Sony Digital Paper System DPT-S1 Review

Concluding 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.