First ebook reader (Sony PRS505/sc) help...

[possumspittal]

I've had it for 4 days now and have bought/downloaded/read one book from the Sony site. That worked fine but I have had no success downloading/transferring free content from any other (non-Sony) site. For obvious reasons the manual is not very helpful in this area. Is there a better source of BASIC info on how to use the PRS505 for non-Sony content? I guess what I'm looking for is a "idiots" or newbys guide to ereaders. Thank you to everyone for this forum. I know if I keep following your discussions I'll finally get it but sure would like to understand the basics as soon as possible.

[Archergal5219]

Welcome to the forums! I've had a Sony PRS-505 about as long as you have, but I've been playing with ebooks for years.

Can you tell us where you're trying to get books from? That might be a start. Keep in mind that there's a large collection of good public domain books right HERE, preformatted and ready to read!

[GraceKrispy]

Welcome to the board!

Are you trying to download PDF or EPUB? If so, you need adobe digital edition (ADE). You need to download the software to your computer. Your sony should already have it pre-installed on your reader. Once you have downloaded it, you can choose your other content in EPUB (preferably) or PDF format, and then click "open" and it will open right into your ADE on your computer. Then, with your reader plugged into the computer, you just drag and drop the book onto the reader on the left hand side (the icon will show up for your reader).

Then, if you like, you can open up the sony software and place the book you downloaded into one of your collections, or rearrange where it goes.

Hope that's helpful! Feel free to post more questions on the 500/505 board! Again, welcome!

[gwynevans]

Originally Posted by GraceKrispy

Are you trying to download PDF or EPUB? If so, you need adobe digital edition (ADE).

Only if it's a commercial eBook, i.e. (DRM'd), surely? Normal EPUBs can be downloaded 'normally' then copied to the Reader via any of options such as the normal PC desktop software to the USB device, the Sony eBook Library software or Calibre, in addition to the Adobe software.

[HarryT]

Simply download the file to your PC, then connect the Sony via the USB cable, and copy the file (using Windows Explorer, if you're running Windows) onto the drive that appears when you connect the Sony.

[possumspittal]

Thank you for the comments and sorry for the delayed reply.

On my computer I have installed the Sony ebook library, Calibre, and Adobe reader. I have attempted to download several books (old...non DRM) via Calibre, and Adobe, and others. The download proceeds normally but then I cannot locate the file (book) anywhere! I DO find shortcuts to Adobe for these files but they do not appear in the Adobe library. During these attempts I have not had the 505 connected to the computer via usb. Is this necessary even for non-Sony content? The non-Sony files I've tried have been EPUB, PDF, and text. Thanks again...Jon

[Elfwreck]

You need to connect the Reader to your computer to get books onto the Reader, regardless of what type they are.

The Sony Reader has no wi-fi ability; it can only read books from its internal storage, either its original drive, or one of its memory cards. (You could transfer books to a memory card without connecting the Reader, and then put them in the Reader, without connecting the Reader itself.)

Once your Reader is connected, you can use the Sony library *or* Calibre *or* Windows Explorer (drag-and-drop) to transfer ebooks to the reader. (You can use all three of them if you like; I go back and forth between Calibre and Windows Explorer. I gave up on the Sony library very early.)

[DixieGal]

1. Make a file on your desktop called "ebooks" and copy your downloads there
2. Connect your 505 to your computer via USB cable and turn it on
3. Open "My Computer" and double click on the drive that shows your 505
4. Open "ebooks" and see the list of books
5. Drag a book icon into the 505 screen
6. Use the taskbar and click to disconnect the hardware (505), then unplug the USB cable
7. Turn the 505 off and back on again. The TOC should show that your book is onboard now.

[possumspittal]

Got it!
Transferred two books. Still a little shakey with organizing everything on the computer but I'm sure it will all fall into place with practice. Thanks to all of you for the tips. ALL of your comments helped me get a feel for how the process works. Always fun to learn something new and I know I'm going to use the reader a lot. Thank you again for your help.

Jon

[GraceKrispy]

Originally Posted by possumspittal

Got it!
Transferred two books. Still a little shakey with organizing everything on the computer but I'm sure it will all fall into place with practice. Thanks to all of you for the tips. ALL of your comments helped me get a feel for how the process works. Always fun to learn something new and I know I'm going to use the reader a lot. Thank you again for your help.

Jon

I'm glad it's working out for you! It will be old hat soon.

Originally Posted by gwynevans

Only if it's a commercial eBook, i.e. (DRM'd), surely? Normal EPUBs can be downloaded 'normally' then copied to the Reader via any of options such as the normal PC desktop software to the USB device, the Sony eBook Library software or Calibre, in addition to the Adobe software.

Now I'm learning something new-- what does "downloaded normally" mean? saved into a file on the computer? I have always used ADE to get pdf and epub, regardless of whether it's drm or not. I'm not very good with computers, though

[gwynevans]

Originally Posted by GraceKrispy

Now I'm learning something new-- what does "downloaded normally" mean? saved into a file on the computer?

Yes. Taking Boyd's "The Ark" as an example - it can be downloaded by a browser such as IE or Firefox to somewhere on your PC, then just viewed or imported into Calibre, with no need for ADE.

You're correct that ADE is needed for DRM'd ePubs, though. ('m not 100% sure of the details, but I think that in those cases, what you actually download from places like a library site is a file that tells ADE how to get the actual book, which it then does 'in the background' for you, which is why ADE needs to be involved. With 'normal' ePub's where there's no DRM involved, you get to download them directly, and they'll just work!

[possumspittal]

By "downloaded normally" I mean there were no error messages, screens with a million options I did not understand, or absolutely nothing happened, etc. In other words...the displayed field asked me to do something I actually understood. A great help was "Dixie Helps" suggestion to put a "ebooks" folder on the desktop for the downloads. That way I can save the ebook files to that folder and then have no trouble finding them...no matter what other program "grabs" them as the default.

Jon

[Catire]

Welcome to the site


Tip: If you add the book using Sony´s connect software to the reader it automatically formats the book so that when you open it or change the font size on the reader itself it doesnt have to format it then

[dreams]

Originally Posted by Catire

Welcome to the site

Tip: If you add the book using Sony´s connect software to the reader it automatically formats the book so that when you open it or change the font size on the reader itself it doesnt have to format it then

Welcome to MR, possumspittal.

Everyone has given great advice. I would just like to add to Catire's Tip. What I discovered that Tip means is that the book will open and adjust fonts much faster if it has gone through the Sony eLibrary first (as it does the formatting for these changes inside the Sony eLibrary).

I hope you enjoy your Sony as much as I have. I have the 505 and don't know what I would do without it.