Hi I was wondering whether the Sony PRS-505 reader needed any special care.

I may seem a little anal about it but I want this read to last as long as I'm in uni (at least another 3 years). So any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Such as, whether or not to leave the reader on or off whenever i'm not using it etc..


Thanks!

these things are pretty fool proof. i think your biggest danger is damage. just dont drop it or place heavy objects on it and you should be good. it doesnt hurt to charge the battery before its completely empty either.

Corrective, I'd suggest you do a search here for Sony battery issues. I believe that a year ago people were having issues with recharging their model 500's if they had let the battery run completely down. Also I think with leaving it unused for weeks at a time. But those may have been solved either with last summer's firmware update or in the new model 505 release. I've had no problems with my 500 but I never let the battery run completely down and I use it every day. I'd recommend you read (skim) the user manual, don't expose it to temperature extremes, and don't risk dropping it. Mine's been great for 9 months now. Enjoy!

Battery charging and reset information:

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21337

Incidentaly, the general consensus about cleaning the reader is that a barely damp microfibre cloth is safe. Certainly, I've been using one for nearly a year and the Reader still looks new.

Corrective, I'd suggest you do a search here for Sony battery issues. I believe that a year ago people were having issues with recharging their model 500's if they had let the battery run completely down. Also I think with leaving it unused for weeks at a time. But those may have been solved either with last summer's firmware update or in the new model 505 release. I've had no problems with my 500 but I never let the battery run completely down and I use it every day. I'd recommend you read (skim) the user manual, don't expose it to temperature extremes, and don't risk dropping it. Mine's been great for 9 months now. Enjoy!


I beleive that was before Sony's update. I haven't had any problems with my two 500s at all.

Don

Hi Corrective. You might get a padded cover for the reader. I have both the MEdge Executive and Leisure covers. The Leisure cover zips closed and, although it's not waterproof it is water resistant thus useful at the beach or by the pool. Similarly, I use it at the gym on the tread mill. It has a padded frame which offers pretty good protection especially in a carry on bag.

I actually also bought the premium leather cover, its not exactly water resistant but I guess i'll have to take that chance. Hopefully I wont be dumb enough to accidentally spill or leak any water in my bag which would also destroy my textbooks...that would be a bad day.

Also thanks Patricia for the great link.

I don't suppose there's anything else to worry about?

I was looking through Patricia's guide and followed a link on there with directions on doing a hard reset and found a terminology I was not familiar with but come across it several times in the forums. What does "unbrick" mean? I apologize in advance for my newbness.=)

Not to worry, Merlock. If a Reader is bricked this just means that the device is frozen, i.e. completely unresponsive - it might as well be a brick. 'Unbricking' = restoring the device so that it functions again.

Hug it and kiss it and love it and...and


Hi I was wondering whether the Sony PRS-505 reader needed any special care.

I may seem a little anal about it but I want this read to last as long as I'm in uni (at least another 3 years). So any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Such as, whether or not to leave the reader on or off whenever i'm not using it etc..


Thanks!

Don't go in stand-by mode in windows with the device attached: it bricked mine for a couple of days. Then luckily it ran out of battery and "hard reset" itself.. Phew..

lol thanks for the heads up.

Oh another thing i wanted to ask was whether i should completely turn off the reader when im not using it? or use standby mode? Which is better or is there no difference?

lol thanks for the heads up.

Oh another thing i wanted to ask was whether i should completely turn off the reader when im not using it? or use standby mode? Which is better or is there no difference?
Once I turn mine on to start reading, I leave it on until I got to sleep. The I power down until I read again. There have been times when I've not gotten around to reading for more then a day so having it powered off was a good thing.

With the hack I've modified and posted, I can shut off the power by just holding in the enter button for a few seconds. The hack also includes the clock, unified font, and nicer icons.

See http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=174404 for the hack.

sweet hack thanks JSwolf

Oh another thing i wanted to ask was whether i should completely turn off the reader when im not using it? or use standby mode? Which is better or is there no difference?

If you don't have memory cards inserted, you should be fine using standby mode (flipping the switch at the top of the unit). I generally manage to get about 2 weeks of moderate use (2 hours a day) before the battery goes below half.

With the Sony Memstick Duo card inserted, I have to charge it slightly more often. But nowhere near as often as when I was inserting SD cards.

If you're not going to use it for 3-4 weeks, it is probably better to power it down all the way (an option buried in the setup menu).