PRS-505 Sony Firmware update for Epub?

[duckbill]

I have now given up hope that Sony will supply us with a firmware update to solve the non-justified Epub issue.

In the past, there have been numerous messages making the assumption that Sony would address this shortcoming, which I believe to be serious. However, it seems that the launch of numerous new models demonstrates little regard in upkeeping older products (although their latest support for the '500' model may contradict my assumption).

Do I wait, or do I buy a new reader (which one)?

[pepak]

Up to you. Personally, I wait - while I would like to have a justified text (and a number of other features), I don't need it so badly as to spend more money on a different reader (which will, sure enough, have its own share of weaknesses). But when my PRS-505 dies, my next buying decision will certainly be influenced by the way Sony treated me in the past.

[kartu]

In Sony's model line only PRS 900 has this feature.

I personally read books in LRF format, viewer feels faster/better formatted/more logical to me.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by kartu

In Sony's model line only PRS 900 has this feature.

I personally read books in LRF format, viewer feels faster/better formatted/more logical to me.

LRF is better formatted? Faster? Try embedding fonts in LRF and it slows down.

[pepak]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

LRF is better formatted? Faster? Try embedding fonts in LRF and it slows down.

1) It's not relevant to the topic.
2) My experience is the same as Kartu's. With my books, LRF is better formatted, faster, and also more stable than EPUB. Please don't argue that with your books it is otherwise. It might be so, but it would be, once again, completely irrelevant - both to discussion at hand and to the way we use our readers.

[kartu]

It's kinda offtopic, but:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

LRF is better formatted?

Indeed. To start with, it supports header and footer and has much more intuitive "paging".

Faster? Try embedding fonts in LRF and it slows down.

I don't use LRFs with embedded fonts, being able to add missing glyphs to standard fonts, why would I do this?

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by duckbill

I have now given up hope that Sony will supply us with a firmware update to solve the non-justified Epub issue.

It's not an issue it's a feature.

Before I decided to use epub I actually used PRScustomizer to allow LRF ebooks to be left justified. My reasons though are because I use a larger font to avoid reading glasses and hyphenation is not implemented. The lack of hyphenation caused large gaps between words with fully justified text.

I agree with you though at the very least it seems that any ereader should allow the user to select full or left justification. I was surprised that the 300 and 600 didn't have this option, even the jetBook Lite ereaders I just bought for my kids have this option among their limited option set.

I don't see Sony releasing any firmware update to address this in any of their readers.

Originally Posted by pepak

2) With my books, LRF is ~ also more stable than EPUB.

This is interesting one of the reasons I went to ePub is because I had too many problems with LRF being unstable, mostly during pagination but at other times too. Since moving exclusively to ePub spontaneous restarts have been drastically reduced.

[garbanzo]

have you tried RTF? full justification is fully supported, and it's dead easy to format them with wordpad and/or word.

it's all i ever use. in fact i've never even tried any other formats. went straight to RTF and never looked back

[HarryT]

RTF supports full justification, yes, but you don't have pictures, hyperlinks, a table of contents, etc. All those things are vital to me personally.