PRS-505 So slow that I want to kill myself

[dhbailey]

I can sympathize with Azhad -- I, too, wanted to carry my entire library with me because I can never know what I want to read next. But I was able to compromise, keeping some permanent authors such as Dickens, Wilkie Collins, and a few others on the internal memory of my 500 and I have placed some larger book files (mostly music books either converted entirely from PDFs at GoogleBooks or from html files at PG) on my memory stick.

I think the idea of the collection of smaller cards is a wonderful way to have the entire library available more easily.

Perhaps when Sony releases the 510 (don't jump on this suggestion and start looking on-line for it, it's just my guess about what the next model number will be) they will build a bigger memory cache into the thing with a permanent and large spot in non-volatile memory in which to store the library file listing all the books and collections, to speed up the processing of larger collections.

It seems silly to me to increase the potential add-on memory capacity to a total of 10GB and not to increase the ability to quickly and easily process the sorts of libraries which can be stored on such memory capacity.

I look forward to the day when I can carry the equivalent of the entire PG libary with me without a tag-along case of memory cards and be able easily to select the next book to read on the spur of the moment without having to plan in January what I'll want to be reading in December.

[Azhad]

The real problem is that the reader use a single database for the book titles, authors, formatting and bookmarks, this is madness.
MADNESS?
NO, THIS IS SONYYYYYY!!!

Never seen a clever software solution from sony, I think all their programmers are old cobol ones that switched language but not workflow

Using separate databases will simply solve this problem

[imahawki]

Hi, first post. I just ordered the 505 and don't even have it yet but this thread is a little distressing. These things (ebooks in general, not just Sony's) are advertised as carrying your entire library in your hand yet if you add more than a few hundred books your device doesn't work? Any way, as a somewhat techie, I'd say the good news is that since these readers are Linux based, there could be a lot of flexibility in firmware updates. Perhaps they will resolve the database issues.

[Azhad]

Originally Posted by imahawki

Hi, first post. I just ordered the 505 and don't even have it yet but this thread is a little distressing. These things (ebooks in general, not just Sony's) are advertised as carrying your entire library in your hand yet if you add more than a few hundred books your device doesn't work? Any way, as a somewhat techie, I'd say the good news is that since these readers are Linux based, there could be a lot of flexibility in firmware updates. Perhaps they will resolve the database issues.

Well, they didn't resolve it from the prs-500 to the prs-505. The fact that the prs-505 is faster is only based on the fact that the new one got more ram, and maybe a faster processor.
The device isn't inusable, when you manage to open a book it work flawlessy (if you don't want to put a bookmark, that will cost you a minute o two waiting on a locked screen)
The only waits you get is on opening or closing a book, and putting or deleting bookmarks (one or two minutes for all of them); and the excruciating wait (30 minutes) when you toggle the memorycard or when you use an usb based recharge method.
You can live with it, but is surely a pain.
I will surely love to ditch the current firmware and using something like the ubook reader (the best ebook reader I've ever used, for pc or windows mobile devices), but alas, whe have to cope with sony corporation, wich is famous about total uncaring to his customers.

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by imahawki

These things (ebooks in general, not just Sony's) are advertised as carrying your entire library in your hand yet if you add more than a few hundred books your device doesn't work?

Well, you always have to take what the marketing types say with a grain of salt.

Still, 100 books is a fair sized set of books, most of us have found that once we have the thing in hand, putting more than a few books on it is more than we need.

Of course ... most of us also don't have the extra need imposed by extended travel away from our technological crutches. That does tend to affect how important such details are to a person.

Ahzad, from what you're describing, I really do think there might be something funky going on with your unit.

[Azhad]

Originally Posted by NatCh

Azhad, from what you're describing, I really do think there might be something funky going on with your unit.

With two different units?
And anyway, I had the same problem with the prs-500 only much worse
Mine was just a rant, and a warning to new purchasers

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by Azhad

With two different units?

Ah, yes, missed that detail -- that would tend to suggest that it's not a defect.

Yeah smaller cards might be the better way to go. But on the up-side, that might help with organizing your collection more accessibly, and SDs aren't very big, they'll still fit in your pocket.

[urseus]

Originally Posted by imahawki

Hi, first post. I just ordered the 505 and don't even have it yet but this thread is a little distressing. These things (ebooks in general, not just Sony's) are advertised as carrying your entire library in your hand yet if you add more than a few hundred books your device doesn't work? Any way, as a somewhat techie, I'd say the good news is that since these readers are Linux based, there could be a lot of flexibility in firmware updates. Perhaps they will resolve the database issues.

People exadurate everything.

"OH JESUS IT TAKES SOOOOOOO LONG TO TURN PAGES!!" - takes less time than turning a page in a real book

"ITS GOT SUCH SMALL MEMEORY!! I WANT TO KEEP 800 TRILLION COPIES OF WAR AND PEACE ON MY READER!!" - You dont.


I have around 50 books on my reader. I take off ones ive read. It works wonderfully. Be abit patient.

[Ervserver]

I say find the sweet spot, the number of books you can keep on a memory card and have your reader operate well. Then buy several cards and organize them with your books. You can carry all the memory cards in a case and pop them in and out as needed. Good not to keep them all on one card anyway in case it gets corrupted.

[recycledelectron]

There is one software fix that Sony could implement to fix this:

Change from title / author / data indexing to allow us to browse through directories manually.

While they are at it, they could let us manually select what type of file to open something as (e.g., open a .csv file as a text file, which the 505 can read, so I can tell a student her grade.)

Between this and the battery life, I think it's time for a recall by Sony.

Andy

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by urseus

People exadurate everything.

I'm assuming you mean "exaggerate"

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by urseus

... exadurate ...

Dude! I thought I was going to learn a new word today. Alas, it is not in the dictionary.

BOb

[NatCh]

It's in the Urban Dictionary.

[DrMoze]

Originally Posted by NatCh

It's in the Urban Dictionary.

Well, at least they got the definition right!

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Azhad

Well, they didn't resolve it from the prs-500 to the prs-505. The fact that the prs-505 is faster is only based on the fact that the new one got more ram, and maybe a faster processor.
The device isn't unusable, when you manage to open a book it work flawlessly (if you don't want to put a bookmark, that will cost you a minute o two waiting on a locked screen)
The only waits you get is on opening or closing a book, and putting or deleting bookmarks (one or two minutes for all of them); and the excruciating wait (30 minutes) when you toggle the memory card or when you use an usb based recharge method.
You can live with it, but is surely a pain.
I will surely love to ditch the current firmware and using something like the ubook reader (the best ebook reader I've ever used, for pc or windows mobile devices), but alas, we have to cope with Sony corporation, which is famous about total uncaring to his customers.

I have to disagree with you BIG TIME! I have a 505 and it takes almost no time to bookmark a page. It in no way takes a minute or two to bookmark a page. Even removing a bookmark does not take long at all.

If you have used Ebook Library to populate the memory card, the only wait is when you insert the memory card as the reader has to scan for all the content. If you have not used Ebook Library to populate the SD card, you eill have to wait for the reader to handle some of the ebook formatting that your computer and Ebook Library would have done.

Page turning is faster with the 505 then the 500 due to the Vizplex screen being faster. I don't find the 505 to be excruciatingly slow at all. Granted if I was to load content onto it as though it was a mass storage device, I would have to wait for formatting. But once that was done, I would not have to wait again for that book.

When you plug the 505 into the USB port and then unplug it, you do have to wait maybe a minute for the 505 to be ready to go. That's not a big deal. in NO WAY is it 30 minutes or even close.

I'm sorry there is so much misinformation being spread here.