Register Guidelines E-Books Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Go Back   MobileRead Forums > E-Book Readers > Sony Reader

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 12-24-2013, 12:19 PM   #46
cybmole
Wizard
cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 3,720
Karma: 1759970
Join Date: Sep 2010
Device: none
UK: sony store web site £99 with free UK shipping - since yesterday I think. Red & Black in stock, white on pre-order.
cybmole is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-28-2013, 10:45 AM   #47
tvuongpham
Banned
tvuongpham ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.tvuongpham ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.tvuongpham ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.tvuongpham ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.tvuongpham ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.tvuongpham ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.tvuongpham ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.tvuongpham ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.tvuongpham ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.tvuongpham ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.tvuongpham ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
tvuongpham's Avatar
 
Posts: 183
Karma: 2826564
Join Date: Feb 2010
Device: Kobo Aura, Kindle Paperwhite 2nd gen, Kindle KB (dead) PRS-T1, PRS 350
Sad to say.... if the retail kiosks are demonstrative.. Sony is a sad state of affairs.

I am in Montreal, Canada and checked out Futureshop and BestBuy.

Ironically the display at BestBuy had three working demo units but only a prs300 (old stock)
in inventory and a few accessories.

Futureshop didn't even have a working model on display, just one unit i had to ask, despite the fact they had it on sale -20.00 CAD. (huge boxing day ad as well)

The same fact was present for both when asked about why Sony readers are represented as such the answer is "KOBO is killing them" "not as popular"

sad..
tvuongpham is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 12-29-2013, 01:18 PM   #48
SoCalReader
Enthusiast
SoCalReader began at the beginning.
 
Posts: 48
Karma: 10
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: SoCal
Device: Sony PRS-950SC, Sony PRS-T2, (former) Amazon Kindle DX
Since I suspect most people who are asking this question are from the US. If you don't want to go through the hassle of getting at T3 when there are plenty of T2s out there, do a search. I found ones for $69. Is there really any evidence a T3 is so much better than the T2 that it is worth the effort to travel out of the US or pay the extra nearly $100?
SoCalReader is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-29-2013, 02:37 PM   #49
Phil_C
Addict
Phil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud of
 
Phil_C's Avatar
 
Posts: 234
Karma: 27924
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Chicago, IL USA
Device: Sony PRS-350; Kobo Clara HD; Kobo Clara 2E
Just get a T3 from archambault.ca. About $94 US, $111 total with shipping to USA. Easy.

I did not have either of the earlier T's, but the T3 is a few mm smaller than the T2, which makes all the difference to me when sticking it in a jacket pocket. When you consider a cover, the T3 is probably lighter because of the front-only cover design. Also, the cover does not increase the height or width of the Reader like most others do. The T3 is actually less wide than my 350 with cover, and only about 7/16" taller. I really like it.

Something else to consider if looking at a T2 might be battery state. If you get a T2 that's been sitting in a box for a year, the quality/life of the battery may be reduced.
Phil_C is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-29-2013, 02:38 PM   #50
cybmole
Wizard
cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 3,720
Karma: 1759970
Join Date: Sep 2010
Device: none
well my T3 has not arrived yet, but am looking forward to the auto standby feature, The T3 works like a laptop PC apparently - close the built in cover & it goes straight to standby, open the cover & it wakes up again. I do anticipate missing the stylus holder which the 650 has though.

As for Kobo killing Sony - well maybe Kobo has greatly improved but I had the 1st gen Kobo alongside of a Sony 350 & the Sony left it for dead - page turns were twice as fast, battery life was much better, UI was nicer & more comprehensive... the Kobo want back for a full refund after 2 weeks, on grounds of crap battery & I have been with Sony ever since. very reliable. on 650, the prs-plus firmware will glitch sometimes but the official Sony firmware ( which I reverted to ) is rock solid.

PS from what I read of lithium battery technology - sittting on a shelf for a year does no harm at all. batteries are good for x thousand recharges.
cybmole is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 12-29-2013, 03:24 PM   #51
Phil_C
Addict
Phil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud of
 
Phil_C's Avatar
 
Posts: 234
Karma: 27924
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Chicago, IL USA
Device: Sony PRS-350; Kobo Clara HD; Kobo Clara 2E
You will like the T3. About the size of the 350 with the larger screen of the 650.

I've had mine for over a week. It's much quicker than the x50 doing everything and the interface is very nice. It has 6 included fonts, but some are too light IMHO. I use calibre to format books with the fonts I like best, just as I did with the 350 before PRS+. (You are right --- PRS+ can get flaky, but it does work.) You can put your own fonts on an SD card to save room on the usable internal Reader memory, which is slightly less than on the 350.

I have never held a Kobo, but the reports of glitchy software and cheesy feel are enough to keep me away. But what do I know? It looks like Kobo currently comes in second only to Amazon. You can get a sense of what is happening with ereaders just by looking at how many people are reading the various forums here at any time. You will see something like Kindle, 250 people; Kobo, 125 people, Sony 30 people. Sony and Nook used to have the biggest share after Kindle. No more. Very sad.

