Hands-on with Sony's 'PRS T2' eReader

 (Photo credit: double-h_by_phone)

You don’t have to “read” between the lines to fathom that the niche eReader market is dominated by Barnes and Noble as well as Amazon. Recently, however, some companies have attempted to contest their monopoly by introducing some nifty EReaders - one such enterprise is Sony and here’s a hands-on appraisal of their new PRS T2 eReader:

Display

The PRS T2 showcases a 6-inch Pearl E-Ink (V220) capacitive screen with an 800 by 600-pixel resolution. The display is armed with Clear-Touch infrared knowhow, a 16-point gray scale configuration, and even an anti-glare sheathing for heightened functioning.

The visual effects are fairly good with decent text definition and illumination as well as negligible screen flickering between pages. However, some amounts of text shadows were evidenced. Thankfully the touchscreen functionality of the PRS T2 is smooth and comes with options like two-finger zoom and pinch (to regulate text dimensions).

Other Outer Features

The PRS T2 exudes a smart and functional look at first sight marked by its chrome-finish chassis. In the front, the screen is enveloped by an all-round bezel which contains 5 raised physical keys on its lower side – the keys being page back, page forward, home, previous screen, and menu controls.

The flanks and the rear of the device collectively house the battery along with options like the power switch, micro SD card slot, a reset control, and a micro USB port for data transfer and charging. Although the overall build is solid enough, the slightly tapered edges could pose a problem in handling the device.
The eReader’s 6.9 by 4.4 by 0.4-inch frame and 164-gram weight aid portability. The device is available in three shades - black, white, and wine red.

Reading Attributes

a) The PRS T2 offers 8 font dimensions as also 7 font styles to cater to your individual preferences.

b) You are provided with a host of menu options to assist reading and navigation. Notable options include settings to:

• Intensify or reduce illumination.
• Alter the direction and method of page turns (either right to left or left to right).
• Navigate to a particular page.
• View the table of contents for every document.
• Crop a specified page. Search for specified portions of text.
• Annotate text.
• Share content with friends via Facebook.

c) The PRS T2 can work with and even translate all recognized global languages including Japanese, Greek, Korean, and Chinese.

d) 1 English dictionary and 6 international dictionaries are on board to help you quickly reference and parse difficult words.

e) There is a stylus provided as well; it can be used for annotation or page navigation. Sadly, no physical holder has been furnished for the stylus.

Hardware and Other Features

a) The PRS T2 boasts W-Fi capabilities allowing you to procure innumerable books and other titles from Sony’s online store. You can also assign favorites to a real-time public library and quickly download books from the same.

b) Sony have armed the eReader with 2GB of internal storage that can be extended to 32GB via the provided card slot.

c) The inbuilt battery, once fully charged, can sustain the PRS T2 for a touted 2 months of wireless use.

d) The lack of music capabilities jars and may deter certain buyers.

Conclusion

The PRS T2, in the final analysis, performs well and justifies its USD 129 price.


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