PRS-505 How many people are still using and loving their PRS-505s?

seajewel · 10-06-2011, 02:51 PM

I've been stoked to upgrade this year, but so far I'm pretty disappointed in all the offerings. I know it's impossible to really get everything I want, but I almost feel like waiting yet another generation before upgrading!

I want a device that has: physical page turn buttons, especially on the side (like the PRS-505 does on the right), matte casing, Wi-Fi, a web browser (to download from cloud services like Dropbox/Sugarsync), and touch.

It doesn't seem like a very extensive list, and yet it seems impossible to fulfill. The T1 has a glossy casing and not enough (in my opinion) page turn buttons. The Kindle No-Touch doesn't have touch, and there are a few reports of bad screen quality on the kindle forum. B&N Nook STR doesn't have a browser, or only a weird hidden browser that doesn't support downloading epubs. Kindle Touch has no physical page turn buttons at all.

i was still going to get the Kindle for the 3G alone, but now that 3G is restricted to Wiki and Amazon, I don't want to pay $50 for it. I thought about the Nook STR but i don't like the stock limitations, and I'm confused about the rooting options.. something about new hardware now that will be bricked if you try to root? I could be wrong on that, but I found it all confusing, don't like the lack of a browser (which makes no sense to me if they're not providing 3G for free anyways..) or the restriction of only 250mb of non-B&N content.

The T1, maybe with some new hacking to allow Android apps, is basically what I'd decided on, despite a few shortcomings (glossy case, fixable by DecalGirl I know, but I'd prefer to have the option to use it naked, not enough page turn buttons, and not enough customization options.. more fonts is nice, but ability to upload my own fonts, and to change margins/line spacing/indents would have been nice), but then.. I was reading on my 505 and realized I still love it. Of course there have been advancements in screen tech and Wi-Fi would be nice to get new books without having to hook it up. but it works SO WELL. and it has held up so well. It doesn't look "new".. the page turn buttons on the right have darkened a bit (so you can see I do prefer side page turn buttons) and there are a couple of chips on the top of the reader, but hey.. it looks ALMOST as good as new. and for something that I've used for more than three years very heavily, being a voracious reader, it's almost miraculous to me that it works so well, looks so good, and keeps on going. (Compare my iphone, which has been treated well, and the sleep button is breaking after only a year and is likely unfixable).

So my very long, boring thoughts on the new generation of E-Ink Readers aside.. I'm curious who still uses their 505, and are you going to upgrade this time around? Or are you still waiting? and if so, for what feature?

Maybe I'll just get a Kindle Fire just for fun, and wait on the matte epub-reading wi-fi e-ink touch reader with side page turn buttons (I'd like customization options like more fonts, indents, line spacing, margin options as in Stanza, but I can live without that). Maybe next year..

Mikh · 10-06-2011, 03:00 PM

well I still use my sony 505 and its about four years old:-) must confess that I use my nook color a lot more because my wife prefers subdued (dark) lighting B-). it still looks beautiful as a piece of kit. pity sony didn't keep the body plan as a template for the newer models. all I would improve would be the screen to Pearl display.

seajewel · 10-06-2011, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikh

well I still use my sony 505 and its about four years old:-) must confess that I use my nook color a lot more because my wife prefers subdued (dark) lighting B-). it still looks beautiful as a piece of kit. pity sony didn't keep the body plan as a template for the newer models. all I would improve would be the screen to Pearl display.

Amen to that. Maybe I'm just used to the placement of the page turn buttons, but I find it so convenient for one-handed reading.

rkomar · 10-06-2011, 07:11 PM

I still am using mine to read fiction at home. I travel with it occasionally, but it is a bit heavy and large for putting in a coat pocket (especially with the leather case). I'm eyeballing the T1 just because it is smaller and lighter (and faster I hope). Still, I'm very happy with my purchase of the 505 three years ago, even at the $300+ it cost back then.

elcreative · 10-06-2011, 09:42 PM

Still using my four plus year old 505 and my wife using her four year old 505... I have others as well but still use 505 as primary reader... it works and if it ain't broke then don't fix it...

AlbertaCowboy · 10-06-2011, 09:46 PM

I'm not using my old one, but my elderly neighbor has been getting a heckuva lot of use out of it. The battery isn't what it used to be, but he's alright with plugging it into the AC wall plug every night.

Halo · 10-07-2011, 12:08 AM

I'm still using my 505. I've had it for about three years and I use it every day.

