Sony Digital Paper System DPT-S1 Review
by Ganesh T S on December 17, 2015 8:50 AM ESTConcluding Remarks
The Sony DPT-S1's feature set and pricing make it clear that business users are the primary target market. Posts on various e-reader forums indicate that the device is gaining popularity amongst academics and lawyers. Despite the business / enterprise focus, there is nothing preventing power users from using it as a standard e-reader. In fact, the device, when used in the landscape mode with a two-page thumbnail view (a feature introduced in firmware v1.5.50.1180 released on December 15, 2015), can simulate holding a real book with two pages side by side. The availability of a pen / stylus can also lend itself to some interesting applications for casual users. Writing on the plastic surface of the Sony DPT-S1 feels closer to writing on actual paper compared to glass surfaces in other tablets.
Sony DPT-S1 - Not Necessarily an 'all work, no play' Device
Even though I try to avoid printing out documents / papers and read them on a computer monitor or tablet, I can't totally avoid the usage of a printer. Since purchasing the Sony DPT-S1 a couple of weeks back, I haven't printed out a single document. One of the aims of the Sony DPT-S1 is to reduce paper clutter. I have to say that it succeeds nicely in this respect.
Coming to the business end of the review, we will analyze the pros and cons of the Sony DPT-S1 first.
On the plus side:
- The unit is lightweight, yet solid. The experience is very similar to carrying a folder with a few sheets of paper.
- The unit has great ergonomics and is perfectly size for technical documents
- It is a great vehicle to bring out the advantages of E-Ink
- No strain on the eyes, thanks to the absence of backlighting
- Visibility under bright light / outdoor environments is perfect
- The battery life is great - more than a couple of weeks between charges even with regular use (2 - 3 hours a day with a page or so of writing on each day)
- Annotation capabilities with the pen input is great for note taking and other business uses.
- It reads all PDFs - no messing around with DRM, no proprietary file formats, no 'cloud' accounts needed
- Combination of features make it a very unique product in the market
On the other side:
- The exorbitant pricing ($800) makes it unsuitable for personal use. There exists better value for money if an E-Ink screen is not a must
- The PDF viewer could do with some more features to make it more versatile / suitable for non-business use-cases. (more zooming, adjustable cropping to remove white margins etc.)
- Firmware, in general, could do with some extra features - such as providing additional options for network shares along with the currently existing WebDAV support.
- Limitations of E-Ink
- Low refresh rate can hamper user experience when redrawing the screen during document navigation / zooming
- Absence of color capabilities
- Adding audio capabilities could help expand the addressable market (targeting audiobooks, for example)
- At the $800 price point, the presence of just 4GB (3GB usable) of internal flash is disappointing. Availability of a microSD slot alleviates this issue somewhat.
- A more powerful processor could help in providing a better user-experience with graphics-heavy PDFs.
- Absence of contrast adjustment (something possible in the Kindle-DX) is a bit disappointing
- There is no built-in light for reading in the dark (something available in the Kindle Paperwhite)
- Wear-out of the pen tips could be a worry for heavy users
- Navigation buttons at the bottom could do with a more pronounced feel. The current design (flush with the rest of the frame) is more suitable for capacitive touch-based implementations.
Despite the list of potential improvements and drawbacks being longer than the positives, the Sony DPT-S1 gets my recommendation for being a unique product in a specific niche. Products based on the 13.3" E-Ink Mobius screen have also been shown at tradeshows by companies like Netronix and Pocketbook, but they remain vaporware.
If the characteristics of E-Ink screens fit your requirements and you need a size-for-size replacement for traditional paper documents, the Sony Digital Paper System DPT-S1 is the perfect fit. It does a surprisingly great job despite being the only such product in the market. We hope Sony continues to provide firmware updates for the product and bring the price down even further.
