PRS-500 owners: Will you take advantage of Sony's upgrade/trade-up offer? - Page 4

GeneS · 11-17-2009, 12:32 PM

Well, I sent my PRS500 off to the Texas repair facility today. Let's see how long and how troublesome the process is. Hopefully, it will be updated and returned within the 14 day (or so) timeframe they mention. Printing out the UPS shipping label was uneventful if you ignore the fact that it wasn't until the 5th try that I realized that I had to turn off the pop-up blocker on my browser before the shipping label could be sent to me.

I read, with interest, the comments above regarding the 500's virtues and shortcomings. Shortcomings or not, I feel compelled to state that it does what I want in a reader. I would have liked to see this update also include the ability to create folders, but since I have never had more than 100 (or so) books on the reader at any one time, it's not a major problem.

GeneS · 11-17-2009, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassoprofundo

Ok, so I sold both my PRS-500s to a guy last week prior to Sony announcing the update. He noticed that the update info had been posted over the weekend and decided to send both in to be updated. Now, he tells me that Sony says that one of the devices is "out-of-warranty and can't be updated" or that they want $100 to do it. Does this make sense to you guys? Sony's warranty was only a year on these, and I don't know of any PRS-500s that would still be in warranty given that timeframe. Nothing on the site mentions the device needing to be in warranty to submit for an update. Help???

I believe that the "out-of-warranty" statement is standard for the form letter they send. I know in my case it was. Since this is advertised as free, and is not a warranty repair, all that should be necessary is to print out the free shipping label and send the unit (s) in. I know that's what I did.

bassoprofundo · 11-17-2009, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeneS

I believe that the "out-of-warranty" statement is standard for the form letter they send. I know in my case it was. Since this is advertised as free, and is not a warranty repair, all that should be necessary is to print out the free shipping label and send the unit (s) in. I know that's what I did.

I hope it's just a stock response. From what I gather, though, he got one of the same emails others have been getting on one of the requests. The other straight-up said it'd be $99 for the service. He's checking into it... If anyone else gets a similar response, please post your experience.

frank10 · 11-17-2009, 04:07 PM

i went to do the upgrade and the shipping label didn't appear properly. anyone else have trouble with the shipping label?

wyldkit · 11-17-2009, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frank10

i went to do the upgrade and the shipping label didn't appear properly. anyone else have trouble with the shipping label?

Yep. Call Sony: 866-962-7669. They'll email you the label. I got mine pretty quickly, even though they said it would take 24 hours.

EatingPie · 11-17-2009, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akumag2

I find the upgrade insulting though, the pocket edition is pants, the only good thing is the better gray scale, there is no expandable memory doesnt play music or pictures, its horrible, and the touch Ive seen a few of them and the screens are harder to read than the 500, they look washed out.

At Target on Saturday, I did a side-by-side comparison of my PRS-500, the PRS-300 and the PRS-600.

The 300 was heads and shoulders sharper by miles and higher contrast than my 500. It really made my 500 show its age.

So if you think the screen on the 300 is "washed out," I would bet dollars to donuts you saw a lemon of a 300. You should go to a different store and check it out again... with 500 in hand! The 300 is the sharpest Reader I've ever seen!

Quote:

I wish they had offered a refurb 505 instead, I got my wife one for less than $10 when Circuit City closed down and I must say her's is much easier to read than my 500.

Score!

Quote:

But on the other hand I find the button layout on the 500 better than all the other version of the reader that came out, I wish they would just upgrade the screen.

Now this one, I am with you all the way!! WTF were they thinking changing the button layout? It was great on the 500, and the 300/600 have much less comfortable button positioning. This is the single biggest strike against the 300 IMHO.

-Pie

EatingPie · 11-17-2009, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrMoze

Also, will the upgraded 500 NOT be able to read lrf/lrx files? I converted books in several other formats TO lrf because it displays well (justification and all). Inability to read lrf on the upgraded 500 would be a dealbreaker too.

No Russian on the upgraded 500 would be a dealbreaker for me. Does anyone know about this yet?

All the readers, AFAIK, still understand LRF/LRX format. That may changed in the future, but I doubt they'll remove LRF support with the upgrade. (No idea on the Russian.)

Still, better safe than sorry, so I wait...