I'm holding out for a color eink device with a 9" screen, good PDF reading capabilities, and no touch ability (or dedicated buttons so I never have to use touch). Color is a nice to have but the others are requirements for me. I keep looking at the Kindle DX, but they are still too expensive. I've also read that the PDF capabilities regarding zooming and panning are poor.

I think that I would still use my 505 if I bought the other larger device.

DoctorOhh · 10-07-2011, 04:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seajewel

I want a device that has: physical page turn buttons, especially on the side (like the PRS-505 does on the right)

Using PRS+ I changed the big center joypad button on my 505 to turn to next page. Very nice for a button, but I recently got a 950 and like the touch screen turn feature better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by seajewel

but ability to upload my own fonts, and to change margins/line spacing/indents would have been nice), but then.. I was reading on my 505 and realized I still love it.

Using PRS+ I chose my fonts, indents, line spacing etc on my 505.

Quote:

Originally Posted by seajewel

So my very long, boring thoughts on the new generation of E-Ink Readers aside.. I'm curious who still uses their 505, and are you going to upgrade this time around? Or are you still waiting? and if so, for what feature?

I just bought a battery replacement kit for my 505, it's a good reader and will make a fine backup ereader. I like the quicker page turns of my 950 and the longer screen so I will be using it as my primary ereader for some time to come.

astra · 10-07-2011, 04:47 AM

When my wife reads, she reads on 505.
Today it works as good as on the first day 4 years ago. Only battery life has dropped to 1/3 of what it used to be. It lasts for about 4-5 days.

The only limitation is it is extremely slow with epubs.

mikaelalind · 10-07-2011, 05:07 AM

I still use it, and I love it. Yes, it has it quirks ( like spontaneously re-booting), but it works like a charm

. However, I am tempted by T1, since I am having problems to get library books on my 505.

.

RCR · 10-07-2011, 05:45 AM

I'm still using my old Sony 505 on an almost daily basis. It's nearly 4 years old and battered now but still works perfectly. When Sony stopped making them I bought a backup unit - which is still sitting in my storage cupboard.

rhadin · 10-07-2011, 07:18 AM

I gave my wife my 505 the day my 950 arrived. The 505 is 1 month shy of being 4 years old and is used for several hours a day every day. When I was using it, I probably spent 3 to 5 hours a day, every day, reading on it (I never watch TV, preferring to read). From the day my wife took it over, she has spent 2 to 4 hours a day reading on it.

The 505 is still going strong. I've asked my wife if she would like a newer model and her answer is "no!" She loves reading on the 505.

If my 950 died, I think I would return to the 505 and share it with my wife before buying a newer device. I think that the 950 remains state of the art in terms of features and quality for a reader rather than for a web surfer, but the 505 truly is a device that can hold its own among all the competition.

Interestingly, whereas Kindles, Nooks, and Kobos constantly need to have their firmware updated, the 505 (and 950) has had minimal (I think only 1) firmware update yet it continues to provide an excellent reading experience.

yegon · 10-07-2011, 07:36 AM

The 505 is/was indeed excellent. I'm from the UK, I imported one fairly close to the US launch for £175. Money very well spent, it served me well till I foolishly sold it because I thought the iPad(1) would replace it as my main reader. Wrong. iPad has its strengths but I'm no fan of it strictly as an ereader - too unwieldy and glarey imo.

So, I relented and bought a 650 and have no desire to upgrade from that any time soon. Had I not sold the 505 I'd still be happy with it probably. I was fortunate when I sold it, as the x50 models were yet to even be announced and the 505, then discontinued, was perceived as better than the 600 so the price had held - sold it for £174, £1 less than what I bought it for 18+ months earlier

John F · 10-07-2011, 07:51 AM

I'm still using a 505. I purchased a 650 and Nook Touch, but stuck with the 505.

Latinandgreek · 10-07-2011, 07:54 AM

I used my 505 for years, and passed it on to my husband once I bought the PRS-350. He now uses it daily, and it is still going strong.

