I have no disagreement with the following:
I treated my 505 well (no abuse)
It doesn't work
Sony assessed the display to be cracked
I completely disagree with the fact that Sony assumes I abused it and that the crack was caused by something other than normal use. If a product fails under normal use during the warranty period I believe that the customer shouldn't be forced to pay for the repair. I feel that charging $270 to repair a $300 reader is outrageous.
Let's say I buy a new car for $30,000. I drive it for a month and the engine fails. The service technician decides that the engine block has cracked and that this delicate part was likely broken because I must have driven it improperly. They believe that I caused the engine to crack by driving the car. If I want it repaired, they will charge me $27,000 to do so.
I suppose that this analogy will also fail to help you understand my situation, but go ahead and repeat your opinion again for the 3rd or 4th time.
PCH