What does the turn-off button actually do?

bonaldo2000 · 10-08-2008, 03:17 PM

Hi

I am wondering what the button on the top of the reader does. (I mean the one that you slide and then the display disappears).
Does it turn off the reader completely or put it in stand by mode?
The reason I am asking is that I have noticed that my readers battery life is drained when lying for a longer period where it has been "turned off" using this button.

NatCh · 10-08-2008, 03:26 PM

As you seem to suspect, that switch puts the Reader in a standby mode. This mode is essentially identical to the mode it's in when you're reading (but not actually changing a page), except that the display is blank (obviously) and the Reader ignores all its buttons and controls except the power slide. Incidentally, this behavior is the reason I feel like it's dumb to have to turn my Reader off on an airplane during take off and landing: it's really not any more off when it's off than it is when it's on, so it's clearly not gonna bother the plane if I kept on reading, but I also have no intention of giving the flight attendants any grief, so ....

The battery drain you're noticing is normal, so if you're concerned that something's wrong with it, don't be.

If you want to, you can turn a 505 "off" off in one of the utility menus ... I can't recall offhand exactly where. The same thing can be done on a 500, via one of the hacks available in the Hack Builder utility that's in the forums.

However, if you do that, you'll have the full boot cycle when you turn it back on. I played with this on my 500, using the hack, and discovered that the battery actually drained faster doing that, unless I left it for a long period of time. I was turning it "off" off at night when I went to sleep, on at lunch time, and then "off" off again until evening. The rule of thumb I came up with was that unless I was planning to leave it for several days (like that's gonna happen) that the booting sequence took more juice from the battery than just leaving it in it's suspend mode would.

Your mileage may vary, of course, but I hope that's helpful.

gwynevans · 10-08-2008, 03:30 PM

It blanks the screen & stops it responding to key-presses. If you want to switch it off completely, there's a shutdown option under the 'advanced' menu, although it'll then take a minute or so to start up. One of the options in the custom firmware is to add this function to a key, for easier access.

AIUI, if not shutdown, then there is still power taken for the CPU, although at a lower level than required to process a page turn.

bonaldo2000 · 10-08-2008, 03:40 PM

Thanks a lot for your fast responses!

I searched a bit around the forums and found some posts that said that it influences battery life if the books are copied to the reader using the Sony software or some other 3rd part software. Something to do with the Sony software doing some preformatting on the books that the reader otherwise has to do all the time.
Now, I use Calibre to transfer my books and I convert ALL books to LRF if they are not already. Could this be a problem? (that I don't use Sony)

NatCh · 10-08-2008, 03:50 PM

Well, it does mean a bit more battery drain to do the pagination on the Reader rather than the PC, but I'd say the time waiting for it to finish would be the bigger deal to me (and not that big a deal).

Folks have been using Calibre in its various incarnations for several years, and to my recollection no one has ever so much as hinted that they saw any noticeable battery effect from it, so I think you're probably safe enough.

TetraKM · 10-09-2008, 03:09 PM

I have noticed it takes about two weeks to even get to half battery life. when you consider my ipaq takes 48 hours to drain and my laptop about 3 hours all in standby its not bad really

By the way thats how think the button on the top works its standy by - minimal batter use just ticking over - nice touch I think

10-08-2008, 03:17 PM	#1
bonaldo2000 Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 13208 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: prs-505	What does the turn-off button actually do? Hi I am wondering what the button on the top of the reader does. (I mean the one that you slide and then the display disappears). Does it turn off the reader completely or put it in stand by mode? The reason I am asking is that I have noticed that my readers battery life is drained when lying for a longer period where it has been "turned off" using this button.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Mystery Button. What Does It Do?	yukinojo	EPUBReader	4	04-28-2010 01:01 AM
PRS 505 won't turn off with Power button.	ninfem	Sony Reader	6	04-19-2010 06:17 PM
PRS-900 Is there a way to turn on PRS 900 without use of power button?	sirmaru	Sony Reader	2	01-04-2010 08:13 AM
What button???	lmarie	Fictionwise eBookwise	1	12-11-2007 05:21 PM

10-08-2008, 03:26 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	As you seem to suspect, that switch puts the Reader in a standby mode. This mode is essentially identical to the mode it's in when you're reading (but not actually changing a page), except that the display is blank (obviously) and the Reader ignores all its buttons and controls except the power slide. Incidentally, this behavior is the reason I feel like it's dumb to have to turn my Reader off on an airplane during take off and landing: it's really not any more off when it's off than it is when it's on, so it's clearly not gonna bother the plane if I kept on reading, but I also have no intention of giving the flight attendants any grief, so .... The battery drain you're noticing is normal, so if you're concerned that something's wrong with it, don't be. If you want to, you can turn a 505 "off" off in one of the utility menus ... I can't recall offhand exactly where. The same thing can be done on a 500, via one of the hacks available in the Hack Builder utility that's in the forums. However, if you do that, you'll have the full boot cycle when you turn it back on. I played with this on my 500, using the hack, and discovered that the battery actually drained faster doing that, unless I left it for a long period of time. I was turning it "off" off at night when I went to sleep, on at lunch time, and then "off" off again until evening. The rule of thumb I came up with was that unless I was planning to leave it for several days (like that's gonna happen) that the booting sequence took more juice from the battery than just leaving it in it's suspend mode would. Your mileage may vary, of course, but I hope that's helpful.

10-08-2008, 03:30 PM	#3
gwynevans Wizzard Posts: 1,402 Karma: 2000000 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: UK Device: iPad 2, iPhone 6s, Kindle Voyage & Kindle PaperWhite	It blanks the screen & stops it responding to key-presses. If you want to switch it off completely, there's a shutdown option under the 'advanced' menu, although it'll then take a minute or so to start up. One of the options in the custom firmware is to add this function to a key, for easier access. AIUI, if not shutdown, then there is still power taken for the CPU, although at a lower level than required to process a page turn.

10-08-2008, 03:40 PM	#4
bonaldo2000 Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 13208 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: prs-505	Thanks a lot for your fast responses! I searched a bit around the forums and found some posts that said that it influences battery life if the books are copied to the reader using the Sony software or some other 3rd part software. Something to do with the Sony software doing some preformatting on the books that the reader otherwise has to do all the time. Now, I use Calibre to transfer my books and I convert ALL books to LRF if they are not already. Could this be a problem? (that I don't use Sony)

10-08-2008, 03:50 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	Well, it does mean a bit more battery drain to do the pagination on the Reader rather than the PC, but I'd say the time waiting for it to finish would be the bigger deal to me (and not that big a deal). Folks have been using Calibre in its various incarnations for several years, and to my recollection no one has ever so much as hinted that they saw any noticeable battery effect from it, so I think you're probably safe enough.

10-09-2008, 03:09 PM	#6
TetraKM Connoisseur Posts: 62 Karma: 114 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: Sony 505	I have noticed it takes about two weeks to even get to half battery life. when you consider my ipaq takes 48 hours to drain and my laptop about 3 hours all in standby its not bad really By the way thats how think the button on the top works its standy by - minimal batter use just ticking over - nice touch I think

Advert

Advert