ATTENTION All Sony Reader owners (regarding the PRS-500 update)

[induna]

Sony's demonstrating support for their existing Reader customers by providing Epub support for owners of the PRS-500, will have a significant positive effect of my decision to buy Sony products in future for my wife and myself.

Thank you.

[junkml]

I'm another one that is happy with my 500, but am incredibly disappointed with Sony's inclination to not fix the problem with rtf and pdf support on the device. I agree with the posters that have pointed out that it was marketed claiming pdf and rtf support, but that's really not the case.

Additionally, the epub support would be great!

I'm one that will be inclined to look at a different device than a Sony if this is how they intend to run "support" for their devices. They should at least fix the pdf/rtf problem to actually fully support them like the marketing material implied.

[DrMoze]

Well, BettyE and slayda are officially gone so yes, Sony, please proceed with issuing a firmware update for the 500!

[ahintz]

Sent an email, and will add my voice here. I figure I will probably be getting a new ebook device from the next generation, and it will probably come down to whatever the Kindle 2.0 is vs. Sony's follow-up to the PRS-505. Having an upgrade for the PRS-500 will go a long way to making me want to stick with Sony (especially since I love the design of the Reader). Not to mention, it will make my Reader more useful for whomever in the family I end up gifting it to.

For me, the coolest thing will be if ePub ends up a real ebook standard, so that you can buy the books from multiple vendors. These walled gardens of Amazon vs. Sony vs. eReader vs. whatever else are very annoying. I just want to be able to get the book I want to read on the device I want to read it on for a good price. Having my PRS-500 be able to escape from Sony's walled garden would be very nice. Is that too much to ask?

[EditorJack]

Sony:

Yes, please! I love my PRS-500, but PDFs from the county library just don't work. Oh, I can read them on my iPAQ 4700. But I'd a lot rather use my Sony Reader.

So please, yes, an update would be most welcome.

Thanks!

Jack Lyon
The Editorium
http://www.editorium.com
Waking Lion Press
http://www.wakinglionpress.com

[julia103]

E-mail sent. Thanks for the info!

[JSWolf]

ePub support needs more memory then the 500 has. But maybe the PDF and deleting eBooks would work.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

ePub support needs more memory then the 500 has. But maybe the PDF and deleting eBooks would work.

Can you prove that?

Several people have said this, but it's probably not true. The two models have the same amount of RAM as well as almost the same CPU. The only important difference is the amount of flash memory, and there is simply no way that adding support for Epub could exceed the 128MB the PRS-500 has built in.

[RWood]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Can you prove that?

Several people have said this, but it's probably not true. The two models have the same amount of RAM as well as almost the same CPU. The only important difference is the amount of flash memory, and there is simply no way that adding support for Epub could exceed the 128MB the PRS-500 has built in.

Agreed Nate, the power of the CPU and the internal memory are the same. Since the units also can use the Memory Card/SD Memory Card as an extension of the internal memory this adds 2 GB to the 500 for a scratchpad area. From their original discussions about the 500, they are also able to completely replace the entire OS and GUI through firmware updates. As I see it, It becomes a matter of will and dedication of resources rather than capability.

Perhaps in the short run Sony will lose some future sales because people will hold on to their 500s longer than they would if Sony did not provide the update. However, they most likely will lose more sales in the future if they do not provide an upgrade because people will perceive that Sony does not support their established products when they can. The 500 has been out almost 22 months and Sony introduced the current model less than 11 months ago, even Microsoft maintains support for old operating systems for several years after the successor in introduced.

I like the Sony and when I replace it with a newer reader I want to be able to consider Sony without wondering if Sony will stand behind it with software upgrades as they are technologically available.

[flemgunner]

Email sent

[tostigus@yahoo.c]

Paul,

Thank you for contacting Sony Support.

