PRS-950 Is the sony daily edition worthless?

[zylvere]

I'm pretty sure it is - after a few days, I'm ready to take it back. I wouldn't want to do anything rash, however, without finding out the truth.

Here are a list of my principle complaints:
1. Wifi / 3G - I have connected twice successfully to my AT&T U-verse router, which is one of the most reliable on the market and I don't want to imagine that a device is crashing the router, but I can't ignore the facts. Also, it seems as if the only time 3G is ever used is when you make purchases.

2. Syncing - What? I plug it in and it will sit for hours saying "do not disconnect". The fix for this is to eject it in the reader library application, but that sounds inefficient. Also, the syncing program logic seems like it was planned out and then untested. Processes usually do not finish and you have to cancel them and reconnect in order to fix it.

3. Bookmarks, etc. I was hoping to be able to quickly highlight passages to be able to save them, look up words or anything else. But it seems like you have to enter some kind of mode which isn't very friendly and then select your phrases. And then it seems like those notes stay only on your device, where they can be easily deleted by the sync "program". In other words, it doesn't have any way of going back to your computer because it doesn't actually connect to networks or use 3G. This is in stark contrast to what I see in the Kindle.

4. Zoom with PDF. PDF seems to have some kind of Zoom function which allows you to temporarily adjust the page to a perfect position, and then snaps out of that the second you change pages. The relevance of this is that any PDF that wasn't formatted for the sony reader is impossible to read in its normal (computer) presentation.

5. Google reader. I thought I heard somewhere that the device could be used with Google Reader. This is where I do about half of my reading as I know it is with almost everyone who keeps up to date with RSS feeds. Does the Reader allow for installation of "apps"? I get the idea that it does not, hence the absence of such a category in the reader software.

6. Web browser: this has got to be something that was glossed over when they were doing the update, but you don't seem to be able to rotate the screen when using the browser.

All of these things make what was at first sight the excellent product a worthless piece of junk. I feel like Sony is taking a page from Nokia in making perfect hardware with largely unimplemented features to accompany it. Am I being unreasonable? Am I missing something online?

Thank you, kind reader for your attention and time.

[digital_steve]

I'll take it

[petercreasey]

Originally Posted by zylvere

finding out the truth.

Z, The "truth" is...the Sony PRS 950 is a fantastic device.

[natasha_fawn]

I have been happily playing with mine for only four days now, so I can only address a few of your points.
1. Some people here have reported problems connecting to wi-fi, you might do a search for those threads, I remember some good advice. Personally, I've had access to two wi-fi routers, and it connected flawlessly (better than my laptop, actually) to both. The 3G can only be used for accessing the Sony store, it was designed that way.
2. Try Calibre? I haven't used the Reader Library much yet, but a lot of people exclusively use Calibre.
3. I haven't tried it myself, but I've read through a few threads here discussing how to export your notes from the reader to the computer. I believe you do have to use the Reader Library software for this. You can also take a screenshot of your notes, which saves as a jpg, I believe.
4. Again, this has been discussed on other threads. Someone has mentioned a "zoom lock" for pdfs. I haven't tried any pdfs yet, so no personal experience.
5. No apps. You can download public domain Google books from the Sony store (using 3G, even). I haven't tried the new Google book store, though.
6. I find this irritating, too, but I've gotten used to it. It seems shortsighted of whoever designed it. Some websites work better than others.

But really, a worthless piece of junk? Do some research on the forums here, you'll find suggestions for dealing with complaints 1-4. I bet a google search could help you with 5. So far I love mine, the only real issue I've had is that it decidedly does not like the cold weather we've been having.

[grogthegreat]

Currently it is the only 7 to 8 inch eReader on the market now that irex is out of business. Everything else is either a small 6" reader or a huge 9" or 10" behemoth. For those that like to read manga, this is very important.
As for your issues, I use the reader to read and read only. I don't use the wireless much (although it works fine) and I just copy paste stuff directly to the reader's folder instead of trying to "sync" anything.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Hi, zylvere. I would suggest that you read the User Guide that came on your 950 to familiarize yourself with some of its features. You will find that many people on here really love their 950's. It is my primary ereader, and I own other brands too. The Sony devices primarily sync with your computer and not with a server cloud like a Kindle which has perhaps caused you some confusion. Also the sync button which was added to the 950 with the latest firmware update is meant to sync your 950 with any other 950's that you have registered to the same account and also in the future should hopefully sync with the soon to be released iPhone and Android apps.

