Firmware update for PRS-500 available - EPUB! - Page 13

kkapkin · 01-20-2010, 11:40 PM

I send my PRS-500 back to SONY for the Battery problem, here is what happend:
1- I received the unit back with a notice stating that no problems were found!
2- The ID of the unit was different and I had to re-authorize it again.
3- Battery life still sucks
4- I can no longer read the BBeB books I was able to read before sending the unit to SONY.
5- I had to delete all the BBeB books from my library and re-download EPUB versions from SONY to find out that 7 books are not available in this format yet, therefore no way to download them even to my laptop. Message say check back later.
6- Small font is impossible to read, Medium font messes up the margins, cuts off text on some my books. Contrast seems to be degraded, hard to read the font type.

Over all I AM VERY UNHAPPY!!!!

kkapkin · 01-20-2010, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kkapkin

I just received my Updated SONY PRS-500
- There are new features such as date/time, format internal memory, seems to be faster, now I can type the page number to go to, seems to be more stable, etc.
- Problems: Battery runs out very quickly <100 pages (this is a show stopper for me), every time I plug it in the USB port getting a Windows system error because no SD or MC cards in my PRS-500

The unit comes with 90 day warranty which covers the entire unit. I will check to see if they are willing to fix the excessive battery drain issue, otherwise I will have to trade it in for one of the newer ones.

I send my PRS-500 back to SONY for the Battery problem, here is what happend:
1- I received the unit back with a notice stating that no problems were found!
2- The ID of the unit was different and I had to re-authorize it again.
3- Battery life still sucks
4- I can no longer read the BBeB books I was able to read before sending the unit to SONY.
5- I had to delete all the BBeB books from my library and re-download EPUB versions from SONY to find out that 7 books are not available in this format yet, therefore no way to download them even to my laptop. Message say check back later.
6- Small font is impossible to read, Medium font messes up the margins, cuts off text on some my books. Contrast seems to be degraded, hard to read the font type.

Over all I AM VERY UNHAPPY!!!!

EatingPie · 01-21-2010, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kkapkin

I send my PRS-500 back to SONY for the Battery problem, here is what happend:
1- I received the unit back with a notice stating that no problems were found!
2- The ID of the unit was different and I had to re-authorize it again.
3- Battery life still sucks
4- I can no longer read the BBeB books I was able to read before sending the unit to SONY.
5- I had to delete all the BBeB books from my library and re-download EPUB versions from SONY to find out that 7 books are not available in this format yet, therefore no way to download them even to my laptop. Message say check back later.
6- Small font is impossible to read, Medium font messes up the margins, cuts off text on some my books. Contrast seems to be degraded, hard to read the font type.

Over all I AM VERY UNHAPPY!!!!

Crap! I just sent my unit in for the update on Saturday. My battery was showing signs of wear anyway, but nothing like this.

Even more disturbing, NO BBEB!?!?!!? I hate EPUB. Before you ask, I updated because I want to start testing it out more thoroughly and see what tweaking I can do. LRF is a great format because it has headers, flows correctly, and doesn't do that idiotic "in between page 3 and 4" stupidity of EPUB (I know that was redundant but it was supposed to be redundant).

I'll report back with my experience.

-Pie

seveng · 01-21-2010, 02:12 PM

Mine came back not only reading my existing .lrxs but new .lrfs I downloaded post-update. Absolutely no problems with BBeB formatted books, locked or unlocked.

kkapkin · 01-21-2010, 04:46 PM

Here is clarification of my previous two postings:
After PRS-500 came back the first time for the update it was ABLE to read BBeB and EPUB at the same time but the battery life was an issue.
So I send it again. This time, the note came with the unit said they couldn't find anything wrong with the unit, BUT not only PRS-500 asked me to get it authorized again as a new unit but also it DID NOT READ BBeB books anymore. The Software version when I look at the About is:
Version: 2.0.00.09180
Device: 0800461000355CDB

Any ideas?

seveng · 01-21-2010, 04:52 PM

Did they wipe it the second time around? I don't think they can re-auth with the old BBeB info anymore, so if so you could be SOL. Have you tried unlocked BBeB files? I recently read Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, in lrf, no issues.

