Why Such High Sony E-reader Prices? - Page 10

HarryT · 02-06-2018, 02:49 AM

The switch from LRF/X to ePub happened years before the release of the T series. IIRC it was with the PRS-505.

rcentros · 02-06-2018, 03:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richwood

Prior to Christmas Amazon had the Kindle Basic refurbished units available for $40. Same price offered during their earlier 10th anniversary Kindle sale too. Same warranty as the new ones and mine appeared to be new. Not a scratch on it. Quite a bargain unless you do not care for capacitive touch screens.

I bought one of these during the Kindle Anniversary sale (as you say, for $40 for a "like new" "refurbished" unit -- I don't know that mine had any use at all). I added a Fintie case to it and it's a nice reader. It doesn't get as much use as some of my other Kindles because I normally read at night, in poor light, and the thin Fintie flap doesn't hold my E-Luminator as well as my other cases. Also, I wanted to put the Constantina font on it, jailbroke it, but the font hack wouldn't work with this release. So I un-jailbroke it and went back to stock. By then the new firmware release allowed bolding (as you've mentioned) so it wasn't as big of a deal. But the 8th Generation Kindle may be one of them I'm going to sell. I don't know for sure yet.

I should mention, however, that the 8th Generation Kindle Basic (KT3) is not capacitive, it's infrared just like the original Touch.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richwood

I still personally think that the Sony infrared touch screen was about the best of the ebook reader versions. Better than capacitive screens and better resolution than the Kindle Touch infrared screen.

I've been busy converting Kindle books for the "new" Sony T1 (mostly religious and historical for Lent reading). With its lighted case I think this is going to be my main non-library (non-novel) book reader. I've got Calibre (with de-DRM plugin) to convert these books consistently, using Constantina and the margins I like and the T1's screen is about the best of the Pearl era screens that I've seen. I will also be able to load some speeches/sermons/music on the T1 which fits in with the purpose of this reader. The Kindle Keyboard and Touch have an MP3 players, but no way to navigate and choose specific files -- so kind of useless for my purpose.

I want to thank you again for the T1/T2 lighted cover link.

JSWolf · 02-06-2018, 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcentros

I've got the 8th Generation Kindle. I like it okay, but I like the Keyboard better because the fonts seem sharper. The 8th Generation is definitely "snappier" and has features the Keyboard doesn't, but once I'm in the book "turning pages" none of that really matters much.

The problem you are seeing is that the fonts on the older Kindle seem darker easier to see. On the newer Kindle, the same fonts are lighter and seem less sharp. But with the new firmware that allowing increasing the weight of the fonts, the newer Kindle should look better.

JSWolf · 02-06-2018, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richwood

One thing I note about Sony is that their backwards compatibility apparently sucked. Per the manuals the T series dropped support for the original Sony ebook format files, those ending in .LRF and .LRX. Did they offer a conversion service or leave owners who updated their readers in the lurch? A Kindle 1 can still go online and buy Amazon books or download from an owner's Amazon cloud.

.LRF can be converted to ePub with Calibre.

If you had LRX, you should have ePub from when the Sony Store switched from LRX to ePub. So that is a non-issue. And when Sony stopped their store, your eBooks were moved to Kobo. So again, a non-issue. If it is an issue, it's because you didn't deal with things back when you should have,

Richwood · 02-06-2018, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

.LRF can be converted to ePub with Calibre.

If you had LRX, you should have ePub from when the Sony Store switched from LRX to ePub. So that is a non-issue. And when Sony stopped their store, your eBooks were moved to Kobo. So again, a non-issue. If it is an issue, it's because you didn't deal with things back when you should have,

Total BS as my Sony purchases are all used items bought relatively recently, Long after Sony support ended. You jumped to an incorrect conclusion.

rcentros · 02-06-2018, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The problem you are seeing is that the fonts on the older Kindle seem darker easier to see. On the newer Kindle, the same fonts are lighter and seem less sharp. But with the new firmware that allowing increasing the weight of the fonts, the newer Kindle should look better.

Unfortunately, with each level of "boldness," you lose some of the font's shape and finer lines. I find with Palatino that level "2" is about as high as I want to go – maybe "3" when I've got the font at size "3". It's definitely better than it was before the bolding feature, however. If I had a lighted case I wouldn't have any problem using the 8th Generation Basic (KT3). I don't know yet what the new update is going to add to the mix – it looks to have fairly minor additions.

Ghitulescu · 02-09-2018, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richwood

One thing I note about Sony is that their backwards compatibility apparently sucked. Per the manuals the T series dropped support for the original Sony ebook format files, those ending in .LRF and .LRX. Did they offer a conversion service or leave owners who updated their readers in the lurch? A Kindle 1 can still go online and buy Amazon books or download from an owner's Amazon cloud.

