PRS-500 Who still uses a 500 without ePub capability

JSWolf · 12-24-2014, 06:04 PM

Who still uses a 500 that was not upgraded to support ePub back when Sony made the offer?

Bookworm_Girl · 12-27-2014, 01:44 PM

Interesting question. I wonder how many people still use a 500 at all. I traded mine in at the Sony store for a $100 credit on a 505. That 505 is still in use in my household.

JSWolf · 12-27-2014, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

Interesting question. I wonder how many people still use a 500 at all. I traded mine in at the Sony store for a $100 credit on a 505. That 505 is still in use in my household.

The reason I am asking and put up the poll is to find out if we still need to support LRF eBooks (for any newly uploaded eBooks).

Sony Readers past the 500 support ePub and The T series stopped LRF support. So really, most people using Sony Readers can get away with just ePub. I know I updated my 500 (which I gave to my Mother-in-Law) to ePub. I traded it in to replace it with a T1 when the T1 was first on sale and the trade-in was going on.

Pablo · 12-27-2014, 03:35 PM

Bear in mind that the PRS-505 didn't support ePub out of the box, you had to perform a firmware upgrade to add ePub support.

JSWolf · 12-27-2014, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pablo

Bear in mind that the PRS-505 didn't support ePub out of the box, you had to perform a firmware upgrade to add ePub support.

But that's different. The 505's firmware with ePub is able to be applied by the user. The 500 had to be sent to Sony to be updated.

Bookworm_Girl · 12-27-2014, 10:35 PM

From posts I've read in the past, some 505 users seemed to prefer LRF even if they could upgrade to ePub on their own without sending it in.

JSWolf · 12-28-2014, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

From posts I've read in the past, some 505 users seemed to prefer LRF even if they could upgrade to ePub on their own without sending it in.

You can upgrade to ePub on a 505 with just a simple firmware update. That is if it's not already ePub capable.

But, they can still read ePub on a 505. I'm just asking how many with a Sony Reader have no capability to view ePub. That means just 500 users who have not upgraded.

AprilHare · 01-25-2015, 01:04 AM

My PRS500 got the EPub upgrade. The screen died though.
I'd suggest that there may not be many left - but there is LRF content people can convert.

Dr. Drib · 01-25-2015, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

From posts I've read in the past, some 505 users seemed to prefer LRF even if they could upgrade to ePub on their own without sending it in.

That was my general impression, at that time, as well.

'We' 505 owners loved LRF (LRX) too much.

We didn't want to switch.

hansl · 01-27-2015, 07:55 AM

I still have a PRS-500 but after a replacement battery died I gave up

and moved to a T3S

.
I never cared much if lrf was not available as long as epub or mobi was available but calibred epubs or mobi to lrf.
A bigger annoyance was that I couldn't access the internal memory of the 500 anymore from a PC from Windows 7 on. Not even with Calibre. No drivers available for Windows 7 without the firmware upgrade. I'm not sure, however, if the upgrade fixed this problem. I fixed it with XP in a VirtualBox on a Windows 7 host. Another option was to ignore internal memory and use SD-cards.

Happy New Year,
hansl

JSWolf · 01-27-2015, 10:19 AM

So basically, LRF is dead. No real need to upload LRF here in the eBook section.

rem736 · 01-28-2015, 05:09 PM

i purchased a 500 when they first came out, traded up for a 505, then gave away the 505 after getting a 950, purchased 3 more from other manufacturers, bought a t2, sold the 950, and re-acquired a 500 with a dead battery (got the 2nd 500 upgraded by sony and swapped out the dead battery myself for an aftermarket battery).

the 500 is fully working but i hardly use it. i just want to keep it because, to me, it's the first mass market ereader produced for the u.s. market. i just want to keep it as a museum piece. if i feel nostalgic enough, i still have a dvd full of lrfs i can load onto it.

View Poll Results: If you use a 500, does it support ePub
Yes, my 500 supports ePub	2	50.00%
No, my 500 does not support ePub	2	50.00%
Voters: 4. You may not vote on this poll

12-24-2014, 06:04 PM	#1
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,687 Karma: 145864619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Who still uses a 500 without ePub capability Who still uses a 500 that was not upgraded to support ePub back when Sony made the offer?

01-27-2015, 07:55 AM	#10
hansl Zealot Posts: 112 Karma: 113786 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Germany Device: Sony PRS-T3S, CoolReader on 4'' Android phone	lrf not really needed I still have a PRS-500 but after a replacement battery died I gave up and moved to a T3S . I never cared much if lrf was not available as long as epub or mobi was available but calibred epubs or mobi to lrf. A bigger annoyance was that I couldn't access the internal memory of the 500 anymore from a PC from Windows 7 on. Not even with Calibre. No drivers available for Windows 7 without the firmware upgrade. I'm not sure, however, if the upgrade fixed this problem. I fixed it with XP in a VirtualBox on a Windows 7 host. Another option was to ignore internal memory and use SD-cards. Happy New Year, hansl Last edited by hansl; 01-27-2015 at 09:40 AM.

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12-27-2014, 01:44 PM	#2
Bookworm_Girl E-reader Enthusiast Posts: 4,873 Karma: 36536965 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southwest, USA Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5	Interesting question. I wonder how many people still use a 500 at all. I traded mine in at the Sony store for a $100 credit on a 505. That 505 is still in use in my household.

12-27-2014, 03:35 PM	#4
Pablo Guru Posts: 972 Karma: 4999999 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Rosario, Argentina Device: SONY PRS-T2, Kindle Paperwhite 11th gen	Bear in mind that the PRS-505 didn't support ePub out of the box, you had to perform a firmware upgrade to add ePub support.

12-27-2014, 10:35 PM	#6
Bookworm_Girl E-reader Enthusiast Posts: 4,873 Karma: 36536965 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southwest, USA Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5	From posts I've read in the past, some 505 users seemed to prefer LRF even if they could upgrade to ePub on their own without sending it in.

01-25-2015, 01:04 AM	#8
AprilHare Wizard Posts: 2,981 Karma: 11862367 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Sony Reader PRS-T2	My PRS500 got the EPub upgrade. The screen died though. I'd suggest that there may not be many left - but there is LRF content people can convert.

01-27-2015, 10:19 AM	#11
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,687 Karma: 145864619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	So basically, LRF is dead. No real need to upload LRF here in the eBook section.

01-28-2015, 05:09 PM	#12
rem736 purpose priority passion Posts: 645 Karma: 9002000 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: socal, usa Device: sony prs-350, b&n ngp, rM2, kindle scribe, boox poke5	i purchased a 500 when they first came out, traded up for a 505, then gave away the 505 after getting a 950, purchased 3 more from other manufacturers, bought a t2, sold the 950, and re-acquired a 500 with a dead battery (got the 2nd 500 upgraded by sony and swapped out the dead battery myself for an aftermarket battery). the 500 is fully working but i hardly use it. i just want to keep it because, to me, it's the first mass market ereader produced for the u.s. market. i just want to keep it as a museum piece. if i feel nostalgic enough, i still have a dvd full of lrfs i can load onto it.

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