What do you love/hate about your PRS - 505?

[no.guru]

I love mine in general, for many reasons already mentioned.

In addition, I love that its exterior is metal rather than plastic.

[kelly1010]

Yeah I do not like the plastic ereaders AT ALL! I don't know why.

I really like the COOL-ER ebook reader, but I'd like it even MORE if it was Metal.

[Renaldo]

Originally Posted by Rique

a little hesitant about the design of the 505 (buttons on the side).

I really didn't like the 1-0 buttons along the side of the screen when I was looking at readers either. I thought they were completely incongruous. After using it though, they entirely disappear until you need them, and while you never actually 'need' them, they are faster and more useful when zipping around links or menus on the 505 than using the directional pad on the bottom right.

As for the page turn buttons the right hand side, I wish they were a bit bigger. I would use them more if they were.

Originally Posted by Rique

What about ease of conversion from other formats? I get the impression that Calibre can pretty much do the job. Or is conversion a hurdle? Is lack of mobi support an issue at all?

Calibre is very easy to use, and pretty much does the job. I wish it would convert some other formats as well as strip DRM, but there are of course legal reasons why those options won't happen.

Originally Posted by Rique

I've read that there are only three fonts. Can fonts be added or changed?

I believe there's hacks for that in the 505 Developers forum on here. Which I guess also answers your question about hacks. Truthfully, I don't have any problems with only 3 fonts. What I do wish it had was more than 3 font sizes. Sometimes the Medium isn't much bigger than the small, and Large is way too big. 5 sizes would be good.

Originally Posted by Rique

Will it remember where I left off with all books in progress? Even if there are several in progress at the same time? How is the bookmarking?

Yep, it remembers. When you go back to a book it has the option to continue from the last page you read or start at the beginning. Bookmarks are very easy, you just press a button and it's marked. If you want to get rid of it, just press the button on the bookmarked page and it's removed. I find the best way to keep tracks of multiple books is to bookmark them. I have hundreds of items on the 505, so instead of sorting through and finding one of the books I'm reading, I can just go to the page that shows all the books I have bookmarked, and start where I left off.

Originally Posted by Rique

And how readable is it in bright sunlight, really? I like to read on my deck.

As easy as any other book. Sometimes there is glare, but the screen is flat instead of glossy so it diffuses light. If there's any glare, all it takes is a very slightly different angle to get rid of it. The contrast is very readable.

Originally Posted by Rique

Finally, some have mentioned there are problems with large libraries. How large is large? And what are the nature of the problems? How can I avoid the problems?

I have around 1100 books on my reader. I used to use a cheap 2gb SD card and I had loads of problems. The reader would take 15-20 mins to index after I unplugged it from my computer, if it didn't crash that is. The Sony software would crash routinely. It sucked.

I bought a good quality, high speed 4gb memory stick and tossed the SD card. Everything else being equal as that was the only change, the reader indexes in 2-3 minutes when I unplug it, hasn't crashed yet, and neither has the Sony software (although I now mainly use calibre). 1100 books only takes up about 1gb of space. I bought the 4gb stick instead of a smaller one because it was on sale and cheaper than the smaller sticks and cards.

I don't think that most people need that many books, and if you're going to have less than 100 the internal memory will do fine. Using just the internal memory you shouldn't run into any problems at all.

And yes, I think all 505 owners are zealots and fanatics, too. You'll find no end to answers and comments here. Sony needs to put most of us on their sales payroll, I think. I've sold 2 readers to friends in the past 3 weeks, I'm sure others here have done the same.

To answer your original post:

I love that the 505 is simple and intuitive to use. I love that it's an ebook reader first and anything else (like MP3 player) second. I bought it to read books, and it does that extremely well. I don't care about any of it's other features, I'd rather have a specialized device that does its job extremely well, than a general device that does several things okay.

I don't hate anything about it, but do wish there were more options for font sizes, had bigger page turn buttons on the right side and didn't make me so handsome and witty when I use it (I've got the blue one).*



*If you don't get that last part, read the threads here on color choices.

