Stacking Fault

Mac Users To Go Through Hoops to use new Sony Reader PRS-500

Shortly after it's debut at the CES show this last week, Sony has released more details for the PRS-500 eInk-based eBook Reader. According to the company, the unit will be sold through Sony's online store and select Sony Style retail outlets.

Here's a brief summary of what we've learned so far. The reader contains a 6" (diagonal) 800x600 pixel eInk display with 4 levels of grey; weighs less than 9 ounces; and is less than one half inch thick. It contains an internal battery with a projected life of 7500 page turns between charges; recharging the unit takes "as little as four hours" with an optional AC adapter or 6 hours when recharged via USB. Memory capacity is 64Mb, but the unit can use memory stick or secure digital removable storage. If we are to believe the online store, the reader will retail for $349.99

In terms of content, Sony plans a wide range of titles (having learned from the ill-fated Libre reader that "content is king.") Major publishers are said to be ready to provide content for the device through the Connect! music store.

But here's where the deal turns sour for Mac users. First, the Connect! online store requires Internet Explorer on Wintel with (get this) Administrator privilege. My first reaction to this news was to wonder if they were planning on installing spyware to ensure you're not running a .lrx file cracker, but I'm guessing it has something to do with ensuring that you only connect to the store with a VAIO PC. There is apparently no work-around for this. Mac users are out in the cold. You just don't get to download content for the device.

Second, to install your own content on the device (like from a PDF file) users will need to run a PDF -> BBeB conversion utility (BBeB is the Reader's native format.) Though the Sony website does not explicitly mention this, I do not doubt that Sony will provide only Wintel versions of this utility. The good news is that the BBeB format was partially documented by Sony and an active community of BBeB tinkerers exists. In theory, Mac users could use open source software to convert PDF and XML files into a Reader-readable format.

Audio is a another story. Sony's compressed audio format of choice is ATRAC3, not MP3 (or AAC or FLAC or OGG/Vorbis or ...) Reading and writing ATRAC3 files on a Mac has been problematic at best. And remember, if the labels can convince congress to close the analog hole, then there's virtually no chance you'll legally be able to play music through your Sony Reader.

Finally... in the past I've had terrible compatibility problems between Sony and non-sony products. Early version's of the company's Clie handheld stored information in a proprietary FAT-like format when exported to memory sticks. The DCR-PC5 camera's still pictures are written to a memory stick using a format unknown to non-Sony products. It's probably too early to know for sure, but it's not beyond the realm of possibility that the Reader uses a non-standard file format for memory stick and secure digital cards.

So... on the plus side... the PRS-500 looks like a great product. The low weight, low power high contrast display makes for an user experience that could potentially be excellent. But the drawbacks could prove fatal for Mac users. While there's some hope that free software could be used to convert PDFs and some XML formats to BBeB, there's an outside chance that the device will use a proprietary format on memory stick and secure digital media. So... before you buy one of these things... take a SD card into the showroom with you and see what formats the device can read.

Tags: e-ink, Sony, librie, atrac, bbeb, Gadgets, Mac

posted by Matthew S. Hamrick @ 2:00 AM