In Which Baby Moves On

When you travel, any number of unexpected events will take place. I regret to inform you that Baby and I have had a parting of the ways. I decided to take both the Sony PRS-350 and Baby, the Sony 505 on the road. (Ozy stayed home. It was better that way.) Baby and I have spent a lot of time together. We've been in hospitals, we've been stuck overnight at airport gates, we've even hung out on the beach. None of this was Baby's fault. 


If we're honest, it was all about the touch. 
Ozy (the iPad) has me used to instant response. I don't have to coax him, there's no waiting for the menus to align or the time to be right. Ozy is ready to go when I am. Baby's older. You know how it is, he needs to psych himself up before he can perform. Just checking his SD card takes a few minutes. I don't judge. PRS-350 may not have as responsive a touch as Ozy, but touch it has. I learned it takes a different stroke to get the response I was looking for. We can work with that.
Once I figured out the PRS-350's personal kinks there was no going back. The stylus was simple to use for on the go note taking or file annotation, the touch screen felt far more natural after using an iPad, the weight was considerably less awkward to hold. PRS-350 and I are together now.


I'm afraid Baby didn't take it well - we had an incident involving multiple rebootings, but I think he's recovered. It's not like I sent him into the cold, just into my tween's backpack. He's living the high life of YA fiction these days and even dipping into the occasional emerging reader title. (His new owner has to share with others.) While the PRS-350 is sharper screen and a lighter hold than an iPad, I am still using Ozy for my primary needs. The PRS-350 has a long lag time when deleting notes or bookmarks, and the touch screen occasionally requires multiple swipes. Overall, I still feel Sony has the best dedicated e-reader on the market, even if they seem determined to throw that market away. So, PRS-350 has a permanent place in my handbag and a new piece of my heart. One day I might even figure his name out. PRS-350 seems too formal, like a bad Spielberg college film. 


*If you're wondering, the above was taken with a very cheap Nikon in the late summer afternoon at Stockholm's Tivoli Grona Lund. It's views are amazing.