As for batteries, I thought Li-ion would self-discharge over time and, after more than six months, could get to a low-charge state where you need a special charger just to get them going again. Dunno. Maybe the technology has improved. I know these are not like eneloop Ni-MH batteries, which you can fully charge, store for 3-5 years, and still have 75% of charge remaining.

Hey, if I knew the Sony battery would be OK, I would consider getting a second T3 to keep in the box for future use. After all, it may be the last Reader from Sony.
Phil_C is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-29-2013, 04:42 PM   #52
AnotherCat
....
AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 1,547
Karma: 18068960
Join Date: May 2012
Device: ....
Quote:
Originally Posted by cybmole View Post
...PS from what I read of lithium battery technology - sittting on a shelf for a year does no harm at all. batteries are good for x thousand recharges.
Li-Ion batteries have a low discharge rate when unused (i.e. they lose their charge much more slowly than NiCd or NiMH, for example) as Phil_C says.

BUT they do deteriorate by losing capacity with age, even when sitting unused. I don't have any right up to date data from battery manufacturers but that a few years ago stated around 20% loss in capacity per year. So after one year the capacity of a 1,000mAh would reduce to 800mAh, to 640mAh after the second, etc.

I suspect that they may have improved over the last couple of years, including with the introduction of Li-Poly (which is the same chemistry) in some devices, but the loss of capacity with age is a significant disadvantage and it is unwise to buy old stock.
AnotherCat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-29-2013, 10:29 PM   #53
injapan
Addict
injapan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.injapan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.injapan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.injapan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.injapan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.injapan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.injapan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.injapan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.injapan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.injapan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.injapan ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
injapan's Avatar
 
Posts: 228
Karma: 1030816
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Japan
Device: iPhone 11, Kobo Arua 2 and iPad Air 3
I just got one in Japan for about $50US
but the normal price here now is about 9000yen
injapan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2013, 01:23 AM   #54
cybmole
Wizard
cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 3,720
Karma: 1759970
Join Date: Sep 2010
Device: none
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil_C View Post
... You can get a sense of what is happening with ereaders just by looking at how many people are reading the various forums here at any time. You will see something like Kindle, 250 people; Kobo, 125 people, Sony 30 people. Sony and Nook used to have the biggest share after Kindle. No more. Very sad.

As for batteries, I thought Li-ion would self-discharge over time and, after more than six months, could get to a low-charge state where you need a special charger just to get them going again. Dunno. Maybe the technology has improved. I know these are not like eneloop Ni-MH batteries, which you can fully charge, store for 3-5 years, and still have 75% of charge remaining.

Hey, if I knew the Sony battery would be OK, I would consider getting a second T3 to keep in the box for future use. After all, it may be the last Reader from Sony.
batteries: I have a spare prs-650 which had been in storage for 2 maybe 3 years. I took it out a few days ago & charged it, in order to compare battery life with the one I'd used daily; I simply plugged it into a wall charger & it charged up fine + battery seems good as new. hoping to sell it to help fund the T3 but I suspect no takers.

forum numbers: ( looking for a silver lining) it could be that number of readers ~= number of bugs
cybmole is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2013, 08:13 AM   #55
speakingtohe
Wizard
speakingtohe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.speakingtohe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.speakingtohe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.speakingtohe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.speakingtohe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.speakingtohe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.speakingtohe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.speakingtohe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.speakingtohe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.speakingtohe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.speakingtohe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 4,812
Karma: 26912940
Join Date: Apr 2010
Device: sony PRS-T1 and T3, Kobo Mini and Aura HD, Tablet
Quote:
Originally Posted by cybmole View Post
batteries: I have a spare prs-650 which had been in storage for 2 maybe 3 years. I took it out a few days ago & charged it, in order to compare battery life with the one I'd used daily; I simply plugged it into a wall charger & it charged up fine + battery seems good as new. hoping to sell it to help fund the T3 but I suspect no takers.

forum numbers: ( looking for a silver lining) it could be that number of readers ~= number of bugs
Pretty sure you will be able to sell it.

The 650 is a great reader. The T3 is lovely but not as rock solid software wise by any means. A smidge smaller and it is lighter, but not as sturdy.

The lighted cover is on sale so I am going to get one and see if I like it. That is the biggest plus in that it is smaller and lighter with cover than the 650 with cover. Other than that a backup 650 is very nice as well.

Helen
speakingtohe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2013, 11:50 AM   #56
Phil_C
Addict
Phil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud of
 
Phil_C's Avatar
 
Posts: 234
Karma: 27924
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Chicago, IL USA
Device: Sony PRS-350; Kobo Clara HD; Kobo Clara 2E
Quote:
Originally Posted by cybmole View Post
batteries: I have a spare prs-650 which had been in storage for 2 maybe 3 years. I took it out a few days ago & charged it, in order to compare battery life with the one I'd used daily; I simply plugged it into a wall charger & it charged up fine + battery seems good as new.
Please let us know how long the charge lasts. IIRC, the new x50 went about 2.5-3 weeks on a full charge. My 350's go about 10 days now.

