PRS-950 Questions before buying the 950

varmemester · 11-13-2010, 09:45 AM

A few questions before buying.

1. I read somewhere that highlighting is limited to 100 letters per highlight. Is that correct?

2. I read somewhere that wifi (I live en Europe) only lets you connect to the Sony store. Is that correct?

3. I will be reading a few two column texts for school and also some textbooks which are two columns. Is the 950 suitable for that?

4. How many steps are needed to highlight? I read somewhere that you have to go through several menus. Is that correct?

5. Where have europeans shopped their 950? It is $329 in www.bhphotovideo.com. Plus $55 for shipping and $155 for duties and VAT (to Denmark).

and have a great weekend!!!

Galan-Ithaca · 11-13-2010, 02:56 PM

1. no....that is not exactly correct. You can highlight as many characters at a time as you wish. However, there is a limit of 100 characters that can be transferred from the reader library software to another program....apparently a self-imposed limit to honor copyright concerns.

2. no idea how it works in Europe. In the US, Wi-Fi gets you to the web to browse. Wireless service gets you to the Sony ebook store.

3. Yes, lots of options for viewing

4. two ways to highlight.

First method, double click and drag over the word or words to be highlighted, then choose the highlight icon from the menu that pops up.

Second method, click on "options" button, click on "notes", click on "Create/Edit", click on "highlight" icon. The Menu will REMAIN OPEN at the top of the screen. Whatever words you then select will be highlighted. The menu will then REMAIN OPEN. Whatever words you next select will be highlighted.

I prefer the 2nd method because I highlight a lot. The only caveat is....when using this method, any touching of the screen is interpreted as a highlighting command. Therefore you cannot swipe pages to turn them....you must use the page turn buttons at the bottom. Even with that caveat, I have found that I prefer method 2.

5. N/A

bob

SeaBookGuy · 11-13-2010, 03:05 PM

I am currently reading a two-column PDF book on my 650 -- I find the quadrant view works well: upper left column -swipe - lower left column - swipe - upper right column - swipe - lower right column ... repeat each page.

I believe there are Sony stores in Europe; would they ship from there within the EU for you?

Papi · 11-13-2010, 04:04 PM

2 - The 3G connection won't work oustside US, but the wifi connection should work and let you access any website (google, wikipedia which is accessible when reading a book, from the dictionary window) like the US version does.

5 - The 950 shouldn't be available officially outside US, because of the 3G connection for which Sony has a partnership only in US, and wouldn't bother doing the same in other countries (like Amazon did with the Kindle). So you're stuck getting it one way or another from a US shop. And yes VAT & duties are extravagant, the USD being low kind of smooth that.

varmemester · 11-14-2010, 11:24 AM

Thx for the answers!! People are so nice in this forum!

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

I believe there are Sony stores in Europe; would they ship from there within the EU for you?

I am going to a Sony store tomorrow and have a look at the 650 - and I'll ask them. But I doubt they will. Probably to do with sony not supporting 3G in Europe.

In my first post i estimated the costs to be around 500 USD. With the pricecut from 329USD to 199USD on the bhphotovideo.com website, and sending the device to my ShopUSA adress (shopUSA.com), the total costs only amount to 267 USD

But back to the topic. I have a few questions to add:

6. I read somewhere that the browser is not working in landscape mode? Is that correct. And when, for instance looking up something in wikipedia, the browser don't automatically jump back to landscape mode?

7. How frequent are the firmware updates and is it easy to update the device?

Bookworm_Girl · 11-14-2010, 12:38 PM

Hello, varmemester. You have been doing some good and thorough research. Here is some help with your other questions.

6. You are correct. Unfortunately the browser does not work in landscape mode. Therefore it works best to visit the mobile-version of a website (if one exists).

7. Sony very rarely has firmware updates on their ereaders. Although the reader software is very stable compared to other brands. I think firmware updates would be more useful to add extra features rather than fix programming bugs. There is a "Check for Updates" item in the ereader settings. I imagine you click that and it searches over Wi-Fi for an update. The Sony Reader Library also has an option to Check for Updates and then transfers it to the ereader via USB cable.