10-06-2011, 02:51 PM	#1
seajewel Fanatic Posts: 589 Karma: 1451235 Join Date: Jun 2008 Device: Sony PRS-505, Sony PRS-950	How many people are still using and loving their PRS-505s? I've been stoked to upgrade this year, but so far I'm pretty disappointed in all the offerings. I know it's impossible to really get everything I want, but I almost feel like waiting yet another generation before upgrading! I want a device that has: physical page turn buttons, especially on the side (like the PRS-505 does on the right), matte casing, Wi-Fi, a web browser (to download from cloud services like Dropbox/Sugarsync), and touch. It doesn't seem like a very extensive list, and yet it seems impossible to fulfill. The T1 has a glossy casing and not enough (in my opinion) page turn buttons. The Kindle No-Touch doesn't have touch, and there are a few reports of bad screen quality on the kindle forum. B&N Nook STR doesn't have a browser, or only a weird hidden browser that doesn't support downloading epubs. Kindle Touch has no physical page turn buttons at all. i was still going to get the Kindle for the 3G alone, but now that 3G is restricted to Wiki and Amazon, I don't want to pay $50 for it. I thought about the Nook STR but i don't like the stock limitations, and I'm confused about the rooting options.. something about new hardware now that will be bricked if you try to root? I could be wrong on that, but I found it all confusing, don't like the lack of a browser (which makes no sense to me if they're not providing 3G for free anyways..) or the restriction of only 250mb of non-B&N content. The T1, maybe with some new hacking to allow Android apps, is basically what I'd decided on, despite a few shortcomings (glossy case, fixable by DecalGirl I know, but I'd prefer to have the option to use it naked, not enough page turn buttons, and not enough customization options.. more fonts is nice, but ability to upload my own fonts, and to change margins/line spacing/indents would have been nice), but then.. I was reading on my 505 and realized I still love it. Of course there have been advancements in screen tech and Wi-Fi would be nice to get new books without having to hook it up. but it works SO WELL. and it has held up so well. It doesn't look "new".. the page turn buttons on the right have darkened a bit (so you can see I do prefer side page turn buttons) and there are a couple of chips on the top of the reader, but hey.. it looks ALMOST as good as new. and for something that I've used for more than three years very heavily, being a voracious reader, it's almost miraculous to me that it works so well, looks so good, and keeps on going. (Compare my iphone, which has been treated well, and the sleep button is breaking after only a year and is likely unfixable). So my very long, boring thoughts on the new generation of E-Ink Readers aside.. I'm curious who still uses their 505, and are you going to upgrade this time around? Or are you still waiting? and if so, for what feature? Maybe I'll just get a Kindle Fire just for fun, and wait on the matte epub-reading wi-fi e-ink touch reader with side page turn buttons (I'd like customization options like more fonts, indents, line spacing, margin options as in Stanza, but I can live without that). Maybe next year..

10-07-2011, 07:36 AM	#13
yegon Connoisseur Posts: 51 Karma: 2079258 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Sony PRS 505	The 505 is/was indeed excellent. I'm from the UK, I imported one fairly close to the US launch for £175. Money very well spent, it served me well till I foolishly sold it because I thought the iPad(1) would replace it as my main reader. Wrong. iPad has its strengths but I'm no fan of it strictly as an ereader - too unwieldy and glarey imo. So, I relented and bought a 650 and have no desire to upgrade from that any time soon. Had I not sold the 505 I'd still be happy with it probably. I was fortunate when I sold it, as the x50 models were yet to even be announced and the 505, then discontinued, was perceived as better than the 600 so the price had held - sold it for £174, £1 less than what I bought it for 18+ months earlier Last edited by yegon; 10-07-2011 at 07:45 AM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Two 505s loaded on one computer?	kelly1010	Sony Reader	15	12-20-2009 06:28 PM
sony prs-505s - Format und Formatkonvertierung	tomco	Sony Reader	4	11-07-2009 07:52 PM
Sony PRS-505S eBook Reader, Red £149 Delivered at John Lewis	tweety	Sony Reader	0	08-17-2009 04:05 PM
PRS 700 perfect for old people	mos	Sony Reader	26	06-18-2009 02:49 AM
Sony PRS-505S $199 at Dell.ca today only!	ould	Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links)	6	12-04-2008 03:19 PM

10-06-2011, 03:00 PM	#2
Mikh Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Ireland Device: Sony PRS 505, Nook Color	well I still use my sony 505 and its about four years old:-) must confess that I use my nook color a lot more because my wife prefers subdued (dark) lighting B-). it still looks beautiful as a piece of kit. pity sony didn't keep the body plan as a template for the newer models. all I would improve would be the screen to Pearl display.

