with the touchscreen, the eBook reader came with a stylus that could be stored neatly inside the device and allowed for handwritten notes and highlights. For the first time, the touchscreen also made using a dictionary especially easy—a feature that later became a benchmark for other manufacturers. For the first time, Sony delivered the PRS-600 not with a high-quality leather cover, but with a neoprene pouch.
Video Review
Sony PRS-600: Technical Specifications
| General | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Sony |
| Market launch | 2009 |
| Device type | E-Reader |
| Device category | Mid-range |
| Price (USD / EUR) | 239 |
| Available colors | black, red, silver |
| Size & Weight | |
| Size (L × B × T) | 175 x 122 x 9.7 mm |
| Weight (g) | 286 |
| Display | |
| Technology | E-Ink Vizplex |
| Flexible Display Technology | No |
| Size (inch) | 6 |
| Resolution (px) | 800×600 |
| Pixel density (ppi) | 167 |
| Colors | No |
| Color depth | 8 greyscale |
| Touchscreen | Yes, capacitive |
| Built-in light | No |
| Flush display | No |
| Connections | |
| USB | Yes (type unkown) |
| Bluetooth | No |
| Wi-Fi | Yes |
| Cellular connectivity | No |
| GPS | No |
| Hardware Specs | |
| CPU Cores | Unknown |
| CPU Type | |
| RAM (GB) | |
| Internal Storage (GB) | 0.420 |
| Internal Storage up to (GB) | |
| Storage Expansion | Yes |
| Speakers | No |
| Microphone | No |
| Battery (mAh) | |
| Operating system | Linux |
| Features | |
| Text-to-speech | Unknown |
| Page turn buttons | Yes |
| Water protection | No |
| Accelerometer | Unknown |
| E-book store | No |
| Supported file types | PDF, TXT, RTF, LRF, LRX, ePUB, MP3, AAC, JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP |
All information provided without guarantee.
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