The BHPhoto $199 is a really great deal. Good luck!

varmemester · 11-14-2010, 05:24 PM

Thank you Bookworm_girl!

It is unfortunate that the browser won't work in landscape mode, but not a deal breaker for me.

One (perhaps) final question:

8. I looked through a review (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sYTLtYPh90) and it is mentioned that margin cut and fit to width doesn't always work with PDF files? Is that true. I will mostly read PDF-files and when I once in a while read a textbook file, where it isn't suitable to reflow, because of graphs and images, I would like to be able to use all the width in landscape mode.

Bookworm_Girl · 11-14-2010, 06:27 PM

The margin cut has worked well for me on both PDFs and EPUBs. I don't really use the fit to width - probably because I don't use landscpae much. I use the margin cut and text resize more often. And I use zoom to see images rather than switch to landscape. But, I can certainly understand why you would need it for textbooks. The only time margin cut doesn't seem to work in my experience is when there is not much margin to cut. I suppose it depends on what type of files you are trying to read.

The other thing that I like is the ability to change the contrast and screen brightness. I have a PDF book that has light text. I bought it awhile ago before EPUBs were so popular and sometimes you could only find ebooks in PDF. It just was not readable on my 550 or 900. I am happy that I can now change the screen to make it acceptable to read at long last!

varmemester · 11-15-2010, 10:48 AM

Thank you all for answering my questions!

I have just ordered a 950 from bhphotovideo.com for 199 USD. The item was no longer in stock when i finally ordered, probably due to their fine price, but hopefully it will be soon. It is sent to my virtual US address in Virginia (shopUSA.com) and then from there to Denmark. The full costs amount to 290 USD when toll, VAT, insurance and delivery is payed for. I am very happy about that price!

Have a great week all!!!

Malthe
Denmark

Bookworm_Girl · 11-15-2010, 11:02 AM

Thanks for providing an update. Congratulations on your purchase and for finding such a great deal! Have a great week too!

11-13-2010, 09:45 AM	#1
varmemester Connoisseur Posts: 56 Karma: 484 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle 3 & Sony PRS-950	Questions before buying the 950 A few questions before buying. 1. I read somewhere that highlighting is limited to 100 letters per highlight. Is that correct? 2. I read somewhere that wifi (I live en Europe) only lets you connect to the Sony store. Is that correct? 3. I will be reading a few two column texts for school and also some textbooks which are two columns. Is the 950 suitable for that? 4. How many steps are needed to highlight? I read somewhere that you have to go through several menus. Is that correct? 5. Where have europeans shopped their 950? It is $329 in www.bhphotovideo.com. Plus $55 for shipping and $155 for duties and VAT (to Denmark). and have a great weekend!!!

11-14-2010, 06:27 PM	#8
Bookworm_Girl E-reader Enthusiast Posts: 4,871 Karma: 36507503 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southwest, USA Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5	The margin cut has worked well for me on both PDFs and EPUBs. I don't really use the fit to width - probably because I don't use landscpae much. I use the margin cut and text resize more often. And I use zoom to see images rather than switch to landscape. But, I can certainly understand why you would need it for textbooks. The only time margin cut doesn't seem to work in my experience is when there is not much margin to cut. I suppose it depends on what type of files you are trying to read. The other thing that I like is the ability to change the contrast and screen brightness. I have a PDF book that has light text. I bought it awhile ago before EPUBs were so popular and sometimes you could only find ebooks in PDF. It just was not readable on my 550 or 900. I am happy that I can now change the screen to make it acceptable to read at long last! Last edited by Bookworm_Girl; 11-14-2010 at 06:30 PM.

11-15-2010, 10:48 AM	#9
varmemester Connoisseur Posts: 56 Karma: 484 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle 3 & Sony PRS-950	Thank you all for answering my questions! I have just ordered a 950 from bhphotovideo.com for 199 USD. The item was no longer in stock when i finally ordered, probably due to their fine price, but hopefully it will be soon. It is sent to my virtual US address in Virginia (shopUSA.com) and then from there to Denmark. The full costs amount to 290 USD when toll, VAT, insurance and delivery is payed for. I am very happy about that price! Have a great week all!!! Malthe Denmark Last edited by varmemester; 11-15-2010 at 12:16 PM.

