Sony Reader outside US

[HarryT]

Sounds as if they've changed the system - it didn't used to be possible to do that. Good news that you now can!

[sanfel]

I've got my Sony Reader. My friend bought it for me and brought it to Argentina, as she was coming to visit her family.
The first impression is very good. What worries me a bit is that I'm so impressed by the gadget itself that I can't really concentrate on what I'm reading on the reader (1984, which comes with the Reader)... This doesn't happen when I read on paper... But I suppose it will go away as time goes by...

Thanks to Wizard-mag and KEN-ID, and everyone else for your help...

[Wizard-mag]

Originally Posted by sanfel

I've got my Sony Reader. My friend bought it for me and brought it to Argentina, as she was coming to visit her family.
The first impression is very good. What worries me a bit is that I'm so impressed by the gadget itself that I can't really concentrate on what I'm reading on the reader (1984, which comes with the Reader)... This doesn't happen when I read on paper... But I suppose it will go away as time goes by...

Please do share more feedback if you can. As it seems that we share more reading habits in common, it would be very valuable to me in gaging the value of the Reader for me and my purposes.

[sanfel]

Originally Posted by Wizard-mag

Please do share more feedback if you can. As it seems that we share more reading habits in common, it would be very valuable to me in gaging the value of the Reader for me and my purposes.

i will share feedback as soon as I can install the software and start transferring documents from my PC. I mean, I could install it now, but the thing is that I tried to charge the battery of the Reader (when I first took it out of the box, the charge indicator read 3 squares out of the 4)... So, I plugged it to an outlet and, as indicated, a very tiny red light turned on, but 2hours later, the red light turned off, so I supposed it was already fully charged... but when I turned on the reader, the indicator read 2 squares (sorry, i can't find the exact word.. )... So, after a while I plugged it again and exactly the same happened. i don't know if it's a problem with the AC cord or with the little adapter that was in my house (not a power adapter, but just an a kind of plug with differently shaped-pins - here in Argentina the shape of the pins is different).
Maybe I could install it anyway and use it up until the battery is empty...

¿Has anyone experienced something similar?

Anyway, I start reading Orwell's 1984 and of course, the Operation Guide... Really, it's like having a sheet of paper under the screen... I really like it, and especially because it doesn't cause eye strain.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by sanfel

but the thing is that I tried to charge the battery of the Reader (when I first took it out of the box, the charge indicator read 3 squares out of the 4)... So, I plugged it to an outlet and, as indicated, a very tiny red light turned on, but 2hours later, the red light turned off, so I supposed it was already fully charged... but when I turned on the reader, the indicator read 2 squares (sorry, i can't find the exact word.. )... So, after a while I plugged it again and exactly the same happened. i don't know if it's a problem with the AC cord or with the little adapter that was in my house (not a power adapter, but just an a kind of plug with differently shaped-pins - here in Argentina the shape of the pins is different).

Don't worry about it - you've just got the version of the firmware with a bug in the battery meter; the fact that the red light above the power switch is coming on shows that it's charging.

All you have to do to make the battery meter read correctly is to momentarily connect the wall charger with the Reader turned on. The battery meter will immediately jump to "full".

Upgrading your Reader to the latest version of the firmware will fix the problem.

[bouncer]

Hi,

I got my sony 2 days ago and I bought it from ebay (usashop24).
It is my first eink reader (firmware Ver. 1.0.00.21081, should I update it?) and I am very pleased with it.

Reading is fun and because of the fair grey display I need less additional light in the evening compared with my old PDA (Casio pocketviewer).

Reading the threads in this forum I thought the page turns would be very slow but in my case that's not true.
Testing the reader with RTF-Files generated by MS-Word I had some problems (Reader freezed).
When I converted them to lrf with bookdesigner everything was fine.

It is remarkable that I can read read now much longer because of less eye strain.


bouncer

[HarryT]

You have the very original firmware - you should certainly update it. The original firmware had major problems with display of RTF files which were fixed in later releases.

[sanfel]

Thanks a lot, Harry T... I did as you said, and the porblem's fixed... I also updated the firmware, so i guess there will be no problems about that in the future...

As to the experience with the Reader, I really enjoy it... For me, the number one advantage of the Sony Reader is the e-ink screen. This is completely new to me, I had never seen something like this before...
Then, there is the fainting image issue that someone in this forum has mentioned... For me, it's not a drawback. On the contrary, it gives the reading experience a more realistic flavour, since it feels like having the page you've just read before directly underneath the one you're reading now (imagining the paper is not completely opaque)...

Well, I'm glad I came across this forum, it's really helpful...

Cheers

[ebookworm]

Are Ebay sellers reliable for shipping an ebook reader abroad? I am planning to buy one as a gift for a friend and do not have much experience with Ebay.

[HarryT]

Go for a seller with good feedback and you'll be fine.

[gingercat]

Originally Posted by ebookworm

Are Ebay sellers reliable for shipping an ebook reader abroad? I am planning to buy one as a gift for a friend and do not have much experience with Ebay.

Try B&H http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

that's where I got mine and they were quite happy to ship it half way across the world as well

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by gingercat

Try B&H http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

that's where I got mine and they were quite happy to ship it half way across the world as well

But I do suggest waiting. Supposedly a new model the PRS505 is coming out in Silver and Navy Blue in October sometime. I'll know when it's available as I'm going to keep a watch at the local SonyStyle shop.

[NetVicious]

Originally Posted by ebookworm

Are Ebay sellers reliable for shipping an ebook reader abroad? I am planning to buy one as a gift for a friend and do not have much experience with Ebay.

I bought two within ebay with no problem. You could check the votes (see how much negative votes has in total, this month, ...) of the seller and search in his vote history if he is selling often Sony Readers.

You should read the entire bid slowly because some of they write one thing on the title or description and on the rest of the text they say other thing.

[Ofoghlu]

I found no problem with Ebay once you check the sellers feedback rating. Great buy noway to buy directly.

df

[gingercat]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But I do suggest waiting. Supposedly a new model the PRS505 is coming out in Silver and Navy Blue in October sometime. I'll know when it's available as I'm going to keep a watch at the local SonyStyle shop.

I had a quick read about the new model & it seems to me they've haven't done anything to improve the old model except change some cosmetics and add a bit more RAM. The amount of RAM was never a problem anyway.