No ePub for PRS-500, but Sony offers $100 trade-in credit to upgraders

[maxio]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I think I have an explanation for your experience.

Bob didn't stress this in the original post, but Sony only decided to make this trade in offer because of the campaign I started on Friday. It looks to me like they put the deal together yesterday with the intention of announcing it today. The store manager probably came into work today with no idea that the trade in deal existed. (What usually happens is that the store gets a regular shipment of marketing info around 2 weeks before it is supposed to take effect. That didn't happen this time.)

We only heard about the offer last night when Bob got a call from someone we know at Sony. We have had conference calls before, but those were usually planned out a few days in advance. This call was completely unplanned.

I think we should have stressed how sudden the announcement was. I'll try to remember that in the future.

That maybe so, but I think the manager could have made the effort. Considering the fact that I was coming from such a long way, he could have accommodated the sale and managed a discount.

[astrodad]

Originally Posted by tor

what really annoys me is that there is nothing wrong with my 500, i understand that Adobe DE needs a bit more RAM ( but I'm sure sony could find a work around ) there is no reason for not including epub support. I think that in this day and age dumping a perfectly good device in such a manner is just plain wasteful and not really showing a green attitude.

Bring on openInkspot.

Green? They're looking at the other kind of green, hehe.

But seriously, you can't expect all features to run on every device, can you? I mean, try running Vista on a 386, or playing Grand Theft Auto on an Atari 2600. Sometimes you just have to be realistic.

[bobbarkerissatan]

Originally Posted by jplumey

Green? They're looking at the other kind of green, hehe.

But seriously, you can't expect all features to run on every device, can you? I mean, try running Vista on a 386, or playing Grand Theft Auto on an Atari 2600. Sometimes you just have to be realistic.

That really is an unfair analogy. It was shown in another post that there is virtually no hardware spec difference between the two devices and that it mostly comes down to smaller electronic components.

It would be more like this video game analogy: Donkey Kong playing on the Nintendo DS Lite, but not on the Nintendo DS.

[tor]

Originally Posted by jplumey

Green? They're looking at the other kind of green, hehe.

But seriously, you can't expect all features to run on every device, can you? I mean, try running Vista on a 386, or playing Grand Theft Auto on an Atari 2600. Sometimes you just have to be realistic.

That's true, i don't expect the more demanding additions though ( such as Adobe DE ). But there is no reason for no epub support. My (very limited) understanding of epub is that is it is essentially the same as Bbeb, instead of the XML/Image data being complied, the XML/Image resources are zipped.

Seeing as epub is becoming an emerging standard. I Don't think it's unreasonable for sony to add support of it to the 500. It wouldn't require that much work.

I have no problems in paying for an firmware update, i just find it such a shame, considering the 505 is basically the same device just with more memory. The 500 is such a good device with a lot of life left in it.

I think sony should be showing more corporate responsibility.

[AprilHare]

Why we are complaining:
For the sake of being able to purchase ePub books and PDF reflow support we have to outlay on the order of $300 compared to people inside the US getting to pay merely $100, because Sony insists on these bizarre international border limitations.
The main benefit of ePub for me would be that I could purchase ebooks where I live, since the Sony Store is bricked off from us. I speak the same language as our US friends (besides "faucet" and "tap" and "gray" and "grey"); I live in a similar society; we have good trading and social relations with the US, including Americans who live and work here - but this silly arrangement is kept to humor lawyers and Sony executives at the expense of us, the international consumer.

Originally Posted by grimo1re

Why are people outside of the US complaining? Y'all knew Sony wasn't selling the PRS500 outside of the US and that you'd have to use vouchers on the Connect Store and all that? Sheesh! I think Sony did well and I knew full well what I got into when I bought my reader via an internet retailer and I think you all did too. So what's the deal?

[BobVA]

Originally Posted by AprilHare

... because Sony insists on these bizarre international border limitations.

A little OT of April's point about 500 updates, but it got me thinking. If where the Reader is sold is driven by where Sony has rights clearance to sell books, the addition of ePub might change that.

This update might put Sony in the "generic ebook" business not the current "ebook tied inextricably to the country-restricted bookstore / publisher business" which in-turn might encourage them to sell it where ever they like.

All speculation on my part, but I can see Sony not wanting to sell the Reader in a country if the customer can't get current books. Those markets would be limited to a small number of enthusiasts which probably wouldn't allow them to recover their marketing/support costs. If a supplier or suppliers of ePub books comes into being with international scope (e.g. something like CD or DVD availability) that may change their marketing plans.