1. I have successfully connected to two different home network routers, several hotels, an airport and McDonalds with no problems. Although others have encountered issues. It might help if you start a separate thread specific to your Wi-fi setup to see if you get better response for help. Also check the user guide to see what it recommends for settings. The user guide also explains that 3G is for connecting to the Sony eBookstore only. The Wi-fi is used for Google Books, internet browsing and wikipedia lookups.


2, Part 1. When you connect your 950 via USB cable, it is supposed to say "do not disconnect" until you eject it. It has mounted as a drive in Windows Explorer / Mac Finder just like any other USB mass storage device does. Therefore, you need to safely eject it via a method like Reader Library, Windows Explorer or Safely Remove Hardware.

2, Part 2. Your 950 won't "sync" with your hard-drive until you set it up to do so. You need to create collections within the Sony Reader Library and add books to the collections. Then, when your 950 is connected via USB and shows up in Reader Library in the left-hand column, you need to click the "sync" tab and select which collections you want to sync. It is syncing with your hard-drive through the Sony software. It is not syncing with a server anywhere via 3G or Wi-fi. It is just like syncing music Playlists with iTunes to an iPod as the best analogy. If you don't like the Sony Reader Library software, then maybe you should check out the alternative called calibre as Natasha recommended.

3. Bookmarks and notes can only be synced with the Reader Library software as far as I know. Perhaps calibre can too, but I always use the Sony software. When you open the book in Reader Library, then you will see icons in the lower left corner that allow you to view your annotations and even export them to an RTF file on your hard-drive. The bookmarks / notes are not synced back to a Sony server (like the Kindle does) which is why you don't need 3G.

4. Most ereaders don't do PDF's very well, but Sony is actually better in this area than most of the competition. You need to set the zoom lock in the upper right hand corner. Then it will stay the same as you turn the pages until you hit the unlock button in the upper right hand corner to stop it.

5. See Natasha's response.

6. The 950 is Sony's first implementation of a web browser so it definitely needs improvement. The inability to rotate to landscape view is a big missing feature. Hopefully they will add this capability in a firmware update, but you never know.

The people on this forum are friendly and will try to help you. Again, I suggest that you browse the User Guide. Also try the help documentation within the Reader Library software. If the 950 doesn't do what you want it to, then perhaps you would be better off with a different ereader.

[natasha_fawn]

Regarding Google Reader:
I haven't ever used it, but I just successfully accessed it on my 950. I don't know the ins and outs, but it looks like you should be able to use it as long as you're connected to wi-fi. It shows up on my reader just as it does on my computer, just a bit squished.

And yes, like Bookworm_Girl says, use the User Guide. It's pretty helpful.

(Incidentally, this was the first time I tried logging into my Google or Gmail account from my reader. It didn't work at all, at first, just kept reloading the log in page. I thought maybe it was unhappy that I was logged in on my computer, so I logged out there and tried again, no dice. I was all set to make a thread here to ask for help, but tried the standard dummy-fix, first. Turned the reader off entirely, turned it back on, and tried again. Voila! So, uh, if at first you don't succeed, reboot.)

[viviena]

I don't have a 950, but as somebody who's used the internet on smaller devices, I'd just like to make the suggestion of using mobile versions of websites, as they generally work the best on less-than-optimal devices.

• Google Reader [m.google.com/reader]
• Gmail [m.gmail.com]
• Facebook [m.facebook.com/]
• MobileRead [mobileread.mobi/]

Some smarter sites such as Google's various services will automatically serve you a small-screen version if it detects you using an Android or iOS smartphone, but I don't think there's any that will recognise the 950 currently.

Also:

I was hoping to be able to quickly highlight passages to be able to save them, look up words or anything else. But it seems like you have to enter some kind of mode which isn't very friendly and then select your phrases.

Eh? You can do that. I've never entered the note-taking mode to actually take notes. Double-tap and drag to select the phrase, hit the highlight button in the dictionary popup. Done. To add notes, just tap the highlighted phrase. Same thing with bookmarks, except double-tap in the top-right hand corner.

[zylvere]

Thanks to all of you for your help. I read through a lot of that documentation and I found that for example, the idea of bookmarks and notes was completely lost on them.

The heart of the issue is this: the hardware of the device is the undoubtedly the best on the market. Its feels sturdy and it has all of the wireless connectivity options available. It doesn't have the biggest screen, but it has the best one - tied with the kindle. It has massive potential for more memory.