[dreams]

Originally Posted by Renaldo

SNIP SNIP ....

I don't hate anything about it, but do wish there were more options for font sizes, had bigger page turn buttons on the right side and didn't make me so handsome and witty when I use it (I've got the blue one).*


*If you don't get that last part, read the threads here on color choices.

I have the *BLUE* too.

[boriz]

It's awesome for me. I just dislike slightly how the number buttons on the right press themselves when it's in my backpack (too lazy to turn it off, and it drains batteries like crazy when in standby for some reason)

It would be nice to have a solar panel charger for it.

[VanillaEps]

I've had mine for a little over a year. I love almost everything about it. I love the fact that its metal, easy to read, buttons are easy to place, and the convenience of being able to carry tons of books with me in once device.

What I don't like is the lack of Mac support and lack of search function. The other day I was reading a book and came upon a name that I wanted to search throughout the book to see if I had come upon it before. It would have been nice to have gotten a quick refresher.

[Harry001]

I love my 505 - but would like Sony made the time be shown in the staus bar, thats the only thing I am missing.
keep reading
harry

[radius]

Originally Posted by Harry001

I love my 505 - but would like Sony made the time be shown in the staus bar, thats the only thing I am missing.
keep reading
harry

Hi Harry, if you use PRSCustomizer you can have a clock in the status bar. I've gotten so used to mine that I forgot it isn't stock

[Rique]

I just wanted to drop in one more time to say thanks to all of you true believers!

Although I am still concerned about the lack of Mac support - and still not convinced I will ever grow to love the buttons on the side, I have decided to put aside my misgivings, take the proverbial plunge and go ahead and get the Sony 505. So thanks again for the advice and counsel - and now it's time to celebrate!

BTW, One of the key factors influencing my decision is that the 505 is now available at Costco (not all locations, just a select few - you can get the details at Costco.com) - which means I can take it back if I don't like it and they will not give me a hard time about it (I love Costco!).

(the only bad thing about it is that Costco apparently does not have it in blue - )

Having burned hours reading and chatting and studying and reading more and chatting more and studying more, its time for the hands-on phase of the research - I will be checking back in to let you all know how it is going (and to pose many more newbie questions, of course).

-- Rique

[zelda_pinwheel]

congratulations on taking the plunge ! i think you'll soon find you love your 505 and can't even imagine living without it. let us know how the "first contact" goes.

[dordale]

Congrats! Looking forward to seeing what you think about your new 505. BTW--mine is silver, and I don't feel it's any way inferior to the Blues! Silver all the way!

dordale

[lilac_jive]

Congrats!!! You better come back and tell us what you think

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by Rique

I just wanted to drop in one more time to say thanks to all of you true believers! [SNIP]

(the only bad thing about it is that Costco apparently does not have it in blue - )

-- Rique

Good choice, and proof positive that Costco has good taste!

Color aside, I think you will be delighted with your Sony 505. It really makes reading more fun!

Stitchawl.

[jgray]

Considering that I just bought mine, maybe my opinion doesn't count as much. Here goes anyway

The size is nice and handy, although I think I'd like a 7-8 inch screen better. The text is very readable under bright light. The problem is, the lighting I am normally under is not overly bright. Under my typical room lighting, I find that the screen is not contrasty enough. The curious thing is, the contrast improves slightly if I am 30-45 degrees off from perpendicular. As for the button placement, although the number buttons on the side make more sense being next to the item on the screen, I think I would prefer them near the bottom, like the BeBook. It just is a matter of how I hold the reader.

I'm going to live with this thing for a little while and see if I can get used to the contrast issue and button placement. I have lots of time to return it if need be.

Edit: Oh BTW, I got the silver one. It was the only color Target had, but I think I would have gotten silver anyway, as it seems to blend better with the screen.

[jgray]

Just one more observation. While reading an epub in landscape mode, there is a 2-3 line overlap on page flips and those lines are greyed out. This doesn't happen in portrait mode. I find the overlap very annoying. Is there any way to turn that off?