Is Sony just simply ignoring the Reader?

WilliamG · 03-08-2007, 08:04 PM

Look at the PSP. It's had 4,000 firmware updates in the last 2 years.

The Reader? One (if you can call it a real update).

What's the deal? The Reader's been out what, half a year? Isn't it about time the number buttons did something worthwhile? I mean really...

:behead2:

NatCh · 03-08-2007, 08:26 PM

Well, the PSP division is trying to stop hackers with their updates, and the PSP has a lot more functions to support than the Reader. I was thinking that having an update only 4.5 months after the release is pretty quick, for such a stable product. And it seems pretty clear that this first update was aimed at fixing things like the RTF instability that was encountered on some files.

The impression I've gotten is that they only starting to consider what sort of expansions they might want to make to the original feature/function set (and how to approach them) after the first update.

In any case, I think it's reasonable to give them more than a month (26 days, really -- the update was only released on 02/09/07) between updates before we start worrying too much that they've abandoned the product.

WilliamG · 03-08-2007, 08:46 PM

I'm just embittered, really. The Reader is begging for updates!

RWood · 03-08-2007, 08:55 PM

Building on what NatCh said, the PSP most likely sells 4,000 times as many units as the Reader. Also the ebook reading market is not as dynamic as the computer game market.

We are very lucky that we were able to purchase a product as mature as the Reader for a version 1. Many other types of products take years to reach this level of stability. Yes, some have had problems with the current release and others have had problems with the first update; but far more have had no problems with either the original or the update.

Also the level and type of "hackers" between the devices are light years apart. On the PSP people are cracking the security while on the Reader they are looking to expand the capabilities. Not nearly the same thing. Without the updates to keep the PSP secure the updates per critical function between the two weighs toward the Reader as the more supported device.

NatCh · 03-08-2007, 08:59 PM

Patience, Grasshopper ... at least it already does what it claimed to in the first place. (Oh, I'm a baaaad boy, Babbit)

AndiR · 03-09-2007, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NatCh

Patience, Grasshopper ... at least it already does what it claimed to in the first place. (Oh, I'm a baaaad boy, Babbit)

Apart from read PDF's that normal youngish healthy eyes can read :-(

HarryT · 03-09-2007, 07:30 AM

I don't understand why people keep "blaming" Sony for the simple physical fact that there's no good way of viewing an A4/Letter sized page on a 6" screen

. It's not Sony's fault that PDF is a "page based" format and cannot sensibly be "re-flowed" like, say, RTF can, is it?

The only way that you could view A4 PDFs on the Reader would be to have some sort of viewing mode where you scrolled a "viewing window" over the page, and that really wouldn't be terribly nice to use, I suspect.

It's no use blaming Sony for this. They didn't invent the PDF format and aren't responsible for its limitations. PDF is a horrible format for e-books; that's not what it was designed for, and not what it's good for.

Don't blame Sony for something that's not their fault, please.

stxopher · 03-09-2007, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Don't blame Sony for something that's not their fault, please.

But...but.....well, it has to be SOMEBODY'S fault that I can't see something that's been reduced to 1/4 of its original size as well as I could when it was full sized. It certainly can't be mine and since Sony makes the product I feel it's my right to blame them for all that is wrong.

In fact, my sink has been dripping since shortly after I got my reader. Coincidence or further proof of Sony's lack of customer care and shoddy manufacturing standards?

NatCh · 03-09-2007, 08:48 AM

ultim8fury · 03-09-2007, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stxopher

But...but.....well, it has to be SOMEBODY'S fault that I can't see something that's been reduced to 1/4 of its original size as well as I could when it was full sized. It certainly can't be mine and since Sony makes the product I feel it's my right to blame them for all that is wrong.

In fact, my sink has been dripping since shortly after I got my reader. Coincidence or further proof of Sony's lack of customer care and shoddy manufacturing standards?

But on the plus side I've found its inbuilt hippo deterrent works like a charm. Not once since the Reader arrived have I been troubled whilst out and about. Thats the kind of protection you just don't get with inferior reading products.

Zeek · 03-09-2007, 08:54 AM

Acrobat can produce pdf files that are "re-flowable". Sony's pdf view just needs to support that.

NatCh · 03-09-2007, 08:55 AM

I can further attest that it also keeps away sharks, ninjas, space aliens and Bigfoot -- I haven't seen the slightest sign of any of them, or been abducted even once since I got my Reader!

NatCh · 03-09-2007, 09:04 AM

Wellcome to MobileRead, Zeek!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeek

Acrobat can produce pdf files that are "re-flowable". Sony's pdf view just needs to support that.

In theory, yes, but Acrobat has to deliberately produce reflowable files -- it has to be built in at generation time. That's something that nobody actually does with their PDFs, and something we around here (a fairly sharp bunch of folks, after all) haven't had much success figuring out how to do, even when we were trying to do so. I don't know if we ever came up with a PDF file that we were sure was reflowable to see if the Reader's viewer would reflow it, so for all we know it might very well support reflowable PDFs.

It also occurs to me to wonder why adobe brought out Digital Editions (a totally separate, reflow-friendly format) if they could have just defaulted reflow to be active in standard PDF files ....