I think that there is very little room for argument when it comes to why you would put a touch screen on a dedicated reader. The only possible answer is that you would want to do something with the text that you can't do with hardware buttons, i.e. interact with it in some way: underline, copy, look up definition, highlight - something!

It turns out, however, that to do the smallest interaction, with the text - to take advantage in the slightest of having a touch screen e-reader - you need to tap a large number of buttons to get to where you want to be. I don't understand how this first-order function was so lost on development at Sony. The iOS system is perfect, but I didn't want the wacky screen for hours of reading.

It's for the above reason and the aforementioned reasons that I think that the whole idea of having the sony reader is kind of nullified by their own designers.

[viviena]

Originally Posted by zylvere

It turns out, however, that to do the smallest interaction, with the text - to take advantage in the slightest of having a touch screen e-reader - you need to tap a large number of buttons to get to where you want to be. I don't understand how this first-order function was so lost on development at Sony. The iOS system is perfect, but I didn't want the wacky screen for hours of reading.

I admit I don't understand this, or is the process I outlined above is still too cumbersome for your liking? One thing I suppose the designers could have done is separate the notes from highlights and bookmarks, but having the former associated with one of the latter makes sense in terms of providing context. Otherwise, what large number of buttons? Bookmarking a page, for example, is a one-step process with no buttons involved. Highlighting takes one or two more extra steps.

[zylvere]

Originally Posted by viviena

I admit I don't understand this, or is the process I outlined above is still too cumbersome for your liking?.

Ha!

I feel like I real jerk now!

I read somewhere that you had to take a number of steps to be able to highlight - I thought it was the referenced manual. But the double clicking thing is amaaaaaaazing!

You are a life saver, and a Sony reader saver. I can't wait to get started.

Thanks again!

[Bookworm_Girl]

I guess I don't understand your comments. As viviena explained bookmarks are easily created by double-tapping in the rt-hand corner. Double-tap a word and it opens the dictionary window where you can easily switch dictionaries or tap the Wikipedia lookup icon. Double-tap a word and drag your finger across the text to highlight it. Then click the pen icon to save it. Tap a bookmark or highlighted text to open the note pop-up window. Within a book you have to tap through a few menus to view or edit your notes. You could also use the Notes app on the Home Screen for quicker access. I don't find it to be any more difficult than my Kindle although I like that I can access Kindle notes on my Amazon account.

[Bookworm_Girl]

No need to feel like a jerk. We are just trying to understand and help. Glad you figured out the tapping. It takes awhile to get used to new hardware. Just keep playing with it, and I think it will get easier.

[natasha_fawn]

Originally Posted by zylvere

Thanks to all of you for your help. I read through a lot of that documentation and I found that for example, the idea of bookmarks and notes was completely lost on them.

The heart of the issue is this: the hardware of the device is the undoubtedly the best on the market. Its feels sturdy and it has all of the wireless connectivity options available. It doesn't have the biggest screen, but it has the best one - tied with the kindle. It has massive potential for more memory.

I think that there is very little room for argument when it comes to why you would put a touch screen on a dedicated reader. The only possible answer is that you would want to do something with the text that you can't do with hardware buttons, i.e. interact with it in some way: underline, copy, look up definition, highlight - something!

It turns out, however, that to do the smallest interaction, with the text - to take advantage in the slightest of having a touch screen e-reader - you need to tap a large number of buttons to get to where you want to be. I don't understand how this first-order function was so lost on development at Sony. The iOS system is perfect, but I didn't want the wacky screen for hours of reading.

It's for the above reason and the aforementioned reasons that I think that the whole idea of having the sony reader is kind of nullified by their own designers.

I'm confused, the User Guide is fairly thorough in this respect. From the User Guide, p. 59, "Bookmarking... Double-tap the upper right corner of a page..." From p. 62, "Adding a note: 1. Tap a bookmark or highlighted word -> [by Drawing] or [by Keyword]..." Hardly "a large number of buttons." I suppose adding a note without bookmarking the page or highlighting anything takes more taps (three and a button press). To look up a word in the dictionary, it's just a double-tap. Highlighting is easy, double-tap and drag. I don't see how interacting with the text could be made more simple without resulting in commands interfering with each other. Or is it something else about interacting with the text you're at odds with?

Edit:
Glad people were able to help.

[viviena]

Originally Posted by zylvere

I can't wait to get started.

Yay! Enjoy, the ease of annotations is one of the things I like most about my 350.