-Pie

grimo1re · 11-17-2009, 08:54 PM

Hmmm, I could prevail upon the kindness of the MR community to get my reader upgraded...but it'll still cost a bit in postage. I'm wanting to buy a new reader (have been for a while but bills keep jostling for funds) so then I'll be giving this one to the husband. I guess I'd better check what he wants then

Anyway, voted 'not sure'.

ould · 11-17-2009, 09:50 PM

Has anyone from Canada called Sony to see if we are eligible for this update? I tried to fill out the form but it wouldn't take a Canadian Postal Code. I don't see why we would be excluded, the difference in shipping cost shouldn't be too much. I still enjoy using my 500 and have toyed with the idea of upgrading but really haven't been able to justify it so far. EPUB support would be great.

I may call Sony tomorrow if I have time and see what the low down is, unless someone has already called.

Kevin

vinniet · 11-17-2009, 10:46 PM

Does anyone know if there will be problem with Calibre with this updated PRS-500? Right now I convert everything to lrx format, does Calibre convert to epub? Do you see any problem since everything I read is from Calibre.

Thanks!

EatingPie · 11-18-2009, 06:11 AM

Nobody has verified the PRS-500 update keeps LRF/LRX, but every Sony Reader on the market handles LRF. There really is no reason for them to remove LRF capability.

Similarly I do not expect PDF and TXT support to be removed either!

If they do remove LRF, that's crummy because it works so much better than ePUB on the Reader (headers and justification).

-Pie

Stu Segal · 11-18-2009, 07:46 AM

On October 12, thinking Sony was never going to upgrade my PRS-500, I purchased a PRS-600 Touch so I could have access to the new formats.

Thinking this was what I was going to have to use, I ignored the fact that the touchscreen has way more glare than the PRS-500, that the navigation is horrible, that the clock (which I thought would be a nice feature) was always several clicks away when reading and that unless very careful the touchscreen would show fingerprints. I also ignored the reality that the book really can't be read "one-handed" as well as the original, as the page advance button is not well located so you really need to use the touchscreen which cannot be done with the hand holding the book. In short, the PRS-600 was a real disappointment (except the dictionary, which is cool).

After getting the firmware letter I called Sony Style; they wouldn't allow me to return the PRS-600 as it was over a month old. BUT, after bringing in both the email and a printout of the Sony website footnoting that the PRS-500 was not compatible, and insisting that Sony forced me to buy a new reader, THEN released the firmware update, they allowed the return.

So now I will happily send off my PRS-500. My advice - don't go for the Touch if you upgrade (we also recently bought a PRS-300 Pocket Edition, and it does not have the screen glare problem that the Touch has).

frank10 · 11-18-2009, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wyldkit

Yep. Call Sony: 866-962-7669. They'll email you the label. I got mine pretty quickly, even though they said it would take 24 hours.

I called and they are processing my label request. Decent customer service.

I also stopped at a staples and looked at the 300 and 600. Both turn pages much faster and would be nice. But, all in all, the prs-500 works fine so I'm going to upgrade it and stick with it.

igorsk · 11-18-2009, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ould

Has anyone from Canada called Sony to see if we are eligible for this update? I tried to fill out the form but it wouldn't take a Canadian Postal Code. I don't see why we would be excluded, the difference in shipping cost shouldn't be too much.

PRS-500 was not officially sold in Canada.

frank10 · 11-18-2009, 12:50 PM

how long are the firmware upgrades taking? I'm wondering if I should wait until after the thanksgiving holiday.

View Poll Results: Will you use Sony's offer with your PRS-500?
Send in my PRS-500 for a free ePub upgrade (free shipping)	78	53.06%
Trade-in for a Reader Pocket Edition at $50 off	3	2.04%
Trade-in for a Reader Touch Edition for $75 off	10	6.80%
Do nothing - I like my PRS-500 just the way it is	24	16.33%
Not sure yet	32	21.77%
Voters: 147. You may not vote on this poll

11-17-2009, 04:07 PM	#49
frank10 Member Posts: 14 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2007 Device: psp-500	upgrade i went to do the upgrade and the shipping label didn't appear properly. anyone else have trouble with the shipping label?