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groundhogdaze - Thursday, December 17, 2015 - link
I'm wondering why there aren't more competing products? I definitely want one and I'm assuming there's a reasonably large market out there for this sort of device. I do own a kindle DX but the DPT-S1 would be so much nicer :)JoeMonco - Thursday, December 17, 2015 - link
Based on what evidence do you believe that there's a large market for such a device? The very lack of very many competing devices would prove just the opposite.sungamer - Monday, December 21, 2015 - link
Actually I think it's due to engineering problems. Large format e-ink displays are still difficult to make, and the fact is unless you're using a flexible system (such as Mobius used by Sony here) they're very much prone to breakage. Mobius is also very expensive (last I heard a 13.3 inch display would cost about $600, but I'm SURE that has come down a bit now), so the combination of price and engineering problems means that this category of products is at its infancy, rather than a lack of demand.benzosaurus - Thursday, December 17, 2015 - link
Speaking as an engineering student, I'd buy that thing in a heartbeat to replace my old iPad 2— if it cost, like, $100.digiguy - Thursday, December 17, 2015 - link
I had considered this but the price of over 1000$ was too much for something that can only display PDFs. Whats more, in Europe, it could only be bought from Japan, with menus in Japanese only. My ipad pro with similar size and aspect ratio, and a mat screen protector, can do much more for a similar price....ganeshts - Thursday, December 17, 2015 - link
Except that iPad Pro weighs a lot more and is bound to result in eye strain under continuous use.melgross - Thursday, December 17, 2015 - link
Yes. It does weigh more, but the eye strain concept is a lot of hooey. Billions of people use tablets and smartphones without getting eye strain. Billions more use laptops and desktops without having eye strain. The few that do get it are either sensitive to bright light, or simp,y have everything g adjusted improperly.Medical experts have already said that there's no difference to the eye with reflected or transmitted light screens. People who have the problem should either raise the brightness, or lower it, depending on how they have it set. It will make a difference.
And a tablet, like the iPad Pro, or others, are just vastly more useful than something like this, particularly at the price point.
ganeshts - Thursday, December 17, 2015 - link
All I can say is: Give an E-Ink device a try for a week and also repeat a similar workload with a carefully adjusted tablet / backlit display for a week, and you will be sure to feel the difference.Personally speaking, I tried reading a technical eBook on a tablet and also on the DPT-S1. I was able to read more pages in one go on the latter.
digiguy - Thursday, December 17, 2015 - link
I really think it depends on what you read.... and how... First of all, I think a mat screen is a must. I really don't understand why people don't use them. All my tablets have a mat screen, including the Surface pro 3 (and the pen works perfectly). Then it's also a matter of adjusting brightness... Then there are books where colors are important and this device has no colors... As far as the weight is concerned, I think it depends. I never hold the ipad pro or surface pro 3 with just one hand vertically. Instead, the lower part is on my legs if I am sitting or, if I am standing, I hold it like a pizza. And it's not heavy at all like that. Now my main use was for sheet music. And for that weight is irrelevant. I wanted an A4 format, and Surface pro 3 was a bit smaller than ideal... Ipad pro is perfect, as close to A4 as it gets. Also for a large majority of my ebooks and scores 4:3 works better than 3:2. Now, I am not saying that weight and eye strain don't matter or that this device is not better on these 2 points, but that I believe there are workarounds that make then "less relevant". It's all a matter of trade offs. And at this price point this device means giving up a lot of what an ipad pro can do. Sure the price has come down, but this is IMO an already old device (thats probably why Sony paid for this review) that should probably be refreshed or upgraded and/or sold at a more reasonable price point....ganeshts - Thursday, December 17, 2015 - link
whoa, dude! I paid $800 of my own money for this (Sony is not very liberal with review units unlike other manufacturers, btw) because I saw some value in it for my professional work as well as hobbies (solving crosswords and reading books). I thought AnandTech readers would like to hear the plus and minus points associated with the e-reader, and that is why I decided to write the review.
This type of blanket statement surprises me greatly.