As for battery life, mine has been about half of what it was before the update. I'm not sure what they broke in the power management area, but I doubt we'll get a fix, as it's obviously a software issue.

kkapkin · 01-21-2010, 08:05 PM

First time, there were no books deleted. The second time it came completely blank: when I turned it on, it formated and rebooted for the first time. Then when I try to sync with my library, it gave an error message for uploading any BBeB files and gave me a link to reload purchased books in EPUB format. However 7 of them as of today are not available, including the one I was currently reading!!!!

kkapkin · 01-21-2010, 08:06 PM

What does your software version say after the update? I wonder it is running a different software that BBeB format is removed!

evdberg · 01-22-2010, 03:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kkapkin

2- The ID of the unit was different and I had to re-authorize it again.

That is the cause of your problem. Units authorized after 19th of december are not able to read BBeB books anymore. Units authorized before that date can just read them fine as before.

cg4053 · 01-28-2010, 08:32 PM

For anyone who bought the PRS-500 and is not in the US, Sony will still do the firmware upgrade for you. I'm in Canada and I sent it to their service center in Toronto. However, I have to warn you that I've been having problems with books hanging on text resize after the upgrade!

Good luck!

cg4053 · 01-28-2010, 10:26 PM

Further to my last message, I found that if I reformat the internal memory and reload the books, everything rights itself. Just thought I'd share that in case someone else runs into the same problem.

Attallah · 01-29-2010, 12:26 AM

Could I get more details on how you went about that? I live in Toronto, so that'd be really convenient, obviously.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cg4053

For anyone who bought the PRS-500 and is not in the US, Sony will still do the firmware upgrade for you. I'm in Canada and I sent it to their service center in Toronto. However, I have to warn you that I've been having problems with books hanging on text resize after the upgrade!

Good luck!

EatingPie · 01-29-2010, 10:06 PM

Got my PRS-500 back a few days ago. Wiped clean. Lost my NIV Bible and City of Ember, but I'm not desperately bummed.

However, the PRS-500 is definitely faster!! Not PRS-300 fast, but faster. This is subjective, since I can't side-by-side with my pre-update Reader.

However, I used the thing every day constantly, so I have a strong feel for the responsiveness, and that it has changed for the better.

Looks like the same screen to me, so I am betting there was a slight CPU boost. Which makes sense, given the age of the device... original CPU probably obsoleted, so they gave it a bump out of necessity (assuming they changed the CPU).

This might also explain the slight battery life loss. Faster CPU may be just slightly more power hungry.

-Pie

cg4053 · 01-31-2010, 10:40 AM

I sent it to the following address, accompanied by the email I had received from Sony:

Sony Toronto Factory Service Centre
211 Placer Court, Toronto Ontario
Telephone: 1-877-899-7669

I received it back within a couple of weeks. Hope this helps!

JSWolf · 01-31-2010, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kkapkin

Here is clarification of my previous two postings:
After PRS-500 came back the first time for the update it was ABLE to read BBeB and EPUB at the same time but the battery life was an issue.
So I send it again. This time, the note came with the unit said they couldn't find anything wrong with the unit, BUT not only PRS-500 asked me to get it authorized again as a new unit but also it DID NOT READ BBeB books anymore. The Software version when I look at the About is:
Version: 2.0.00.09180
Device: 0800461000355CDB

Any ideas?

Please give proper information. Your refurbished 500 can still handle LRF. It's the LRX it can no longer handle since it isn't registered to handle your LRX and never will be.

