Sony has been in the business of producing e-books for a long time. And for many years they have been able to create unique and popular models that are not inferior in anything to Kobo, Barnes & Noble and Amazon. The Sony PRS-T2 is slightly different in this regard, because it does not have the features offered by its main competitors. But this e-book also has its advantages.
Design
Sony e-books have always been stylish and interesting designs. And it is the appearance that distinguishes the Sony PRS-T2 from the previous models of this company. The body of this e-book is black, with sharp corners, but the main thing that immediately catches your eye is the presence of huge plastic buttons at the bottom of the front panel. You get used to it in a few days. But all the same, the thought remains that such a design move would be more suitable for a child's toy.
Another difference is the materials from which the book is made. Previous models were metal, or at least included metal elements, but the Sony PRS-T2 is made entirely of plastic.
This, of course, reduces the weight of the model and significantly reduces its price, but negatively affects the overall experience.
Although the Sony PRS-T2 does not seem cheap: the plastic is pleasant to the touch, the book fits comfortably in the hand, and the buttons respond quickly to pressing.
While the buttons on the front panel don't look particularly appealing, you have to admit that they are well placed and intuitive.
In addition, this e-reader has a touch screen, so there is no special need to use the buttons while reading.
Screen
The most important thing to notice about the Sony PRS-T2 is the lack of backlighting. It might not have been a big deal last year, but virtually all 2013 models, such as the NOOK Simple Touch, offer this feature. Therefore, the lack of backlighting slightly reduces the competitiveness of the model.
The screen itself also loses a little in comparison with other models. Whereas the Kindle Paperwhite uses screens with a resolution of 1,024 x 768, ** Sony PRS-T2 ** has kept the previous generation standard - 800 x 600 E-ink.
But in a well-lit area, the Sony PRS-T2 is a pleasure to read without straining your eyes.
Functions
The multitouch touch screen makes this model one of the most versatile. Place your finger on a word and you can select it, send it to Facebook, look up the meaning in the Oxford Dictionary, or search it on Google or Wikipedia.
It's nice, albeit completely mundane, among the top touchscreen e-books. More interesting is the ease with which you can shrink and enlarge the pages you read. This is especially useful when reading PDFs.
For other types of files, you can choose seven types of fonts and eight options for their size.
Interface
You will be surprised how simple the interface is on such a stylish gadget. About 80% of the main menu is occupied by the last books you read, and only at the bottom there is a small panel where links to the Reader Store, Applications and Bookshelf are located.
In the Appendices, you will find a small list of additional features available on the Sony PRS-T2. It is an internet browser, handwriting application (Sony has included stylus support), and access to Facebook and Evernote. There is also a Public Library section that allows you to access books rented from digital libraries. This means that this model supports the EPUB format, which e-books of many manufacturers cannot boast of.
Access to Evernote and Facebook allows you to post information directly from the book to these services.
Sony PRS-T2 runs on Android operating system. Unfortunately, there is no way to install applications and games from Google Play. There is also no media player or headphone jack. Obviously, the manufacturer decided that every e-book buyer already owns a phone or MP3 player.
Loading books
You can download books using the Reader Store, which is secured by Adobe Digital Editions DRM. The Reader Store can be accessed directly from an e-book using the built-in Wi-Fi module. But this store is not as user-friendly as the Amazon Kindle Store. And there are quite a few cheap books.
You can also easily upload your own books to the PRS-T2. At the bottom of the e-book is a microUSB port, which is used to charge the battery, but connect it to a computer and get access to 2GB of internal memory. Alternatively, you can use a microSD card.
The number of supported formats is not very large, but there are EPUB, PDF and TXT. Fortunately, there are now enough services to convert your home e-book collection to the format you want.
There are no complaints about the battery. For example, if you read for half an hour a day, the Sony PRS-T2 can work for several months without charging. This is on par with the Kindle Paperwhite.
Output
The Sony PRS-T2 is a well-made e-reader, however, it cannot compete with the latest models such as the PocketBook Touch Lux 623. Without the backlight and high-resolution screen, the Sony PRS-T2 looks old-fashioned. The manufacturer did not offer anything new and did not make a breakthrough in the world of e-books, they just slightly redesigned the Sony PRS-T1. And, if not for the relatively low price, then this device could be offered only to those who prefer viewing PDF files on an e-book.
