Sony Reader PRS-505 review

While images look intriguingly noir on the black and white screen, Sony has clearly spent as much time on the music player as you will spend using it. You can't browse by albums or artist - you get just one long list of individual songs.

The accompanying software is equally uninspiring, though anybody familiar with iTunes circa 2005 will be instantly at home. The PRS-505 has no wireless, so you connect solely via USB, but once done the reader can immediately sync with your library's content, and you do receive 100 "classics" on an accompanying CD, which to our astonishment actually includes plenty of stuff worth reading, with Dickens, Bronte and Dostoyevsky all making an appearance.

Which really does leaves you with a library in the palm of your hand. If wireless and annotation are high on your agenda, the Rex Iliad is probably the better bet - it offers both and a touchscreen for double the price. But if it's style and a magnificent reading experience you're after, we simply can't fault the PRS-505.

Author: Stuart Turton