Got a PRS-950 today

[Mr. Goodbar]

I just checked availability and all the stores in my area are showing it as available. It's also really surprising that it's in silver since all the initial reports indicated it would only be in black once it started shipping. I might have to run out and pick one up.

[wn0x]

A friend and I picked ours up two days ago (10/22) at our local Best Buy.

I was signed up on the Sony site to receive notifications and didn't get a thing - nada.

When my buddy called to say they were available I didn't believe him as I had been in the BB that afternoon, and only the PRS350s and the older 600s and 900s were on display.

He had looked up the local BB store on the Internet and saw that they were "available".

The rumors are true. Pictures available on request.

Rich

Strange, Best Buy website still shows it as Backordered as of Oct 24.:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+R...&skuId=1238487

It also shows "Ship to Store" for availability on all the stores in my area, which means none of them should have it in stock. It wouldn't be the first time that the Bst Buy website was incorrectly showing items out of stock.

Silver is crappy though. I had to get a silver 350 with chrome plated buttons. Definitely not ideal for outside as the case is to darn reflective of sunlight. I was hoping they would release a black one like the 900.

[Mr. Goodbar]

Just picked one up as well. They had to dig around in the back for it, but they finally found it. It does come with a micro USB cable and a micro USB charger, but no cover.

[doctj]

Originally Posted by Latinandgreek

Wow, I am green with envy
What extras did the 950 come with, if any? Covers, adapters...?

Only a micro usb cable and wall plug, a cover would've been nice but will pick that up shortly.
In response to another post, word look up with wikipedia does work as advertised. Won't let my kids know that, since I always tell them it's not a peer reviewed source of information.

[Wetdogeared]

Originally Posted by doctj

Only a micro usb cable and wall plug, a cover would've been nice but will pick that up shortly.
In response to another post, word look up with wikipedia does work as advertised. Won't let my kids know that, since I always tell them it's not a peer reviewed source of information.

The Wikipedia search is available when connected to Wi-Fi. See manual page 84.

A word or text can be searched for using Wikipedia
(only when connected to a Wi-Fi network).

Sorry for being skeptical at first, but we get a lot of trolls and pranksters, and the websites still show it unavailable. My guess is that some BB stores started selling them before they were supposed to. I'm sure those who pre-ordered from Sony will be upset that BB has them in stock before they get their pre-ordered 950 from Sony!

Glad you folks got your 950s. I had a 900 and really liked it except the screen was too difficult to read. But since I've got my 350 and a K3 I'm good to go! The 950 is a good design, but I personally would only want one for PDF viewing. Unfortunately, I know from experience that PDFs on the 900 were not very readable, nor were they on the Kindle DXG I used to have. Those eInk screens will never work well with PDFs, but then nothing does as PDFs were designed to be printed. So there is little incentive for me to buy a 950 especially since they no longer come with a replaceable battery and cover. I also know from experience that the 3G radios on Sony and Kindle readers are pretty useless in my area as AT&T has really sucky coverage here.

As far as Wikipedia my rule of thumb is to never trust it without verifying the info elsewhere. Wikipedia has a reputation for being unreliable since we never know how competent the source writer is.

[eriksnoopy]

whats up with some of the photos on bestbuy having an old style home button? yet still clearly being rather the new model than the old 900

[doctj]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Sorry for being skeptical at first, but we get a lot of trolls and pranksters, and the websites still show it unavailable. My guess is that some BB stores started selling them before they were supposed to. I'm sure those who pre-ordered from Sony will be upset that BB has them in stock before they get their pre-ordered 950 from Sony!

Glad you folks got your 950s. I had a 900 and really liked it except the screen was too difficult to read. But since I've got my 350 and a K3 I'm good to go! The 950 is a good design, but I personally would only want one for PDF viewing. Unfortunately, I know from experience that PDFs on the 900 were not very readable, nor were they on the Kindle DXG I used to have. Those eInk screens will never work well with PDFs, but then nothing does as PDFs were designed to be printed. So there is little incentive for me to buy a 950 especially since they no longer come with a replaceable battery and cover. I also know from experience that the 3G radios on Sony and Kindle readers are pretty useless in my area as AT&T has really sucky coverage here.

