Sony 505 showing transparencies???

[wayamauro]

Again, maybe it is just my luck or something. NOW THIS READER IS WRONG TOO??
I am sorry I posted 3 new threads but everything is a different thing, a new problem every single time, I can not believe it. Maybe you guys have seen this before and can help me.
I just exchanged the other unit for a new one, and I finished charging it, and guess what? It turns on perfect, as white as heck, really white, really good background. Now, all of a sudden when it goes into the menus...you can actually SEE the last page through the new page. OK, let me explain it better: imagine that you have two different pieces of papers with some text written on them. You put them both together, same size, same color, white in this case. You look at them through light and what do you see? You can see BOTH documents. This is what's happening with my just opened Sony Reader. I am telling you, say I go to..."Collections", right? well I can see the WHOLE Reader menu (the first page I just went through in order to go to Collections)only that the words seem to be faded away. Say that I go see a picture, ok...then when I go back to the main menu, I CAN SEE the picture still, but faded away.
What in the world is going on?

Anybody help please. This is so frustrating now.

Thank you so much

[acidzebra]

Originally Posted by wayamauro

Again, maybe it is just my luck or something. NOW THIS READER IS WRONG TOO??

Can you perhaps take a picture and post it?

Because a little ghosting with e-ink screens (in the menus more so than when reading a book it seems, or my that is my subjective experience) is not unexpected, but you make it sound like a dramatic thing. So, for objective evaluation, a picture would be helpful.

[wayamauro]

Let me get a good picture of it. I remember however the reader I just returned did not show that or else I could have noticed.

[acidzebra]

Originally Posted by wayamauro

Let me get a good picture of it. I remember however the reader I just returned did not show that or else I could have noticed.

Please do. Also, temperature seems to have an effect on e-ink, in particular when it the reader is cold/in a cold environment I (think I) see more ghosting.

[wayamauro]

Here I took some pictures. They are not too good maybe, but I did what I could, the flash would do no good. Also I have to say, when the device is off, and I mean off, not just in sleeping mode, (I go to settings and turn it off), it still shows the last page it was on before I turned it off, just like a ghost, faded away. In this case the warning sign when you turn off the device. The first picture shows that. The second the regular menu and the next two show the ghostly words.

What do you think?

[acidzebra]

Thanks for the pictures. To me it looks like acceptable ghosting and about what I expect from the 505's generation of e-ink (I have one too). Like I said, the ghosting can be more or less pronounced depending on the reader's/ambient temperature and on how it was configured before it left the factory - the e-Ink controller has waveform data that is matched to the display material. Also there is a temperature compensation that is unique for every display, so try letting your reader "warm up" to room temperature and see how you get on.

For some more information about this waveform and ghosting stuff (although it is geared towards irex's iLiad) see this page)

If you feel the ghosting is really too much (try reading a couple of books) you could contact Sony again.

Here's a bit from the Sony reader FAQ on the MR wiki:

Has Sony experienced any issues with “ghosting”?
Please refer to the FAQs on the E Ink web site (www.eink.com) to understand the causes and effects of “after image” (ghosting). While our engineering objective is to minimize the after image effect through clever control waveform design, after image is an inherent characteristic of the E Ink technology and is not a sign of a defective or degraded display.

[wayamauro]

Thank you very much, I really appreciate your help.
Well this is the thing, the one I just returned was almost perfect, except that I had to return it due to something unexpected(maybe because I am a newbie with this thing). I have to say however that there was not ghosting whatsoever, and the display was so perfect. Now this new one really bothers me, since I am not used to it after reading on a good quality screen on the past 3 days. It really seems to me worse than in the pictures, really. I just can not show it well. The more light the more ghost you see. I will have to return it again...maybe the next one will be even worse.

Thank you again Acidzebra.

[acidzebra]

Hey, no problem. It could be that your current reader's screen is less well-tuned than your previous one. Since it really bothers you, contact Sony and tell them how you find the ghosting/afterimage unacceptable on this device, and ask to have it exchanged or tuned. Let us know how you get on too, always interesting to hear about customer service experiences.

As you can see in this thread, you are not alone.

[wayamauro]

Good info, thanks.
I went to the store and returned it. When they were going to give me a new one, they open it and I knew it had been opened before, it didnt even have the protection screens(the white material that protects the screen when you buy it new), they tried to turn it on and it was dead.This was the last one left. In the end I decided to go ahead and get the one I returned yesterday, since the only problem I had was something I was not sure about the battery. It wouldn't accept a 8GB kingston SD card elite Pro(not sure as to whether it was HCSD or not, that is probably why). I tried with a regular 2GB and it worked. The firmware is 1.1.0.225? I believe. I charged it via USB and I suppose it did not work well, I do not know, because it wouldn't turn back on. I would plug the USB chord, and do nothing, not even the light would come on. So I decided to reset it, and it came back to life. It would charge like for a little bit and tell me it is full... I am going to charge it with the wall charger and we will see what happens. If any problem arises I will just take it back again before the 30 days warranty and get my money back or I will exchange it, this time at a different store in a different town. I will let you know how it goes.

Thanks for your help and info.

[MerLock]

Just out of curiousity, which store are you buying it from?