New Sony model to be called PRS-300 and PRS-600

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by wallcraft;540551I

also doubt the PRS-700 will get a dictionary, based on the cost to Sony of adding this.

They could add the support and make you purchase the dictionary.

BOb

[spirit_wolf]

Originally Posted by kazbates

To be honest, I like just using a clip-on light. I don't use the light that much, so I wouldn't want to add weight to the cover and the reader.

Same here Kaz. Finally settled on the Mighty Bright XtraFlex2.

Originally Posted by kazbates

By the way WDE, they wouldn't let me get an extended warranty at the Sony Style store. They said it had to be within 90 days of the purchase of my reader (which was a Christmas gift). Oh, well. Maybe I'll have to ask for the 600 and give my 700 to my husband.

A popular way to get rid of old stuff.

[Wetdogeared]

Originally Posted by kazbates

I was at the Sony Style store today in Tyson's Corner, Virginia. They still have the 700 in stock and the red 505. The display that they have at the store is still pretty impressive. They haven't scaled it down at all, with several models of the 505 and 700 on display. The salesperson I spoke with mentioned 2 new models that were coming out but could not give me any specifics. When I asked him if they were the 300 and 600, he told me he thought so. When I asked him if they were going to discontinue the 700, he wasn't sure but thought there was a good possibility. Bottom line, Sony's salespeople don't know much of anything, but they are anticipating some changes.

Sonystyle.ca shows the PRS-700 only available in retail stores. (Note CA$)

No price reductions for either model so far in Canada.

WDE.

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

They could add the support and make you purchase the dictionary.

BOb

I would pay for it.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Sync does work as long as you use it manually. Auto-sync is a piece of shite.

As we've already discussed this, I thought it went without saying that I was refering to the auto Sync. I apologize for any confusion.

[kazbates]

Not to be a cynic or anything , but I was wondering if this could just be a great marketing strategy of the online store, JR, to have preorder sales of a product that has not even been released by the manufacturer nor has any mention been made in any of the media sources which usually carry this type of information. Even if the devices are eventually released at a higher price, the buzz and preorder sales generated could be substantial.

I guess my question is, has anyone heard of something like this happening before, ie., a product being presold before the manufacture has introduced it to the market?

Edit: Of course, it could just be that MR scooped Sony and they figured, "What the heck, let's get some out there for preorder and see how it goes."

[Labib Rahman]

They want wi-fi so that Sony can pull 1984 from their readers, after which they can sue Sony for deleting their homework.

[Godzil]

Originally Posted by ProDigit

Highlights according to the info:
- Audio: MP3, AAC (Knew it, Sony's proprietary format comes along... .OGG or .WMA would have made more sense,since perhaps people will want to listen to an audio book, but not at 256kbits AAC encoded)

AAC is not a "Sony proprietary" format. Nor an Apple one by the way. WMA is a proprietary format by Microsoft, and even if Ogg is not proprietary, I don't think it is a good stuff. MP3 and AAC are for myselt a good choice. If sony wanted to use proprietary format they should choose the Atrac format that IS sony proprietary.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Godzil

AAC is not a "Sony proprietary" format. Nor an Apple one by the way. WMA is a proprietary format by Microsoft, and even if Ogg is not proprietary, I don't think it is a good stuff. MP3 and AAC are for myselt a good choice. If sony wanted to use proprietary format they should choose the Atrac format that IS sony proprietary.

Why is OGG Vorbis not good stuff? It makes smaller files then MP3 with a better quality sound and it's free.

[sircastor]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Why is OGG Vorbis not good stuff? It makes smaller files then MP3 with a better quality sound and it's free.

OGG Vorbis' failure is that of any superior-but-sidelined technology. Yes the quality is good, and yes it's good that the format is open, but Vorbis is not well enough known. Adding this functionality to a device would be:

a) A shout out to geeks - basically you're making lots of friends in a demographic that doesn't really care about your device.

b) An unnecessary expense. You're spending money to have your developers add a feature to a device that only a vast minority of users will ever use, or even understand. MP3 is a de-facto standard, it was most common compression format in the beginning. AAC only got ground because Apple, who had the largest foothold in the market, implemented it (Mostly to get away from MP3 licensing, I suspect.)

It's not that OGG Vorbis is not as good a format, it just doesn't make sense from a business perspective.

[JSWolf]

If OGG Vorbis is used in more and more devices, then eventually, people will come to know it and use it and MP3 can hopefully die off.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

They could add the support and make you purchase the dictionary.

BOb

Originally Posted by kazbates

I would pay for it.

so would i.

i have to say i am really encouraged to see that sony has added this. it's a key feature, and i was already surprised they didn't add it to the 700. i'm very tempted to get a 600 to replace my 700 as my main 6" device. of course i'm also tempted by the opus for a more portable 5" device. clearly i need to make a lot of money really fast to buy more gadgets.

[Boston]

To me, the audiophile market for OGG Vorbis is similar to the bookreader market for e-Ink.

The big commercial market will be happy with the more common standards (MP3 and lcd) already supported on widely available multi-purpose devices.

However, there is a market for those who want to pay more for superior technology. I own a Cowon player specifically because it supports OGG and FLAC. I own a Kindle (and soon Sony) because of e-Ink. However, for many other products the ability to "do the basics" is good enough for me and those can be found on my phone.

Sure, I would love a device that does everything I want perfectly, but there are trade-offs (cost, battery, size, commercial viability) where I don't see that happening for awhile.

Unless the audio capabilities support playlists, long battery life, etc... I won't be using my ebook reader for listening to music.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

i have to say i am really encouraged to see that sony has added this. it's a key feature, and i was already surprised they didn't add it to the 700. i'm very tempted to get a 600 to replace my 700 as my main 6" device. of course i'm also tempted by the opus for a more portable 5" device. clearly i need to make a lot of money really fast to buy more gadgets.

Yes I agree. With Jinke, Bookeen, iRex, Jetbook, and Sony all supporting or announcing soon to be supporting ePub with Adobe DRM and B&N finally getting ebooks mainstreamed rather than just via their eReader and Fictionwise business units and able to match the 9.99 price for best sellers that Amazon is doing I have to say that Kindle is quickly becoming the odd-man-out.

As much as I would prefer no DRM at all and I can strip DRM from most formats... I would much prefer to be able to get a "best of class" device in various sizes and the ability to buy my books from any book store.

I think Amazon really needs to get on the ePub bandwagon with either NO DRM or join with the rest of the pack using Adobe DRM and selling ebooks to ANYONE rather than just Kindle owners.

BOb

[Boston]

Having just purchased a used Sony 505, I am relieved that neither of these offers enough for me to regret the decision. The 600 is not for me as I don't really want a touchscreen reader. I'd be very interested in the 300 (really like the idea of a having a 5" reader) if it had a card slot and page turn keys, but it doesn't.

For me the biggest concern is long term support for common formats as they emerge and the possibility of firmware upgrades to support these will only happen on the newer readers.

[rixte]

Yay for a device under $200! The odds of my buying this are becoming very high