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by AprilHare

Why we are complaining: For the sake of being able to purchase ePub books and PDF reflow support we have to outlay on the order of $300 compared to people inside the US getting to pay merely $100, because Sony insists on these bizarre international border limitations. The main benefit of ePub for me would be that I could purchase ebooks where I live, since the Sony Store is bricked off from us. I speak the same language as our US friends (besides "faucet" and "tap" and "gray" and "grey"); I live in a similar society; we have good trading and social relations with the US, including Americans who live and work here - but this silly arrangement is kept to humor lawyers and Sony executives at the expense of us, the international consumer.

"Humoring" lawyers is something of a survival trait, you know.

The legal realities that made the borders into barriers were mostly a matter of not getting sued, and incidentally, not setting the e-book movement back a couple of decades or so: if they hadn't abided by those nicities, the publishers would have taken their balls (and all the balls are theirs) and gone home, with lawsuits as nice farewell gifts. Then where would we be?

When the UK Sony roll-out happens next month, you'll likely be able to buy books from Sony then, if that's what you want to do: they'll still be selling BBeB format for as long into the future as they'll comment on.

The only thing you're missing out on is the option to get $100 from them for your old Reader, which, from their perspective (the only one they can take and remain lawyer-resistant) you aren't supposed to have outside the U.S. to begin with -- that's also why you had to jump through so many hoops to get it in the first place.
Further, let me point out that absolutely nothing in the world prevents you from eBaying that PRS500, and using the procedes (likely more than $100, mind you) toward a new 505.

Sony is in the best position to know of epub can be made to function on the 500 or not, they say it can't. Personally, I recognise the possibility that this might be 'Marketing Speak' for "we're not going to put in the time and effort to make it work on a model we discontinued last year."

However, I also recognize that I don't know which scenario is the accurate one. Unless someone gets epub working on a 500, I doubt we'll ever know, and if someone does, it won't much matter that Sony didn't, will it?

I also recognize that Sony has a right to decide it's not in their best interests to put development efforts into making anything new work on a model they discontinued last year, so I don't have a problem with either scenario.

To me what it comes down to is that Sony didn't have to make this 'trade-in" offer at all, it's pretty clear that they did so in response to the outcry of their early adopters (mainly) here at MR, and, respectfully, my sympathy for folks who are upset by being excluded when they had to know they were buying outside channels in the first place is pretty limited, I'm afraid.


Please note that I am NOT saying we should shut-up and be grateful for what we're given. Rather I'm pointing out that Sony deserves a little credit (or at the very least simple acknowledgement) for going well beyond the norm to offer a token of thanks to their early adopters.

[Tom Swift]

Does anyone know if the 500 reader has to be working for the rebate? My 500 is broken and I would get more for swapping it for a 505 and then selling the 505 to someone then selling my broken 500 on eBay.
I checked the Sony web page but saw nothing about the working condition of the 500 for the exchange program. Anyone know?

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by maxio

That maybe so, but I think the manager could have made the effort. Considering the fact that I was coming from such a long way, he could have accommodated the sale and managed a discount.

Maxio, maybe the manager did you a favor. Nate the Great who started the campaign has suggested in another thread holding off. He was working on some other deal for Sony 500 owners.

[iacchi]

Originally Posted by rhadin

Nate the Great who started the campaign has suggested in another thread holding off. He was working on some other deal for Sony 500 owners.

Can you link this thread?

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Tom Swift

Does anyone know if the 500 reader has to be working for the rebate? My 500 is broken and I would get more for swapping it for a 505 and then selling the 505 to someone then selling my broken 500 on eBay.
I checked the Sony web page but saw nothing about the working condition of the 500 for the exchange program. Anyone know?

If you have a nearby Sony store, give it a try. But, I didn't see anything on the page that said it had to be working.

BOb

[Tom Swift]

That's just it; I don't. I am currently in Canada for the summer and have my broken 500 with me. If they don't care if it works, I will get my aunt to go down and get me one (she heads down on a regular basis). I can always call one of the stores but I just wondered if anyone had already tried it.

[induna]

Well, I was GOING to trade in my 500, but then I decided to run over to Fry's to see if they would sell me a 505 for the online price. They did. So, basically I get to have a 505 for me and the 500 for my wife for $50 extra.

Interestingly, my 505 came with the latest firmware installed and listed support for EPUB and DE in the user's guide.

[Tom Swift]

I phoned the Sony store in Washington State and they said, after talking to their manager, that yes, they will exchange a broken 500 for a new 505 (plus cash). Now, does this justify me going on a road trip? Man, I wish they would have offered this deal for Canadians.

[igorsk]

Originally Posted by induna

Interestingly, my 505 came with the latest firmware installed and listed support for EPUB and DE in the user's guide.

Can you upload that user's guide? The one available on support side is still the old one.