Tablets would seem to have conquered the mobile market for every purpose other than making actual calls. As a convergence device, they’ve managed to make quite a few other devices obsolete. One machine they haven’t killed is the dedicated e-reader, which still holds an important place in the hearts of consumers. The Sony PRS-T2 is one solid alternative to Amazon’s Kindle that continues to keep the e-reader market alive with overwhelming promise.

Quick Feature Facts

The PRS-T2 comes with a 6-inch, 600 x 800 pixel e-Ink Pearl display, 1.3GB of available storage and a microSD slot. Its black-and-white screen boasts 16-level or 4-bit grayscale resolution. Just 5.9 ounces heavy, it’s one of the lightest e-readers around. It also comes with a stylus and a USB cable for easy input and connectivity. At just under $120, it’s also one of the best values currently offered in the e-reader space.

Installed Software

Let’s begin with operating systems before we delve further into apps. The Sony PRS-T2 runs a modified version of Android 2.2 Froyo. Obviously, it’s tweaked to support a black-and-white e-reader like the PRS-T2 and its unique functionality. It boasts text-to-speech capability, tons of specialized apps and access to the Sony Reader Store, which includes thousands upon thousands of popular titles. As for main apps, there’s Facebook and Evernote, the latter of which allows for superlative note-taking thanks to the included stylus.

E-Reading Specifics

As far as the e-reader functionality of the Sony PRS-T2 goes, it supports DRM-capable formats such as ePub as well as standard fare like PDF and basic text files. It also supports the standard image file formats such as JPEG, PNG, GIF and BMP. Thanks to the e-Ink display, it’s equally capable of providing a comfortable reading experience in broad daylight as well as near darkness. Display rotation and a variety of available font sizes are just a few of the extra perks of this device.

Networking & Content

Alas, the Sony PRS-T2 doesn’t support data plans from the likes of Sprint, Verizon & AT&T. It’s just straight-up Wi-Fi with this model. For most e-reader fans, this is a plus. The rest of the e-reading experience on the PRS-T2 is basically what you’d expect from a similar competitor such as the Amazon Kindle. You can lend to friends, peruse a variety of free titles from Google Books and access loads of content from Sony’s Reader Store at only a few dollars per book.

Primary Pros & Cons

Arguably the biggest selling point of the PRS-T2 is the fact that’s it’s unencumbered by ties to a specific platform. As a result, it handily defeats the Kindle from Amazon in the openness department. It’s truly an international e-reader that can pull in content from a variety of different stores online. On the downside, there’s no audio jack available, which is weird in this day and age and curtails the ability of the user to listen to MP3s while reading.

Is the Sony PRS2-T2 a Buy?

In terms of value, the PRS-T2 makes quite the case for itself. It’s available in black, white or red, doesn’t come with a lot of restrictions and is priced quite reasonably. It’s sturdily built, has great battery life and delivers an excellent e-reading experience to boot. Unless there’s some reason why you need access to Amazon in particular, there’s no reason not to opt for it.