11-18-2009, 07:46 AM	#57
Stu Segal Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Just outside NYC Device: Prs-T1 PRS-300 PRS-505 PRS-500	Don't trade! On October 12, thinking Sony was never going to upgrade my PRS-500, I purchased a PRS-600 Touch so I could have access to the new formats. Thinking this was what I was going to have to use, I ignored the fact that the touchscreen has way more glare than the PRS-500, that the navigation is horrible, that the clock (which I thought would be a nice feature) was always several clicks away when reading and that unless very careful the touchscreen would show fingerprints. I also ignored the reality that the book really can't be read "one-handed" as well as the original, as the page advance button is not well located so you really need to use the touchscreen which cannot be done with the hand holding the book. In short, the PRS-600 was a real disappointment (except the dictionary, which is cool). After getting the firmware letter I called Sony Style; they wouldn't allow me to return the PRS-600 as it was over a month old. BUT, after bringing in both the email and a printout of the Sony website footnoting that the PRS-500 was not compatible, and insisting that Sony forced me to buy a new reader, THEN released the firmware update, they allowed the return. So now I will happily send off my PRS-500. My advice - don't go for the Touch if you upgrade (we also recently bought a PRS-300 Pocket Edition, and it does not have the screen glare problem that the Touch has).

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
sony offer trade in $ for psr-500 or firmware update	sajje	Sony Reader	1	11-17-2009 08:32 AM
Sony Trade-In Program for 500 Owners	tmac	Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links)	1	06-24-2009 04:53 PM
PRS-500 Trade-in	ChrisI	Sony Reader	2	12-23-2008 11:11 PM
Any update on "About the recent PRS-500 Trade In Offer"	Maui Mallards	Sony Reader	6	08-29-2008 08:32 PM
About the recent PRS-500 Trade In Offer	Nate the great	Sony Reader	1	08-08-2008 09:26 AM

11-17-2009, 12:32 PM	#46
GeneS eBook Enthusiast Posts: 120 Karma: 726 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: US Device: Sony PRS-350, Astak PocketPro, iPhone, Asus eee Pad Transformer	Well, I sent my PRS500 off to the Texas repair facility today. Let's see how long and how troublesome the process is. Hopefully, it will be updated and returned within the 14 day (or so) timeframe they mention. Printing out the UPS shipping label was uneventful if you ignore the fact that it wasn't until the 5th try that I realized that I had to turn off the pop-up blocker on my browser before the shipping label could be sent to me. I read, with interest, the comments above regarding the 500's virtues and shortcomings. Shortcomings or not, I feel compelled to state that it does what I want in a reader. I would have liked to see this update also include the ability to create folders, but since I have never had more than 100 (or so) books on the reader at any one time, it's not a major problem.

11-17-2009, 08:54 PM	#53
grimo1re Geekette Posts: 435 Karma: 3335 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: NSW, Australia Device: Sony Reader PRS500, PocketBook 360	Hmmm, I could prevail upon the kindness of the MR community to get my reader upgraded...but it'll still cost a bit in postage. I'm wanting to buy a new reader (have been for a while but bills keep jostling for funds) so then I'll be giving this one to the husband. I guess I'd better check what he wants then Anyway, voted 'not sure'.

11-17-2009, 09:50 PM	#54
ould Zealot Posts: 100 Karma: 1000399 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Toronto, Ontario Device: Sony PRS-500	Has anyone from Canada called Sony to see if we are eligible for this update? I tried to fill out the form but it wouldn't take a Canadian Postal Code. I don't see why we would be excluded, the difference in shipping cost shouldn't be too much. I still enjoy using my 500 and have toyed with the idea of upgrading but really haven't been able to justify it so far. EPUB support would be great. I may call Sony tomorrow if I have time and see what the low down is, unless someone has already called. Kevin

11-17-2009, 10:46 PM	#55
vinniet Connoisseur Posts: 59 Karma: 97 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: New Jersey Device: Sony PRS-500	Does anyone know if there will be problem with Calibre with this updated PRS-500? Right now I convert everything to lrx format, does Calibre convert to epub? Do you see any problem since everything I read is from Calibre. Thanks!

11-18-2009, 06:11 AM	#56
EatingPie Blueberry! Posts: 888 Karma: 133343 Join Date: Mar 2007 Device: Sony PRS-500 (RIP); PRS-600 (Good Riddance); PRS-505; PRS-650; PRS-350	Nobody has verified the PRS-500 update keeps LRF/LRX, but every Sony Reader on the market handles LRF. There really is no reason for them to remove LRF capability. Similarly I do not expect PDF and TXT support to be removed either! If they do remove LRF, that's crummy because it works so much better than ePUB on the Reader (headers and justification). -Pie

11-18-2009, 12:50 PM	#60
frank10 Member Posts: 14 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2007 Device: psp-500	how long are the firmware upgrades taking? I'm wondering if I should wait until after the thanksgiving holiday.

Advert

Advert