I'm sorry for the inconvenience you're experiencing with the Sony Reader Digital Book. At the present time the Adobe Digital Editions Installer is supported for use with the Sony PRS-505 Reader. However, some limited advanced information is often published in various magazine articles. You may also want to read Sony's News Releases at:

http://news.sel.sony.com

Thank you for your time.

The Sony Email Response Team
C6EL
Jason


This message and any attachments are solely for the use of intended recipients and may contain confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you received this email in error, and that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this email and any attachment is strictly prohibited. If you receive this email in error please contact the sender and delete the message and any attachments associated therewith from your computer. Your cooperation in this matter is appreciated.

Original Message Follows:
------------------------
So, will Sony be supporting the PRS500? Will I be able to read ePub
format books? Or should I just buy a Kindle? I know that Sony is
looking into the feasibility of supporting the PRS500 with this new
firmware, and I know that you can't tell me when. I just want to know
IF Sony is going to support the new PRS505 firmware features on the
PRS500.


On Aug 2, 2008, at 14:23 , Support wrote:

Paul,

Thank you for contacting Sony Support.

I'm sorry for the inconvenience you're experiencing with the Sony
Reader Digital Book. Sony only releases full product and support
information at the same time it is officially released to the
marketplace by our Marketing Department. However, some limited
advanced information is often published in various magazine
articles. You may also want to read Sony's News Releases at:

http://news.sel.sony.com

Thank you for your time.

The Sony Email Response Team
C6EL
Jason


This message and any attachments are solely for the use of intended
recipients and may contain confidential information. If you are not
the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you received
this email in error, and that any review, dissemination,
distribution or copying of this email and any attachment is strictly
prohibited. If you receive this email in error please contact the
sender and delete the message and any attachments associated
therewith from your computer. Your cooperation in this matter is
appreciated.

Original Message Follows:
------------------------
Hi,

That's not what I asked. When will the PRS500 have the new firmware
update that the PRS505 just received? I would like to read ePub books
on my PRS500 reader.

Thank you
On Aug 2, 2008, at 08:42 , Support wrote:

Paul Price,

Thank you for contacting Sony Support.

I'm glad to assist you with the information on software update for
your Sony reader. Please click on the URL below for eBook Library
Software Update for the Sony Reader:

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu...d=3623&os_id=7

Thank you for choosing Sony.

The Sony Email Response Team
C623
Gary


This message and any attachments are solely for the use of intended
recipients and may contain confidential information. If you are not
the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you received
this email in error, and that any review, dissemination,
distribution or copying of this email and any attachment is strictly
prohibited. If you receive this email in error please contact the
sender and delete the message and any attachments associated
therewith from your computer. Your cooperation in this matter is
appreciated.

Original Message Follows:
------------------------
Model : PRS500
Question : When will the updated firmware that supports ePub be
available for the PRS500?

[Dublee]

I have a PRS-500 and would appreciate a firmware update for ePub and PDF reflow support, if hardware is not a limitation.

I often read in public with my reader. Many times, I'm approached by strangers who inquire about the device and I enthusiastically show it off. Its design and build quality, in my opinion, are superb - as I would expect nothing less from Sony. I'm confident more than one have eventually purchased a Sony reader. At the very least, I've exposed them to the Sony reader and e-ink display technology.

Sony's continued support for the PRS-500 would rejuvenate my interest in future Sony readers, knowing that Sony has its readers in mind and not just the bottom line.

[Lord KiRon]

email sent.
Also sent another about drivers for Vista x64.

PDF reflow would be nice but I am more interested in ePub and "delete" book functionality.

[vaporetto]

Email sent. Let's see what happens next...

[CO'Neil]

I expected all along that Sony would update the PRS-500 firmware periodically. Very soon after I purchased mine, they did update their eLibrary software, so it seemed that new releases were part of the program.

Pretty soon, the PRS-505 came along: a very worthwhile update indeed.

But, yeah, I'm still hoping for new firmware for the 500. The features of the new 505 upgrade sound excellent, and the hacks developed by the MobileRead community sound waaaay technical to me.