PRS 700, OS X, File formats, battery

ewiplayer · 11-07-2008, 09:29 AM

Hi folks,

I've been running around the forums and the web looking into EBook readers for the last few weeks. I've wanted one for years but the "critical mass" hadn't been reached yet (IMHO) until recently.

I read technical books... programming, architecture, design, etc... The PRS 700 looks like the one to get because I want to make notes, and I desperately need to search and bookmark. The price point, while a little steep, just marginally manages to meet my bank-for-the-buck meter so I'm seriously considering it. Since I've never had a reader before I have some questions that I need some experts to weigh in on, if you don't mind...

1) I don't use Windows, but use OS X. I can run Windows in a virtual machine if I must but would prefer not to. Can I use the PRS 700 (I'll take experiences on the 505, obviously considering the limited experience with the 700) as a mounted disk for easy file copying?

2) How have people found the non-replaceable battery issue with their 505s? I love the idea of being able to toss out defective/dead batteries myself and replace them with a Nokia battery or whatever... Has anyone had to replace the battery?

3) All of the readers seem to be geared towards fiction books - simple formats, no diagrams or sections of source code (i.e. courier font formatted sections), etc... I've read that PDF formatting isn't great... has anyone read these kinds of books on a 505? What's it like?

4) File formats... I have a lot of PDF and CHM books. How easily do you think I am going to be able to get these on the 700 and how well do you think they will translate to the device? Will the experience be lousy? Do you think it would be possible to do any file conversion without Windows?

I tried a 505 but the responsiveness was just brutal. The page flips were too slow and the numeric entry was brutal (i.e. hit 45, wait 5 seconds and then it would go to page 45). The 700 seems better in this area and has the features I need. I haven't tried one though because the Sony Store doesn't have one where I live in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. But they'll have one soon, I hope.

Anyways... thanks in advance. The posts in the forums are always enthusiastic and informative, so I'm looking forward to reading what people have to say.

Cheers,
EWIPlayer

Cheyd · 06-23-2009, 09:55 AM

I notice you haven't gotten any responses yet, I just wanted to throw in my two cents and tell you the PRS-700 was definitely worth the upgrade from my old PRS-500. I know there was a bump in processor speed between the 500 and the 700 and I think the 505 uses the same processor as the 500. In short, I no longer experience that hellish waiting period of loading time when I first load a new RTF or PDF doc. RTF loads in about two seconds for an average 300 to 500 page book in first load and is instant in subsequent loads. And I haven't noticed any lag in loading PDFs at all. In addition, I have two 2Gig cards in the thing right now (one Mem Stick Duo and one SD card) and there wasn't that other hell lag when trying to turn the book on the first time after loading a few hundred books onto the card.

All in all I would definitely suggest you upgrade to the 700, I don't know the other eBook pros and Cons from as personal level as the only other eBook readers I have ever used are the eBookwise eBook Reader (Can't remember the name off hand) and its big colour screen version.

I don't know about CHM format, but I have just literally dropped RTF and PDF files into the right folder on the memory card without ever using the software and it works just fine so that would solve your OS issues to some extent, plus the 700 now includes the ability to delete eBooks from the reader with no external computer interaction which was, IMHO, sorely lacking from earlier versions.

In Short, yes Upgrade from your 505 if you can, that slow lag time between page turns and book loads was hell and I know the 700 has fixed that problem and I'm betting most other current version readers are up to 'speed' as well, or at least I would hope so.

Good Luck and happy shopping!
-Shade

11-07-2008, 09:29 AM	#1
ewiplayer Enthusiast Posts: 47 Karma: 90 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-700	PRS 700, OS X, File formats, battery Hi folks, I've been running around the forums and the web looking into EBook readers for the last few weeks. I've wanted one for years but the "critical mass" hadn't been reached yet (IMHO) until recently. I read technical books... programming, architecture, design, etc... The PRS 700 looks like the one to get because I want to make notes, and I desperately need to search and bookmark. The price point, while a little steep, just marginally manages to meet my bank-for-the-buck meter so I'm seriously considering it. Since I've never had a reader before I have some questions that I need some experts to weigh in on, if you don't mind... 1) I don't use Windows, but use OS X. I can run Windows in a virtual machine if I must but would prefer not to. Can I use the PRS 700 (I'll take experiences on the 505, obviously considering the limited experience with the 700) as a mounted disk for easy file copying? 2) How have people found the non-replaceable battery issue with their 505s? I love the idea of being able to toss out defective/dead batteries myself and replace them with a Nokia battery or whatever... Has anyone had to replace the battery? 3) All of the readers seem to be geared towards fiction books - simple formats, no diagrams or sections of source code (i.e. courier font formatted sections), etc... I've read that PDF formatting isn't great... has anyone read these kinds of books on a 505? What's it like? 4) File formats... I have a lot of PDF and CHM books. How easily do you think I am going to be able to get these on the 700 and how well do you think they will translate to the device? Will the experience be lousy? Do you think it would be possible to do any file conversion without Windows? I tried a 505 but the responsiveness was just brutal. The page flips were too slow and the numeric entry was brutal (i.e. hit 45, wait 5 seconds and then it would go to page 45). The 700 seems better in this area and has the features I need. I haven't tried one though because the Sony Store doesn't have one where I live in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. But they'll have one soon, I hope. Anyways... thanks in advance. The posts in the forums are always enthusiastic and informative, so I'm looking forward to reading what people have to say. Cheers, EWIPlayer

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06-23-2009, 09:55 AM	#2
Cheyd Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Connecticut Device: PRS-700	I notice you haven't gotten any responses yet, I just wanted to throw in my two cents and tell you the PRS-700 was definitely worth the upgrade from my old PRS-500. I know there was a bump in processor speed between the 500 and the 700 and I think the 505 uses the same processor as the 500. In short, I no longer experience that hellish waiting period of loading time when I first load a new RTF or PDF doc. RTF loads in about two seconds for an average 300 to 500 page book in first load and is instant in subsequent loads. And I haven't noticed any lag in loading PDFs at all. In addition, I have two 2Gig cards in the thing right now (one Mem Stick Duo and one SD card) and there wasn't that other hell lag when trying to turn the book on the first time after loading a few hundred books onto the card. All in all I would definitely suggest you upgrade to the 700, I don't know the other eBook pros and Cons from as personal level as the only other eBook readers I have ever used are the eBookwise eBook Reader (Can't remember the name off hand) and its big colour screen version. I don't know about CHM format, but I have just literally dropped RTF and PDF files into the right folder on the memory card without ever using the software and it works just fine so that would solve your OS issues to some extent, plus the 700 now includes the ability to delete eBooks from the reader with no external computer interaction which was, IMHO, sorely lacking from earlier versions. In Short, yes Upgrade from your 505 if you can, that slow lag time between page turns and book loads was hell and I know the 700 has fixed that problem and I'm betting most other current version readers are up to 'speed' as well, or at least I would hope so. Good Luck and happy shopping! -Shade

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