How big is the difference between Sony 500 & 505?

[lionfish]

Hello, everybody, I am from HK.

I am currently using a PDA for reading novels but the screen is really hurting my eyes. After some search for ebook readers on the internet, I found Sony reader is the most attractive (Hanlin V3 is selling @ US$370 at a china site).

Recently, a forum (hi-pda) has found a safe way to display Chinese characters on the Sony eReader, so I think it's time to buy one.

Unfortunately there is no such devices on sale here so I can not take a look on the real machines. I do find some sellers on eBay who are willing to ship to Hk but the price for a Sony 505 is about US$300 while a 500 is only around US$150.

Apart from the technical differences listed on the spec, what is your feeling on the new model compared to the old one? Is it justified to pay a double to buy the new one? My supposed usage would be reading mainly text based document.

[HarryT]

If you are planning to use it in the comparative long-term, the 505 is worth paying the extra for (IMHO). The main difference is the screen; the 505 has a second generation "VizPlex" screen (the same screen as is used on the CyBook Gen3 and the Kindle). It is enormously better than the screen of the 500 - higher contrast and much easier to read.

[soilwork]

You can see the difference between two screens quite clearly in this post.
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...285#post123285

[lionfish]

Thanks Harry and Soilwork.

I saw the 2 pics and 505 is so much better. The ghost images in 500 is quite disturbing. I know which one to buy now.

[obanta]

Originally Posted by soilwork

You can see the difference between two screens quite clearly in this post.
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...285#post123285

FWIW, I just received my 500 from the Sony CC promotion and my display looks very similar to the non-ghosted 505 display. Hopefully it isn't an issue with usage as I'm very pleased with the 500 for right now.

The Sony Connect store, however, leaves much to be desired, which is why I'm leaning towards getting a Kindle now that I'm hooked to a nice ereader.

[Azayzel]

FWIW, I've had mine for since Oct 2006 and have none of the ghosting as exhibited in the picture. If you're strapped for cash or just holding out for the next-gen and you can get the PRS-500 for $150 vs. $300, I'd be all over that. I've played with the 505 quite a bit at the store and while it's screen has a higher white/black contrast, I don't like how thin they made the edges and the movement of the number keys either.

Course, if money's burning a hole in your pocket...

[lionfish]

Originally Posted by Azayzel

FWIW, I've had mine for since Oct 2006 and have none of the ghosting as exhibited in the picture. If you're strapped for cash or just holding out for the next-gen and you can get the PRS-500 for $150 vs. $300, I'd be all over that. I've played with the 505 quite a bit at the store and while it's screen has a higher white/black contrast, I don't like how thin they made the edges and the movement of the number keys either.

Course, if money's burning a hole in your pocket...

I'm still hesitated. You know, there is no warranty outside US. Quite a number of users in the hi-pda forum (a Chinese hand-held forum) have bricked their 505 after hacking and some have malfunction screens after charging.

I don't mind the thickness, arrangement of keys, grayscale etc. because as I stated, I am using it to read texts. If ghosting isn't that serious, I think 500 has a more reasonable price considering we lose warranty outside US. Most of the users of 500 in this forum also seems quite satisfactory.

[soilwork]

Originally Posted by lionfish

I'm still hesitated. You know, there is no warranty outside US. Quite a number of users in the hi-pda forum (a Chinese hand-held forum) have bricked their 505 after hacking and some have malfunction screens after charging.

Could you elaborate on this a bit more? I am curious to know what problems users experience with what types of hacks and so on.

I don't mind the thickness, arrangement of keys, grayscale etc. because as I stated, I am using it to read texts. If ghosting isn't that serious, I think 500 has a more reasonable price considering we lose warranty outside US. Most of the users of 500 in this forum also seems quite satisfactory.

I guess the best way is to see for yourself. Since everybody has a different threshold for acceptable screen quality, if you find 500 is good enough, I agree it may be a safer and cheaper investment. AFAIK, hacks for 500 seem to be more established and you can use the released firmware to unbrick 500 in case of trouble.

However, if you are sensitive to contrast and ghosting like me, PRS505 may be a better option than 500. For example, I found even reading PDFs on PRS505 is very annoying due to its grayish background and ghosting. Therefore, I always convert all PDFs into LRF to read. Of course, it involves the trade-off between 150$ and a better screen which you should decide.

One option may be to use PRS500 for a while until a new e-ink device with better screen and reasonable price comes along.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by lionfish

I'm still hesitated. You know, there is no warranty outside US. Quite a number of users in the hi-pda forum (a Chinese hand-held forum) have bricked their 505 after hacking and some have malfunction screens after charging.

The Sony is not your only choice, of course. You could consider a machine like the CyBook which has a world-wide warranty, and which uses the same screen as the 505.