UncleDuke · 03-09-2007, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stxopher

In fact, my sink has been dripping since shortly after I got my reader. Coincidence or further proof of Sony's lack of customer care and shoddy manufacturing standards?

I'll fix your sink. Send it to me in the original packaging, I will fix it and return it prepaid. Please remove any content that you wish to keep before sending the sink as this may be lost in repair. We do not cross ship sinks.

yvanleterrible · 03-09-2007, 09:56 AM

The PSP will be changed in less than two years. The reader will last longer.

Why would I think that? You can't set up an internet bookstore, with all the legaleese involved, just to sell wares for only two years. The promotion of the device was started in the most stable, trouble free market in the world and this reader is quite usable as it is. If one does not find it adequate, it is he who is guilty of not being able to fulfill his own dreams. Let him build a better device. Until then... patience... a mason does not put the last brick until the others are in place.

The only drawback I see is that this device was not conceived by a true reading couch potato; it's main user. As I've said previously, it should have been designed to be better than paper, it's main competitor, in every respect.

03-08-2007, 08:04 PM	#1
WilliamG Addict Posts: 303 Karma: 60998 Join Date: Sep 2006	Is Sony just simply ignoring the Reader? Look at the PSP. It's had 4,000 firmware updates in the last 2 years. The Reader? One (if you can call it a real update). What's the deal? The Reader's been out what, half a year? Isn't it about time the number buttons did something worthwhile? I mean really... :behead2:

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03-08-2007, 08:26 PM	#2
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Well, the PSP division is trying to stop hackers with their updates, and the PSP has a lot more functions to support than the Reader. I was thinking that having an update only 4.5 months after the release is pretty quick, for such a stable product. And it seems pretty clear that this first update was aimed at fixing things like the RTF instability that was encountered on some files. The impression I've gotten is that they only starting to consider what sort of expansions they might want to make to the original feature/function set (and how to approach them) after the first update. In any case, I think it's reasonable to give them more than a month (26 days, really -- the update was only released on 02/09/07) between updates before we start worrying too much that they've abandoned the product.

03-08-2007, 08:46 PM	#3
WilliamG Addict Posts: 303 Karma: 60998 Join Date: Sep 2006	I'm just embittered, really. The Reader is begging for updates!

03-08-2007, 08:55 PM	#4
RWood Technogeezer Posts: 7,233 Karma: 1601464 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Virginia, USA Device: Sony PRS-500	Building on what NatCh said, the PSP most likely sells 4,000 times as many units as the Reader. Also the ebook reading market is not as dynamic as the computer game market. We are very lucky that we were able to purchase a product as mature as the Reader for a version 1. Many other types of products take years to reach this level of stability. Yes, some have had problems with the current release and others have had problems with the first update; but far more have had no problems with either the original or the update. Also the level and type of "hackers" between the devices are light years apart. On the PSP people are cracking the security while on the Reader they are looking to expand the capabilities. Not nearly the same thing. Without the updates to keep the PSP secure the updates per critical function between the two weighs toward the Reader as the more supported device.

03-08-2007, 08:59 PM	#5
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Patience, Grasshopper ... at least it already does what it claimed to in the first place. (Oh, I'm a baaaad boy, Babbit)

03-09-2007, 07:30 AM	#7
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	I don't understand why people keep "blaming" Sony for the simple physical fact that there's no good way of viewing an A4/Letter sized page on a 6" screen . It's not Sony's fault that PDF is a "page based" format and cannot sensibly be "re-flowed" like, say, RTF can, is it? The only way that you could view A4 PDFs on the Reader would be to have some sort of viewing mode where you scrolled a "viewing window" over the page, and that really wouldn't be terribly nice to use, I suspect. It's no use blaming Sony for this. They didn't invent the PDF format and aren't responsible for its limitations. PDF is a horrible format for e-books; that's not what it was designed for, and not what it's good for. Don't blame Sony for something that's not their fault, please.

03-09-2007, 08:48 AM	#9
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3

03-09-2007, 08:54 AM	#11
Zeek Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2007 Device: Sony Reader	Acrobat can produce pdf files that are "re-flowable". Sony's pdf view just needs to support that.

03-09-2007, 08:55 AM	#12
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	I can further attest that it also keeps away sharks, ninjas, space aliens and Bigfoot -- I haven't seen the slightest sign of any of them, or been abducted even once since I got my Reader!

03-09-2007, 09:56 AM	#15
yvanleterrible Reborn Paper User Posts: 8,616 Karma: 15446734 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Que Nada Device: iPhone8, iPad Air	The PSP will be changed in less than two years. The reader will last longer. Why would I think that? You can't set up an internet bookstore, with all the legaleese involved, just to sell wares for only two years. The promotion of the device was started in the most stable, trouble free market in the world and this reader is quite usable as it is. If one does not find it adequate, it is he who is guilty of not being able to fulfill his own dreams. Let him build a better device. Until then... patience... a mason does not put the last brick until the others are in place. The only drawback I see is that this device was not conceived by a true reading couch potato; it's main user. As I've said previously, it should have been designed to be better than paper, it's main competitor, in every respect.

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