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01-20-2010, 11:40 PM	#181
kkapkin Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: PRS500	I send my PRS-500 back to SONY for the Battery problem, here is what happend: 1- I received the unit back with a notice stating that no problems were found! 2- The ID of the unit was different and I had to re-authorize it again. 3- Battery life still sucks 4- I can no longer read the BBeB books I was able to read before sending the unit to SONY. 5- I had to delete all the BBeB books from my library and re-download EPUB versions from SONY to find out that 7 books are not available in this format yet, therefore no way to download them even to my laptop. Message say check back later. 6- Small font is impossible to read, Medium font messes up the margins, cuts off text on some my books. Contrast seems to be degraded, hard to read the font type. Over all I AM VERY UNHAPPY!!!!

01-21-2010, 02:12 PM	#184
seveng Member Posts: 24 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Denver, CO Device: Sony PRS-500, Palm Pre	Mine came back not only reading my existing .lrxs but new .lrfs I downloaded post-update. Absolutely no problems with BBeB formatted books, locked or unlocked.

01-21-2010, 04:46 PM	#185
kkapkin Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: PRS500	Here is clarification of my previous two postings: After PRS-500 came back the first time for the update it was ABLE to read BBeB and EPUB at the same time but the battery life was an issue. So I send it again. This time, the note came with the unit said they couldn't find anything wrong with the unit, BUT not only PRS-500 asked me to get it authorized again as a new unit but also it DID NOT READ BBeB books anymore. The Software version when I look at the About is: Version: 2.0.00.09180 Device: 0800461000355CDB Any ideas?

01-21-2010, 04:52 PM	#186
seveng Member Posts: 24 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Denver, CO Device: Sony PRS-500, Palm Pre	Did they wipe it the second time around? I don't think they can re-auth with the old BBeB info anymore, so if so you could be SOL. Have you tried unlocked BBeB files? I recently read Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, in lrf, no issues. As for battery life, mine has been about half of what it was before the update. I'm not sure what they broke in the power management area, but I doubt we'll get a fix, as it's obviously a software issue.

01-21-2010, 08:05 PM	#187
kkapkin Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: PRS500	First time, there were no books deleted. The second time it came completely blank: when I turned it on, it formated and rebooted for the first time. Then when I try to sync with my library, it gave an error message for uploading any BBeB files and gave me a link to reload purchased books in EPUB format. However 7 of them as of today are not available, including the one I was currently reading!!!!

01-21-2010, 08:06 PM	#188
kkapkin Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: PRS500	What does your software version say after the update? I wonder it is running a different software that BBeB format is removed!

01-28-2010, 08:32 PM	#190
cg4053 Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: PRS-500	For anyone who bought the PRS-500 and is not in the US, Sony will still do the firmware upgrade for you. I'm in Canada and I sent it to their service center in Toronto. However, I have to warn you that I've been having problems with books hanging on text resize after the upgrade! Good luck!

01-28-2010, 10:26 PM	#191
cg4053 Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: PRS-500	Further to my last message, I found that if I reformat the internal memory and reload the books, everything rights itself. Just thought I'd share that in case someone else runs into the same problem.

01-29-2010, 10:06 PM	#193
EatingPie Blueberry! Posts: 888 Karma: 133343 Join Date: Mar 2007 Device: Sony PRS-500 (RIP); PRS-600 (Good Riddance); PRS-505; PRS-650; PRS-350	Got my PRS-500 back a few days ago. Wiped clean. Lost my NIV Bible and City of Ember, but I'm not desperately bummed. However, the PRS-500 is definitely faster!! Not PRS-300 fast, but faster. This is subjective, since I can't side-by-side with my pre-update Reader. However, I used the thing every day constantly, so I have a strong feel for the responsiveness, and that it has changed for the better. Looks like the same screen to me, so I am betting there was a slight CPU boost. Which makes sense, given the age of the device... original CPU probably obsoleted, so they gave it a bump out of necessity (assuming they changed the CPU). This might also explain the slight battery life loss. Faster CPU may be just slightly more power hungry. -Pie

01-31-2010, 10:40 AM	#194
cg4053 Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: PRS-500	I sent it to the following address, accompanied by the email I had received from Sony: Sony Toronto Factory Service Centre 211 Placer Court, Toronto Ontario Telephone: 1-877-899-7669 I received it back within a couple of weeks. Hope this helps!

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