AnotherCat is correct that a stored Li-ion battery typically loses 20% capacity each year. However, there can be a lot of variation depending on the technology and the storage environment. The same battery stored at 60 degrees F with a 40% charge may only lose 4% of capacity over one year. The reality is probably somewhere in between.

So it seems that storing the reader in the box is best, as opposed to keeping it stored connected to a charger. But I'm thinking it might be a good idea to charge it half-way every 6-12 months. There is no stopping deterioration, but maybe it can be significantly slowed.

Gee, I seem to be looking for a way to rationalize the purchase of a 2nd T3.
Phil_C is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2013, 02:23 PM   #57
cybmole
Wizard
cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 3,720
Karma: 1759970
Join Date: Sep 2010
Device: none
ok - with my spare 650 I bought it new, charged & tested it, put it back in the box, left it there for 2+ years. ( in a bedroom cupboard)
took it out last week - it was completely flat by then as you'd expect - & I only did a couple of days re-testing but after a wall charge followed by ~48 hours of standby + say 2-300 pages of reading it was only down 1 bar. the unit I'd used daily for 2 -3 years was going down a tad faster than that.

t3 is advertised with 2 month battery charge whereas 650 was sold as 2 weeks per charge, so you should be fine to buy a spare & stash it. You could even take it out of storage after 11 1/2 months, test it & if not happy then get a new one before the guarantee expired !
cybmole is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2013, 02:39 PM   #58
AnotherCat
....
AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnotherCat ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 1,547
Karma: 18068960
Join Date: May 2012
Device: ....
Quote:
Originally Posted by cybmole View Post
ok - with my spare 650 I bought it new, charged & tested it, put it back in the box, left it there for 2+ years. ( in a bedroom cupboard)
took it out last week - it was completely flat by then as you'd expect - & I only did a couple of days re-testing but after a wall charge followed by ~48 hours of standby + say 2-300 pages of reading it was only down 1 bar. the unit I'd used daily for 2 -3 years was going down a tad faster than that...
That is exactly as one would expect. Both batteries will have lost capacity due to aging, as we have said (and the battery manufacturers and professionals will say too), and the battery you have been using will have also lost capacity through enduring discharge-charge cycles. So the in use battery would be expected to have less capacity than the stored one.

As Phil_C has said, the amount lost will depend on storage conditions. Even though the stored battery has been allowed to discharge completely, so not correct storage, its environment has been likely more stable than the battery that has been in use and so, all else being equal, will likely have lost less capacity due to aging than the in use battery.

So the stored battery will perform better than the battery that has been in use. BUT both batteries will have lost a significant amount of capacity from new due to aging.
AnotherCat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2013, 03:16 PM   #59
cybmole
Wizard
cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.cybmole ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 3,720
Karma: 1759970
Join Date: Sep 2010
Device: none
ok - so what is the optimal storage strategy, starting with a new reader. (assuming there is a n optimal strategy) & lets take fairly constant indoors temperature as a given.

e.g.fully charge it to begin with ( they come flat, usually) , or only part charge it ? & re charge how often + for how long ?

I would guess that from factory to wholesaler to retailer, the battery is flat (in a never ever charged state ? ) , & by the time an end buyer gets the device it could be months old - or even older if you find a new T1 or T2 still on sales somewhere.

Id like to know in case I buy another of anything.
cybmole is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2013, 05:59 PM   #60
Phil_C
Addict
Phil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud ofPhil_C has much to be proud of
 
Phil_C's Avatar
 
Posts: 234
Karma: 27924
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Chicago, IL USA
Device: Sony PRS-350; Kobo Clara HD; Kobo Clara 2E
Here is one of many sites with battery information:

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/a...ased_batteries

It appears that optimal storage conditions would be between 32 and 77 degrees F at a 40% charge. Cooler is better, at least for the battery but maybe not for the Reader. So typical room temperature should be OK. It's hard to say how to maintain a 40% charge. We don't know even know if the Sony battery charge indicator bars represent true percentages.

I think I would do a either a full or partial charge on a stored Reader every 6 months. You do want to avoid the danger of full depletion. There is some sort of smart circuit in these batteries that uses some juice in storage. And if the charge gets below a certain very low point, the batteries become useless and even dangerous.

Anyway, it's nice to know that I'm not the only (crazy?) guy that thinks about having a backup Reader!
Phil_C is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Should buy Sony PRS 900 ? familyhandh Which one should I buy? 5 09-01-2010 07:52 AM
Buy Want to buy Sony prs-505 attapol Flea Market 0 11-30-2009 09:14 PM
PRS-300 Where to buy Sony PRS-300 powers1736 Sony Reader 9 09-12-2009 10:02 AM
PRS 700 available to buy in Sony Stores Liviu_5 Sony Reader 17 04-01-2009 06:44 PM
Where to buy Sony PRS 505 in London ? DudeInLondon Sony Reader 13 03-26-2009 03:33 PM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 11:20 AM.


MobileRead.com is a privately owned, operated and funded community.