LRX/LRF was a proprietary format AFAIK.
Good they dropped it in favour of the open spec ePub.
Should have done this also with MemoryStick and proprietary batteries, they would have been higher in sales (they dropped these for Pro devices, though).

rcentros · 02-09-2018, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghitulescu

LRX/LRF was a proprietary format AFAIK.
Good they dropped it in favour of the open spec ePub.
Should have done this also with MemoryStick and proprietary batteries, they would have been higher in sales (they dropped these for Pro devices, though).

Proprietary batteries? Don't (didn't) all the eReader manufacturers use proprietary batteries? As for the MemoryStick, at least on the Readers, they also provided SD Card slots. They lost out on Betamax, won on BluRay (but the long battle between BluRay and HD-DVD kind of opened the door – more widely at least – for streaming to take over).

Richwood · 02-09-2018, 06:36 PM

From what I see once you get beyond single cell Lithium batteries such as the CR123A and 18650, they are all either custom flat pack batteries such as used in virtually all current thin tablets, phones and ebook readers or custom packs for portable computers made up of multiple 18650 or 26650 cells. Based on offerings on ebay, Amazon and other web sites there are virtually hundreds to thousands of these battery sizes as virtually every new model tablet or phone has it's own unique battery.

Ricky D'Angelo · 04-07-2018, 02:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richwood

Looking on ebay I note that the late model Sony E-readers such as the T2, T3 and 950 seem to be listed for some pretty outrageous prices even though they have minimal Sony support any more. One seller lists a new PRS-T2 for $240, reduced from $399. Do people actually pay those prices? Even a PRS-600 is listed for $420 and a new T3 for $308.

I realize that some ebay sellers are total optimists in their asking prices but does any one buy these to me grossly overpriced units, and if so why?

I know this has probably been mentioned in earlier posts but goodwill has cheap used sony ereaders available sold as is in an auction format.

Sony Digital Book eReader Lot of 3 PRS 300/350
https://www.shopgoodwill.com/Item/51202249

rcentros · 04-07-2018, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ricky D'Angelo

I know this has probably been mentioned in earlier posts but goodwill has cheap used sony ereaders available sold as is in an auction format.

Sony Digital Book eReader Lot of 3 PRS 300/350
https://www.shopgoodwill.com/Item/51202249

I have a "whole house full" of Sony Readers because of Shop Goodwill and Mercari now. I need an intervention.

Also up now ... a red T2 (with two 600s).

https://www.shopgoodwill.com/Item/51204994

Hemmi · 04-07-2018, 09:23 PM

A fair share of my Sony collection has come from shopgoodwill also.

Tarana · 04-09-2018, 07:50 PM

Thank goodness I am not badly tempted to get Sony readers. I have way more readers than I need and am still struggling to part with a few more. My love is Kindle Keyboards (I have 5 although one is on its last powerups).

rcentros · 04-10-2018, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tarana

Thank goodness I am not badly tempted to get Sony readers. I have way more readers than I need and am still struggling to part with a few more. My love is Kindle Keyboards (I have 5 although one is on its last powerups).

They've got lots of Kindle Keyboards on shopgoodwill also ... cheap, very cheap ...

PatGIV · 04-10-2018, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcentros

They've got lots of Kindle Keyboards on shopgoodwill also ... cheap, very cheap ...

Have the readers @ shopgoodwill been reworked are do you buy "as is"? Generally speaking, what is the condition of the readers? Usually as they say, you get what you pay for. Is that the case there?

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02-06-2018, 02:49 AM	#136
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	The switch from LRF/X to ePub happened years before the release of the T series. IIRC it was with the PRS-505.

02-09-2018, 06:36 PM	#144
Richwood Astronomy Nut Posts: 519 Karma: 3700000 Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Reno, NV Device: Kindle (All), Kobo (Multiple), Sony (most) and Nook Glowlight Plus	From what I see once you get beyond single cell Lithium batteries such as the CR123A and 18650, they are all either custom flat pack batteries such as used in virtually all current thin tablets, phones and ebook readers or custom packs for portable computers made up of multiple 18650 or 26650 cells. Based on offerings on ebay, Amazon and other web sites there are virtually hundreds to thousands of these battery sizes as virtually every new model tablet or phone has it's own unique battery.

04-07-2018, 09:23 PM	#147
Hemmi Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,351 Karma: 15987608 Join Date: Apr 2015 Device: Sonys, Nooks, Kobo Libra, Forma, Mini, Paperwhite	A fair share of my Sony collection has come from shopgoodwill also.

04-09-2018, 07:50 PM	#148
Tarana Wizard Posts: 3,977 Karma: 38840460 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Minneapolis Device: PWSE, Voyage, K3, HDX, KBasic 7 & 8, Nook Glo3, Echos, Nanos	Thank goodness I am not badly tempted to get Sony readers. I have way more readers than I need and am still struggling to part with a few more. My love is Kindle Keyboards (I have 5 although one is on its last powerups).