Sony Portable Reader System PRS-500 vs Sony Reader Wi-Fi PRS-T1

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Portable Reader System PRS-500 compared with Reader Wi-Fi PRS-T1

	SonyPortable Reader System PRS-500	SonyReader Wi-Fi PRS-T1
Overview
Released
Released	October 2006	October 2011
Screen
Screen size
Screen size	6″	6″
Resolution
Resolution	–	800 × 600
Sharpness
Sharpness	–	167 pixels per inch (calculated)
Colour
Colour	No	No
Front light
Front light	No	No
Display detail
Display detail	E Ink electronic paper; approximately six-inch diagonal and four greyscale levels reported by The Gadgeteer	E Ink Pearl V220 electronic paper with 16 greyscale levels and infrared dual-touch sensing
Front light
Front light	No integrated illumination	No built-in light; optional cover with lighting arm
Page turns and refresh
Page turns and refresh	Physical page controls, three text sizes and portrait or landscape orientation; numbered menu selection buttons	Finger swipe or page-turn buttons; pinch-to-zoom, eight font sizes and six font styles
Reading and writing
Stylus
Stylus	No	Yes
Page-turn buttons
Page-turn buttons	Yes	Yes
Audiobooks
Audiobooks	Yes	Yes
Storage
Storage	64 MB	2 GB (better)
Software
Software	Other	Other
Formats
Formats	BBeB, PDF, TXT and RTF; Word converted to RTF; JPEG, GIF, PNG and BMP; EPUB and Adobe DRM supported with later firmware 2.0.00.09180 and compatible desktop software	EPUB, PDF and TXT documents; JPEG, PNG, GIF and BMP images
Book store
Book store	Computer-based CONNECT eBooks purchases offered at launch; memory-card file transfer also supported	Sony Reader Store support and web downloads; UK store was not open when Expert Reviews tested in November 2011
Library loans
Library loans	–	Wireless public-library borrowing offered at launch in the UK, US and Canada with a valid library card
Stylus
Stylus	–	Included stylus for handwritten notes and highlights
Note taking
Note taking	Bookmarks; no touchscreen annotations	Freehand notes, highlights, bookmarks, text annotations and dictionary lookup
Connections and battery
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Maker claims approximately 7,500 pages with a fully charged battery	UK maker claims over one month with wireless off or 3 weeks with wireless on at 30 minutes reading per day; approximately 14,000 continuous EPUB page turns
Charging
Charging	Supplied 5.2 V mains adaptor or computer USB; fully depleted battery requires mains charging	Micro-USB computer charging approximately 2.5 hours; optional mains adaptor approximately 2 hours
Connectivity
Connectivity	USB; shared Memory Stick/SD card slot; approximately 64 MB user-available storage	Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b/g/n with WEP, WPA-Personal, WPA2-Personal and WPS; micro-USB and microSD up to 32 GB; approximately 1.3 GB user-accessible storage on the UK model, versus 1.4 GB in Japanese specifications
Audio
Audio	Headphone output; unprotected MP3 and AAC audio only; playback while reading supported	Stereo headphone socket for unprotected MP3 and AAC, including compatible spoken-word files; no Audible DRM or dedicated audiobook support
Design
Weight
Weight	–	168 g
Materials
Materials	–	Plastic body
Size
Size	Maker maximum dimensions 6.9 × 4.9 × 0.5 inches without soft cover; approximately 8.8 oz without cover	173 × 110 × 8.9 mm
Colours
Colours	–	Black, white and red
In the box
In the box	Reader, protective cover, mains adaptor and cable, USB cable and Windows CONNECT Reader software	USB cable and stylus pen