Sony Digital Paper

When it comes to eReaders, most devices are limited to around 7-inches and few have offered more than a static reading experience. With its latest device, the Digital Paper, Sony is hoping to breathe new life and corner a new market with eReader devices. Does it stand up to the hype? Let’s take a look at reviews.

It doesn’t take much to see this isn’t your average Kindle or Kobo device. At 13.3 inches, this is not only the largest mainstream eInk display available, Sony touts that it is also the thinnest. Designed to allow display of full A4-formatted PDF files without the need to zoom or scroll, it features a 1200-by-1600 resolutions. Reviews noted the text was crisp, and, thanks to the nature of eInk displays, a joy to read even in the brightest lighting.

The slate is powered by a 1GHz single-core processor to make page turns quick and load documents in just a few taps. The stylus included with the tablet allows you to take notes, annotate documents and even sketch with a variety of tip styles built into the software. Reviews found that the fine tip on the stylus made legible handwriting simple. The slate also features a capacitive multi-touch display for all the gestures, such as pinch-to-zoom, that you might be used to on other device.

4GB of internal storage provides plenty of room to store your files, should you need more Wi-Fi provides access to popular cloud storage providers or the SD card slot allows for easy memory expansion.

Unfortunately, all of this comes with two major drawbacks for the average consumer. The first, and likely biggest, concern is price. With intent to market the Digital Paper to business professionals, the $1,100 suggested retail price is a steep bar of entry.

The other concern is a lack of format support. Natively, the device does not support ePub, MOBI or other popular eBook files. It is designed for and optimized to handle PDFs only. However, Good eReader noted that converting files with software to PDF produced outstanding results.

Overall, if you don’t mind a little extra work to view files that aren’t in PDF, work heavily with PDF files and have a bit of money to invest, the device certainly turned heads in reviews. Good eReader sums up reviews nicely, stating, “The Sony Digital Paper is simply the best e-reader made for editing PDF files.”