“Words, words, words.”
– William Shakespeare (HAMLET)

I love words. I love to read and write. I was an English Major in college. Thus, as a word loving self proclaimed gadget geek it should be no surprise that I have been an eBook aficionado for nearly a decade. I started buying and reading eBooks on my Palm Pilots and continued to read them on my Palm Treo phones. Somewhere in the bowels of a closet, in my forgotten box of obsolete gadgets, there is an RCA Rocketbook, one of the first dedicated eBook readers. Although it pre-dated e-ink and our current wireless technology, the Rocketbook did not require a computer and allowed you to purchase and download books by connecting a phone line to its internal modem. Cool! I am also the owner of an Amazon Kindle2 and use it to read daily.

All In The Family

Given my own predisposition to love an eBook Reader and in keeping with the spirit of the Sony DigiDad Project, when Sony sent me their Reader Pocket Edition (on loan, Mr. FTC) I decided to enlist my 19 year old son Ethan as a “tester.” Of all my kids, Ethan is the one I am most likely to find with a book in his hand (and he happened to be around) so he got the job as the reader using the Reader. Sony provided two coupons to download a free book, so I asked Ethan to choose something he would like to read. Much to my surprise (and pleasure) out of the blue he chose the Oscar Wilde classic, “The Picture Of Dorian Gray.” Inspired by his book choice, we made a short video of the Sony Reader experience. More thoughts about the Reader are below the video.

The Sony Reader

As a device, we really liked the Sony Reader Pocket Edition. The form factor is really nice. Small, yet solid and functional. The screen resolution is terrific and the whiter background (as compared to the Kindle’s grayish hue) makes the e-ink words sharp, clear and easy to read. Navigation is simple and a dedicated “bookmark” button is a nice convenience.  Battery life is fantastic.  We have still only charged it once, when it first arrived.  As a simple, relatively inexpensive basic eBook reader the Sony Reader Pocket Edition is a great device.  It lacks some of the features of a higher end reader such as wireless access to books, more choices for font sizes, a keyboard for notes and annotating, etc.  However, Sony’s approach is to introduce a whole line of reader products, with the Pocket Edition being the entry level model.  Other models, including the Touch Edition and Daily Edition seem to include many of the add-ons and features that may be lacking in the Pocket Edition, but we have only had hands on experience with the Pocket Edition.

What’s In Store?

When it comes to getting books for your Sony Reader there is good and there is bad.  The good is that Sony has gone out of their way to make their Reader series of products compatible with the widest possible range of electronic books including multiple book stores, public libraries, and Google’s library of public domain works.  This open approach to content availability is great and the right approach.  The bad news is that the Sony Store itself, and the user experience of actually getting the book(s) you want onto the Reader leaves a LOT to be desired, especially if, like me, you have already been spoiled by Amazon’s outstanding store and purchasing experience with the Kindle.  Finding what you want and getting it onto your Reader can be a challenge, but once you have your books onboard, reading with the Reader is a great experience.

Have you tried getting your kids to use an eBook reader (Sony or other)?  As parents, anything we can do to entice our kids to read more is a step in the right direction, and watching my son enjoy reading a classic such as Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture Of Dorian Gray” made this a picture perfect project for me.

Jeff Sass is the proud dad of ZEO (Zach, 21, Ethan, 19 and Olivia, 18).  He is also a seasoned entertainment and technology exec and active social media enthusiast.  You can see more of Jeff’s writing at Sassholes! and Social Networking Rehab.

This post is part of series called the “Sony DigiDads Project” by Sony Electronics where a group of dads, including C.C. Chapman, Jeffrey Sass, Max Kalehoff, Michael Sheehan, and Brad Powell, have been given the opportunity to test and review Sony gear.  If you want to know more about this project visit the Sony Electronics Community.