As far as Wikipedia my rule of thumb is to never trust it without verifying the info elsewhere. Wikipedia has a reputation for being unreliable since we never know how competent the source writer is.

For PDF viewing, the ipad is probably the best device but I just don't like the weight of the device. I think the 950 comes a close second and is satisfying my requirements currently. I have pretty good 3g coverage in my area, so I'll use it occasionally.

[NNolan]

I just got back from one of the local Best Buy stores. Although their inventory computer says all 3 local stores each have 2 PRS-950s, they actually have nothing. I had 3 saleskids looking in locked cages and back in the stockroom for over half an hour with no luck. Then they spent another 20 minutes on the phone with the other 2 stores, also no luck. Oh well, maybe next weekend...

I just got back from my local BB. I needed a small camera bag. I decided to check out their Sony reader display since it had been a couple of weeks since I was last there. They had a 300, 600, and 900 on display. No Sony readers of any model for sell though. An assortment of 300 and 600 covers most with the boxes torn. No sign of the 350, 650, or 950. Not even a poster with a picture! Two weeks ago at least they had 350s.

And no luck on the camera bag either. They did finally have Kindles and covers both in stock. A few crappy Nooks too.

[Abisha]

I thought I would share my experience. Like many I've been a bit excited about the prospect of upgrading my 505. This afternoon I navigated to Bestbuy.com and learned that they claimed to have a PRS-950 in stock and available for pickup from a local Bestbuy store about 2 miles from my home. I placed the order with no trouble. Shortly after I placed the order I received a follow-up email stating they were unable to find the product available in their store.

I was instructed to call a 1-800 customer service number. The customer service representative was polite, albeit completely useless. He first explained that he could not understand why I received the email, because in fact his terminal showed my order was placed successfully, and the product was ready for pickup. He suspected there was a stocking error, he then attempted to locate a product from another store, which he was unable to do. He then attempted to modify the order so that as soon as the product was located it would be shipped to my residence, again he failed to succeed in his task. I then decided to call the store directly.

As it turns out, all of the Bestbuy stores in my area were shipped '1' unit. I was told I would not be billed for the product and that there was an inventory error. They weren't even willing to ship me the product when it becomes available because they have no clue when they will even receive their first shipment.

[doctj]

Originally Posted by hopkinsenglish

Crazy. In what city was the Best Buy located?

Pm'd you.

[GhostDreamer]

Congrats on your PRS950! Hopefully you can get clearer pics posted later! Originally I wanted a 950 for the extra inch screen but couldn't hold out and got myself the 650 - still absolutely love it though! Enjoy using your new ereader.

[Mr. Goodbar]

Originally Posted by Abisha

I thought I would share my experience. Like many I've been a bit excited about the prospect of upgrading my 505. This afternoon I navigated to Bestbuy.com and learned that they claimed to have a PRS-950 in stock and available for pickup from a local Bestbuy store about 2 miles from my home. I placed the order with no trouble. Shortly after I placed the order I received a follow-up email stating they were unable to find the product available in their store.

I was instructed to call a 1-800 customer service number. The customer service representative was polite, albeit completely useless. He first explained that he could not understand why I received the email, because in fact his terminal showed my order was placed successfully, and the product was ready for pickup. He suspected there was a stocking error, he then attempted to locate a product from another store, which he was unable to do. He then attempted to modify the order so that as soon as the product was located it would be shipped to my residence, again he failed to succeed in his task. I then decided to call the store directly.

As it turns out, all of the Bestbuy stores in my area were shipped '1' unit. I was told I would not be billed for the product and that there was an inventory error. They weren't even willing to ship me the product when it becomes available because they have no clue when they will even receive their first shipment.

It's definitely a little strange. The one I went to showed two in stock and the head of that department was certain they didn't have any. I forced them to check their system which showed two in stock. They went in the back to look for them and finally found them, but the person told me they were not where they were supposed to be. He indicated one was in the back and one was out on the floor, but in the wrong location.

I'm wondering if they've come in mislabeled and they've been placed in the wrong location in the stores. It might not hurt to take a quick walk around if you really want one.