PRS-950 PRS-950 With Lighted Cover Arrived

[Richwood]

I just got a PRS-950 with the Sony factory lighted cover. Got from Seattle Goodwill via a ebay listing for $45 + shipping. 16 bids so surprised it went so inexpensively. None of the photos showed the lighted cover clearly so surprised to get it. Makes for a large ebook reader as cased it is 6" wide and 8" high, larger than I expected. A bit larger than the cased Kobo Aura One. Battery on this one seems to be in very good shape as it arrived showing all 4 bars of battery charge and I doubt they would have charged it immediately prior to packing.

Did have to rebuild the file structure as memory was wiped clean including manuals and photos it normally came with. Fortunately I had all of them.

[FizzyWater]

Congratulations! I always preferred the 350 and 650, but I know people who loved the 950 have wished it was still available for sale.

[Richwood]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

Congratulations! I always preferred the 350 and 650, but I know people who loved the 950 have wished it was still available for sale.

I have those too plus the T1, T2 and T3. All the final 4 generations of the Sony consumer ebook readers.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Richwood

I just got a PRS-950 with the Sony factory lighted cover. Got from Seattle Goodwill via a ebay listing for $45 + shipping. 16 bids so surprised it went so inexpensively. ...

I was following that one, forgot about it, came back after it was sold and was surprised at how cheaply it went. I was more interested in the cover than in the 950 but really wasn't in the bidding mode anyhow. Congratulations!

[Richwood]

Did Sony ever offer the 950 in any colors? All I have seen are silver finish. I really like the red finish they offered on many models. I have red T1, T2 and 600 models.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Richwood

Did Sony ever offer the 950 in any colors? All I have seen are silver finish. I really like the red finish they offered on many models. I have red T1, T2 and 600 models.

According to this press release (November, 2010) it looks like it only came in silver. The last bullet point ...

It is available in silver and retails currently for about $299

http://www.sonyrumors.net/2010/11/09...ion-prs-950sc/

[Richwood]

Originally Posted by rcentros

According to this press release (November, 2010) it looks like it only came in silver. The last bullet point ...

http://www.sonyrumors.net/2010/11/09...ion-prs-950sc/

Too bad as I consider the red metal cased Sony readers some of the most attractive readers ever made. Silver not too bad either though. The lighted case PRS-950 is still showing a full battery charge 5 days after charging it so seems to have a quite good battery that is holding charge well.

A red PRS-650 should be on the way shortly. Won it Sunday for $33.27 + reasonable shipping of $6.40. Need a original case for it.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Richwood

A red PRS-650 should be on the way shortly. Won it Sunday for $33.27 + reasonable shipping of $6.40. Need a original case for it.

I should have figured.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Richwood

The lighted case PRS-950 is still showing a full battery charge 5 days after charging it so seems to have a quite good battery that is holding charge well.

All of my Sonys have (had) good batteries. That's pretty impressive, considering that the 505s are close to ten years old now. Sony definitely built in more quality in these Readers than did their competition.

[Richwood]

Originally Posted by rcentros

All of my Sonys have (had) good batteries. That's pretty impressive, considering that the 505s are close to ten years old now. Sony definitely built in more quality in these Readers than did their competition.

Too bad that their marketing and innovation sucked compared to Amazon IMO. Amazon's direct purchase and download of books independent of a computer from day one gave them a major market advantage IMO. Sony using a DRM method that required separate steps for getting DRM approval for the computer and reader did not help either. Amazon made the Kindle book purchasing interface much more user friendly once the reader or application was registered. They followed the KISS principle for the customer.

After one attempt Sony dropped integral screen illumination, did not have a 6" reader with integral wi-fi until the T1 and always sold at a premium price compared to many Kindle models. They had touch screens earlier but the first generations had very poor contrast. I do not say Amazon was perfect but from the customer standpoint had a more user friendly interface IMO. That seems to have made a huge difference in their success.

BTW I have never had a failed Kindle battery either. Have models back to the K1.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Richwood

After one attempt Sony dropped integral screen illumination, did not have a 6" reader with integral wi-fi until the T1 and always sold at a premium price compared to many Kindle models. They had touch screens earlier but the first generations had very poor contrast. I do not say Amazon was perfect but from the customer standpoint had a more user friendly interface IMO. That seems to have made a huge difference in their success.

BTW I have never had a failed Kindle battery either. Have models back to the K1.

Amazon certainly did make it simple. And Sony didn't subsidize their devices in the hopes of bringing in book sales. But this was a bad time for Sony. It's about the time they closed down whole Consumer Electronic divisions, including their PC and Laptop divisions. So they weren't really in a good position to compete heavily (or innovate heavily) with a niche market like their Sony Readers. Shame, I think, because their Readers (in my opinion) had (have) the highest build quality.

Of all the eReaders I've bought, I've had three bad batteries. One on a Nook Simple Touch (incredibly easy to replace) and two Kindle Keyboards (more difficult to open cleanly). The one Kindle's battery was so swollen that (I believe) the pressure broke the substrate of the screen so – currently – I have one Kindle Keyboard without a battery or a good screen. I'll probably fix it, but it probably doesn't make much sense with a billion Kindle Keyboards constantly available on Shop Goodwill for about $20 with shipping. The other I was able to replace the battery and it kicked right in and started working. So far I haven't had single bad battery on a Sony. (I'm not running down Kindle's build quality either, I just think Sony's was better, at least until the T1.)

[Richwood]

I have been checking the battery power retention on this one. Charged the battery fully when it arrived and then just left the unit on my desk, with standby to off enabled. Powered up occasionally to check the charge. After a month the battery indicator is still showing 3 out of 4 bars of charge so the battery should still retain over 50% to 75% charge. Battery on this one is IMO in excellent shape for a 7 to 8 year old reader.

[graycyn]

Originally Posted by Richwood

I have been checking the battery power retention on this one. Charged the battery fully when it arrived and then just left the unit on my desk, with standby to off enabled. Powered up occasionally to check the charge. After a month the battery indicator is still showing 3 out of 4 bars of charge so the battery should still retain over 50% to 75% charge. Battery on this one is IMO in excellent shape for a 7 to 8 year old reader.

Although I need to get busy and sell off a few Sonys including my 950, I've not noticed any issues with battery life. I check them monthly, charge as needed, and in general they've done far better than my Kindles in this regard. Well-made devices!

I was testing an epub on my T2 yesterday, and I'd actually forgotten to check it for maybe a couple months, because it had gotten buried on my desk, but dang little battery drop. I was pleasantly surprised!


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