Will the PRS-500 get a firmware upgrade? - Page 2

Andanzas · 08-20-2009, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by junkml

or $200 off the 600 (making it $200)

The 600 is going to sell for $300, no $400.

... You scared me for a second.

dordale · 08-20-2009, 02:25 PM

Also, the 300 is going to sell for $200, not $300

dordale

junkml · 08-20-2009, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dordale

Also, the 300 is going to sell for $200, not $300

dordale

Right, sorry about that, but my point still stands. Offer a decent trade-in amount and you'll probably have quite a few of us 500 owners ready to go for it.

JSWolf · 08-20-2009, 03:52 PM

But remember, you don't have to take the trade-in if Sony offers such. And to be honest, I don't think the 500 is worth more than $100. The screen is the old screen with lesser contrast. Plus it doesn't have ePub. So those two things make it a lower value. And for people who do not convert/strip DRM, it's value will be a lot less once Sony does away with LRX.

If you do plan on selling a 500, now is the time to do it. Because once people find out that the 500 is going to become even more limited, it will go down in value.

All of this is of course supposing that Sony does not have a new firmware for the 500 to give it ePub.

Lemurion · 08-20-2009, 04:23 PM

I'm not going to guarantee a firmware update for the 500 but I do think it's likely.

While Sony is no longer making money from 500 sales, they are currently still making money from 500 owners because those people can still buy from the Sony store. If they do the store switchover and don't update the firmware, they lose that revenue stream.

This didn't matter when they first added ePub to the 505 because they were still able to make money from the BBeB-only 500. Adding ADE to the 505 at that point helped revenue through increased device sales. (At least that was the plan.) Adding ADE to the 500 at that point, would do nothing for Sony except possibly make people shift book purchases to another store.

Now that Sony is shifting to ePub-only the lack of ADE support on the 500 will cost them money. They don't want to tell part of their existing customer base they don't want to take their money. They want 500 owners to keep buying books from them - and that means either keeping LRX in the store or updating the 500 to support ADE.

There's also the secondary point that while getting a discount on a trade-in would and should be called an "upgrade path" it's not really appropriate to call it an "update path." Upgrade generally means replacement (either in whole or in part) while update is more commonly taken to mean change rather than replacement.

They haven't officially said anything - but all the signs point more toward a new firmware than a trade-in.

happyreader · 08-22-2009, 08:06 PM

Fingers crossed for the firmware update.

kacir · 08-24-2009, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AprilHare

This is another reason Sony may decide to upgrade the firmware: lack of takeup of their previous trade-in offer.

I think, that the lack of interest is a strong incentive to offer a trade-in.
The trade-in was offered only to prevent any strong counter-reaction to their announcement that they would not provide firmware update for 500 at the time they provided significant update for 505. They are happy, IMHO, that they took arguments from people complaining about the lack of update, and yet it did not cost them money.

kacir · 08-24-2009, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AprilHare

... wouldn't it be nicer to just take code from the 505 and apply it to the 500? The ePub/ADE code is already done, after all, and works fine (elsewhere).

I think that they will most probably take firmware from 300 as a base for 500 update.

AprilHare · 11-27-2009, 09:45 PM

Anyone who reads this thread: there is now a firmware upgrade offered by Sony that allows for EPUB and 64 bit support! Linky.

View Poll Results: Will there be a PRS-500 firmware upgrade?
Yes; a firmware upgrade for the PRS-500!	18	43.90%
No; there will be a new trade-in offer	17	41.46%
No; Sony will do something else for PRS-500 owners	4	9.76%
Other (leave a message in thread)	2	4.88%
Voters: 41. You may not vote on this poll

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08-20-2009, 02:25 PM	#17
dordale Wizard Posts: 1,731 Karma: 3472866 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Sony PRS-650 & 350; Kindle Voyage; Kobo Aura HD, Aura One, and Forma	Also, the 300 is going to sell for $200, not $300 dordale

08-20-2009, 03:52 PM	#19
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 74,329 Karma: 129333690 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	But remember, you don't have to take the trade-in if Sony offers such. And to be honest, I don't think the 500 is worth more than $100. The screen is the old screen with lesser contrast. Plus it doesn't have ePub. So those two things make it a lower value. And for people who do not convert/strip DRM, it's value will be a lot less once Sony does away with LRX. If you do plan on selling a 500, now is the time to do it. Because once people find out that the 500 is going to become even more limited, it will go down in value. All of this is of course supposing that Sony does not have a new firmware for the 500 to give it ePub.

08-20-2009, 04:23 PM	#20
Lemurion eReader Posts: 2,750 Karma: 4968470 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Note 5; PW3; Nook HD+; ChuWi Hi12; iPad	I'm not going to guarantee a firmware update for the 500 but I do think it's likely. While Sony is no longer making money from 500 sales, they are currently still making money from 500 owners because those people can still buy from the Sony store. If they do the store switchover and don't update the firmware, they lose that revenue stream. This didn't matter when they first added ePub to the 505 because they were still able to make money from the BBeB-only 500. Adding ADE to the 505 at that point helped revenue through increased device sales. (At least that was the plan.) Adding ADE to the 500 at that point, would do nothing for Sony except possibly make people shift book purchases to another store. Now that Sony is shifting to ePub-only the lack of ADE support on the 500 will cost them money. They don't want to tell part of their existing customer base they don't want to take their money. They want 500 owners to keep buying books from them - and that means either keeping LRX in the store or updating the 500 to support ADE. There's also the secondary point that while getting a discount on a trade-in would and should be called an "upgrade path" it's not really appropriate to call it an "update path." Upgrade generally means replacement (either in whole or in part) while update is more commonly taken to mean change rather than replacement. They haven't officially said anything - but all the signs point more toward a new firmware than a trade-in.

08-22-2009, 08:06 PM	#21
happyreader Pleasant page turner Posts: 17 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Sony PRS-500, Kindle 2, iPhone	Fingers crossed for the firmware update.

11-27-2009, 09:45 PM	#24
AprilHare Wizard Posts: 2,981 Karma: 11862367 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Sony Reader PRS-T2	Anyone who reads this thread: there is now a firmware upgrade offered by Sony that allows for EPUB and 64 bit support! Linky.

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