Sony Reader Digital Book W Touch Screen

The Sony PRS 700 is an excellent product. I am an avid reader and have had several ereaders. Besides the 700, I own a PRS 505, an Ebookwise 1150, and previous to that, its predecesor which was marketed by RCA. I am an online college student, and much of my research papers are based on professional journals many of which are in PDF format. This device displays PDF's natively without conversion, although reading them is slower. The screen clarity is not as good as on my 505 however, as has been mentioned by previous reviewers, minor adustments or utilizing the light takes care of that easily. The lights are a nice addition, I think. I used a book light for my 505 and it caused a very distracting glare. But, the edge illumination on the 700 does well for me on the first setting. The illumination is not even across the screen which might bother some, but I have no problem with it. I also like the fact that it has such a clean, buisness like appearance. It sports a metal case and few buttons. The navigation conrols it does have are discretely placed along the bottom. If one reads it in the cover like a regular book, and with one hand, the page turn buttons are well placed ergonomically. Speaking of the cover, it is provided with the device. It is black and has a handsome leather appearance. The device latches into it securely, and the cover adheres to the device magnetically. I find the finger swiping works very well. Unfortunately book marking does not work for me useing tapping. I always end up turning the page inadvertantly useing this method. I go to notes in "options" instead to mark the page, but this is no biggy. Useing the lights does consume battery power a little faster, but I merely charge it off the computer while showering and preparing breakfast and that tops it off adequatly. My only serious complaint is it does not have a dictionary. Both my RCA and EBW devices had onboard dictionaries and these were cheap ereaders. It is ironic that something as expensive as the PRS 700, marketed for serious readers, lacks such a basic literary tool. The only one I can find online is the Oxford English dictionary, however it is Mobipocket, and therefore not supported by the Sony ereaders. There are many good ereading devices and all of them have good points. I preferred this one for various reasons, and do not regret my purchase. It is important to review all these fine products thoroughly, but either way, I highly recommend the Sony PRS 700. Buy Sony Reader Digital Book W Touch Screen!