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11-13-2010, 02:56 PM	#2
Galan-Ithaca Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Sarasota, FL Device: Aztak EZ Reader; Sony PRS900; Sony PRS950	1. no....that is not exactly correct. You can highlight as many characters at a time as you wish. However, there is a limit of 100 characters that can be transferred from the reader library software to another program....apparently a self-imposed limit to honor copyright concerns. 2. no idea how it works in Europe. In the US, Wi-Fi gets you to the web to browse. Wireless service gets you to the Sony ebook store. 3. Yes, lots of options for viewing 4. two ways to highlight. First method, double click and drag over the word or words to be highlighted, then choose the highlight icon from the menu that pops up. Second method, click on "options" button, click on "notes", click on "Create/Edit", click on "highlight" icon. The Menu will REMAIN OPEN at the top of the screen. Whatever words you then select will be highlighted. The menu will then REMAIN OPEN. Whatever words you next select will be highlighted. I prefer the 2nd method because I highlight a lot. The only caveat is....when using this method, any touching of the screen is interpreted as a highlighting command. Therefore you cannot swipe pages to turn them....you must use the page turn buttons at the bottom. Even with that caveat, I have found that I prefer method 2. 5. N/A bob

11-13-2010, 03:05 PM	#3
SeaBookGuy Can one read too much? Posts: 2,015 Karma: 2487799 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Naples, FL Device: Kindle PW 3, Sony 350 and 650	I am currently reading a two-column PDF book on my 650 -- I find the quadrant view works well: upper left column -swipe - lower left column - swipe - upper right column - swipe - lower right column ... repeat each page. I believe there are Sony stores in Europe; would they ship from there within the EU for you?

11-13-2010, 04:04 PM	#4
Papi Addict Posts: 311 Karma: 547600 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Paris Device: Kindle Keyboard, Kindle NT, PRS-650	2 - The 3G connection won't work oustside US, but the wifi connection should work and let you access any website (google, wikipedia which is accessible when reading a book, from the dictionary window) like the US version does. 5 - The 950 shouldn't be available officially outside US, because of the 3G connection for which Sony has a partnership only in US, and wouldn't bother doing the same in other countries (like Amazon did with the Kindle). So you're stuck getting it one way or another from a US shop. And yes VAT & duties are extravagant, the USD being low kind of smooth that.

11-14-2010, 12:38 PM	#6
Bookworm_Girl E-reader Enthusiast Posts: 4,871 Karma: 36507503 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southwest, USA Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5	Hello, varmemester. You have been doing some good and thorough research. Here is some help with your other questions. 6. You are correct. Unfortunately the browser does not work in landscape mode. Therefore it works best to visit the mobile-version of a website (if one exists). 7. Sony very rarely has firmware updates on their ereaders. Although the reader software is very stable compared to other brands. I think firmware updates would be more useful to add extra features rather than fix programming bugs. There is a "Check for Updates" item in the ereader settings. I imagine you click that and it searches over Wi-Fi for an update. The Sony Reader Library also has an option to Check for Updates and then transfers it to the ereader via USB cable. The BHPhoto $199 is a really great deal. Good luck!

11-14-2010, 05:24 PM	#7
varmemester Connoisseur Posts: 56 Karma: 484 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle 3 & Sony PRS-950	Thank you Bookworm_girl! It is unfortunate that the browser won't work in landscape mode, but not a deal breaker for me. One (perhaps) final question: 8. I looked through a review (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sYTLtYPh90) and it is mentioned that margin cut and fit to width doesn't always work with PDF files? Is that true. I will mostly read PDF-files and when I once in a while read a textbook file, where it isn't suitable to reflow, because of graphs and images, I would like to be able to use all the width in landscape mode.

11-15-2010, 11:02 AM	#10
Bookworm_Girl E-reader Enthusiast Posts: 4,871 Karma: 36507503 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southwest, USA Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5	Thanks for providing an update. Congratulations on your purchase and for finding such a great deal! Have a great week too!

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