PilotPlates are designed in partnership with Sony, and work equally well on the PRS-505, PRS-700 and the newer PRS-600 models of the Sony Reader. But there are differences between the products you should consider.
The primary difference between the two products as it relates to PilotPlates is the light and the touchscreen. Both the PRS-600 and PRS-700 include a touchscreen, while the PRS-505 uses buttons along the side of the screen for navigation. Some tasks are easier to perform with the buttons on the -505, but most tasks are faster and more efficient with the `touch` models.
The PRS-700, which is now discontinued, includes three LED`s on each side of the screen that illuminate the display from the sides. The PRS-505 and PRS-600 does not have a light, but our bundle ships with a cover that includes a light for illuminating the screen. On the -505, the light is a wedge that covers the screen and illuminates it evenly, while on the -600 the light is more like a reading light that shines down on the screen.
The either cover light is better for PilotPlates than the light used on the PRS-700 for two reasons. It does a better job of illuminating the screen, and it uses a separate source of power.
The cover light uses a separate pair of AAA batteries, which provides up to 38 hours of illumination, are easily replaced if they run low and provide a power source that is independent from the Reader. The Reader itself is very efficient and can display a chart for hours even with a very low battery.
If you have a 12v socket in your plane, a standard "cigarette lighter adapter" for the Sony PSP can be used to power either device.
PilotPlates are designed to work equally well with the PRS-505, -600 and -700 hardware. However, the touchscreen in the PRS-700 or -600 improves overall usability of the device for other purposes. The touch screen allows you to find your airport faster and improves usability on many pages that use links to navigate the book. You can also use the search features to quickly find your airport using the ICAO identifier. The PRS-505 does not include a search feature.