10-06-2011, 07:11 PM	#4
rkomar Wizard Posts: 2,986 Karma: 18343081 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Sudbury, ON, Canada Device: PRS-505, PB 902, PRS-T1, PB 623, PB 840, PB 633	I still am using mine to read fiction at home. I travel with it occasionally, but it is a bit heavy and large for putting in a coat pocket (especially with the leather case). I'm eyeballing the T1 just because it is smaller and lighter (and faster I hope). Still, I'm very happy with my purchase of the 505 three years ago, even at the $300+ it cost back then.

10-06-2011, 09:42 PM	#5
elcreative Wizard Posts: 2,888 Karma: 5875940 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: PRS505, 600, 350, 650, Nexus 7, Note III, iPad 4 etc	Still using my four plus year old 505 and my wife using her four year old 505... I have others as well but still use 505 as primary reader... it works and if it ain't broke then don't fix it...

10-06-2011, 09:46 PM	#6
AlbertaCowboy Guru Posts: 819 Karma: 171672846 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Alberta, Canada Device: PRS-350, PRS-650, iPhone 6, NVIDIA Shield K1	I'm not using my old one, but my elderly neighbor has been getting a heckuva lot of use out of it. The battery isn't what it used to be, but he's alright with plugging it into the AC wall plug every night.

10-07-2011, 12:08 AM	#7
Halo Connoisseur Posts: 96 Karma: 72130 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA Device: Sony PRS-505, Kindle DX 1st Gen, Kindle Fire 1st Gen	I'm still using my 505. I've had it for about three years and I use it every day. I'm holding out for a color eink device with a 9" screen, good PDF reading capabilities, and no touch ability (or dedicated buttons so I never have to use touch). Color is a nice to have but the others are requirements for me. I keep looking at the Kindle DX, but they are still too expensive. I've also read that the PDF capabilities regarding zooming and panning are poor. I think that I would still use my 505 if I bought the other larger device.

10-07-2011, 04:47 AM	#9
astra The Introvert Posts: 8,307 Karma: 1000077497 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: United Kingdom Device: Sony Reader PRS-650 & 505 & 500	When my wife reads, she reads on 505. Today it works as good as on the first day 4 years ago. Only battery life has dropped to 1/3 of what it used to be. It lasts for about 4-5 days. The only limitation is it is extremely slow with epubs.

10-07-2011, 05:07 AM	#10
mikaelalind Fanatic Posts: 590 Karma: 788068 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Sweden Device: Sony PRS 505, Cybook Odessey	I still use it, and I love it. Yes, it has it quirks ( like spontaneously re-booting), but it works like a charm . However, I am tempted by T1, since I am having problems to get library books on my 505. .

10-07-2011, 05:45 AM	#11
RCR Addict Posts: 334 Karma: 992487 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: 2 x Sony 505, iPad, Samsung 7 Tablet, ASUS Transformer, Nexus 7	I'm still using my old Sony 505 on an almost daily basis. It's nearly 4 years old and battered now but still works perfectly. When Sony stopped making them I bought a backup unit - which is still sitting in my storage cupboard.

10-07-2011, 07:18 AM	#12
rhadin Literacy = Understanding Posts: 4,833 Karma: 59674358 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: The World of Books Device: Nook, Nook Tablet	I gave my wife my 505 the day my 950 arrived. The 505 is 1 month shy of being 4 years old and is used for several hours a day every day. When I was using it, I probably spent 3 to 5 hours a day, every day, reading on it (I never watch TV, preferring to read). From the day my wife took it over, she has spent 2 to 4 hours a day reading on it. The 505 is still going strong. I've asked my wife if she would like a newer model and her answer is "no!" She loves reading on the 505. If my 950 died, I think I would return to the 505 and share it with my wife before buying a newer device. I think that the 950 remains state of the art in terms of features and quality for a reader rather than for a web surfer, but the 505 truly is a device that can hold its own among all the competition. Interestingly, whereas Kindles, Nooks, and Kobos constantly need to have their firmware updated, the 505 (and 950) has had minimal (I think only 1) firmware update yet it continues to provide an excellent reading experience.

10-07-2011, 07:51 AM	#14
John F Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,174 Karma: 63764653 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kobo Glo HD	I'm still using a 505. I purchased a 650 and Nook Touch, but stuck with the 505.

Advert

Advert

10-07-2011, 07:54 AM	#15
Latinandgreek Warrior Princess Posts: 5,038 Karma: 9724231 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-505; PRS-350, PRS-T1, iPad, Aura HD	I used my 505 for years, and passed it on to my husband once I bought the PRS-350. He now uses it daily, and it is still going strong.