Very Old eReader still working?

[drofgnal]

I still have a kindle non touch, that never gets used anymore. I use a Kindle Voyage and Kindle Fire 8". I recently dropped off some stuff at a thrift store for the downtown rescue mission. In that box was a second edition Kindle Keyboard. It charged, but didn't seem to hold a charge well. Somebody will pick it up for next to nothing and put a battery in it I'm guessing.

[Richwood]

Working Sony readers date back to the PRS-300 and PRS-505 pre touch screen readers as well as PRS-350, PRS-650, PRS-950 and all three PRS-T models. I believe the PRS900 and 950 were the first 7" screen readers commonly available. Their screen format is different than later 7" E-ink screen readers as the screen is the same width as a standard 6" E-ink screen but the height is greater to give the 7" diagonal screen size.

[issybird]

My oldest device still in use is a Kobo Glo which I bought the month it came out. I use it as a book repository; most of my Calibre library lives on it, handy for immediate access to books that neither reside on another device nor did I buy from Kobo. I never connect it to WiFi; the battery is certainly good enough for the use it gets.

Still in theoretical use is a Kobo Mini which I bought somewhat later than the Glo although they came out the same month. Still has fantastic battery life. In theory, it’s a reader to live in my beach (pool, lake) bag; the OEM cover provides good protection if it gets knocked about and it wouldn’t break my heart if something happened to it. In practice, I noticed last summer that I usually took along a different reader anyway, although the Mini was there just in case. Fingers crossed it’s back out of retirement this summer! I do connect this one to WiFi and download directly to it.

[JSWolf]

I have a B&N nook ST, a Sony Reader PR-650 (needs a replacement battery), two Sony Reader PRS-T1's, Amazon Kindle PW3 (I inherited it), and a Kobo Aura H2O.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Did it get factory update for epubs or does it only do Sony format? I nearly bought one of these new, but couldn't afford it. May have been first eink sold in Ireland.

The Sony was given to me late in it's life. I think it reads ePub, but I'm not positive.

[Figlilly]

My oldest is a Kindle 4 from 2011. I bought it by mistake. I thought I was ordering the Kindle 4 touch. They did sort of look alike to people like me who can get blinded by new shiny objects. It would have been amusing to any passers-by to watch me on unboxing, trying to get that non-responsive screen to do something. Luckily I was on my own so my embarrassment and annoyance at myself was mine alone.

Over the years, I have tried to give it away twice. Both times it has been returned. The first time, the mother of my friend preferred to take my old Kindle Keyboard 3 because that is what she was used to. The second time, more recently, to another friend. She kept it for a few months but then politely returned it. She is just not into ebooks.

These days I have quite the collection of Kindles (and one Kobo) and I keep them all charged. The Kindle 4 can be a bit dodgy with its charging light not always lighting up. It's a case of having to jiggle the cable - actually unplug and replug usually kicks it into gear. I much prefer reading on my Oasis though.

[Tarana]

For old stuff, I have 4 kindle keyboards, a Kindle 5 and a Kindle Touch. All of these came from Woot. My original K3 was traded in January 2019 due to failed power switch. Before you all make fun of me, I have been trying to sell the Kindle 5 (too many ereaders), but people keep changing their minds. I also have a Nook Simple Touch that I had given to a family member when I bought my Nook Glo3. She gave it back to me when she found she preferred the Fire. The ST is another one I've tried to sell, but no takers.

I bought the 4 K3s so that when one failed I had several backups. Currently, two hold series, one holds this month's book club reads and the other just gets charged as a backup. The kindle Touch has just the right highlighting feature for me to use editing ebooks that have been converted from scans. When I finish the 12 or so books I have to edit, I will sell this one too (again, too many ereaders).

[4691mls]

Last time I checked, my Sony PRS-T1 purchased in early 2012 was still operable. I'd only use it as an emergency backup if all my other readers died though because of the dictionary lockup issue.

[rcentros]

I think the oldest working eReader I own is a Sony PRS-505 (originally made in 2007, but not discontinued until 2009). I guess, technically, the M-500 "works" if you consider the battery going dead within five minutes "working." I also own an Astak EZReader Pocket Pro that has an amazingly good battery for its age (stays charged in "standby" for about two months). About the same age is my Sony PRS-300 (Sonys mostly have good batteries). I also have an Ectaco JetBook "Reading Device," but I have no idea how old it is because they made (or at least sold) these for quite a while. The battery is good on that one too. Also an Ectaco JetBook Lite, which will never will have a battery problem since it uses two AA batteries. Again, I have no idea how old it is. These can still be bought Ectaco (along with the JetBook Mini) but I'm guessing both are very "old stock."

I've attached three images of the Sony PRS-505 and Astak EZReader Pocket Pro. Sorry about the quality.

[rcentros]

Strangely, I tried recharging the Sony PRS-500 (again) and it's now holding a charge. (Maybe the charger I originally used wasn't powerful enough to revive it?) So I guess that's my new "oldest" eReader (2006). This is one was never updated to use ePub and the books on it are in BBeB format. And, like the Kobo's current KePub, pages were counted by the screen. So, change the font size and the book's total number of pages change.

I've attached a (poor) image of it — it's using a short novella I converted to LRF format just to try it. The PRS-500 hooks up fine to Calibre 4.0 under Linux Mint 19.1 (64 bit). Pretty amazing for a nearly 14 year-old reader.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Strangely, I tried recharging the Sony PRS-500 (again) and it's now holding a charge. (Maybe the charger I originally used wasn't powerful enough to revive it?) So I guess that's my new "oldest" eReader (2006). This is one was never updated to use ePub and the books on it are in BBeB format. And, like the Kobo's current KePub, pages were counted by the screen. So, change the font size and the book's total number of pages change.

I've attached a (poor) image of it — it's using a short novella I converted to LRF format just to try it. The PRS-500 hooks up fine to Calibre 4.0 under Linux Mint 19.1 (64 bit). Pretty amazing for a nearly 14 year-old reader.

Did you ever get the ePub upgrade for the 500 that Sony did for free? I did when I still had the 500.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Did you ever get the ePub upgrade for the 500 that Sony did for free? I did when I still had the 500.

No, I bought this PRS-500 used a few months ago — with several other eReaders in a Shop Goodwill "grab bag" of untested readers. I mostly bought the "grab bag" for a Kobo Aura HD. That one didn't work at first, but once I opened it up and re-seated the microSD card it's worked fine (I've used it quite a bit). The "grab bag" also included two PRS-505s (one with a broken screen, one is in great shape, pictured in an earlier post), a Kobo WiFi, a white Kobo Touch (works fine, but the battery doesn't hold a charge), a Sony PRS-600 and a PRS-900 (with lighted case) and three Literatis (which I haven't tested). These "grab bags" are mostly how I ended up with so many eReaders.

I've attached a couple images of the "grab bag" that was posted on Shop Goodwill. I originally thought the Kobo Aura HD was an original H2O.

It looks like the firmware on the PRS-500 was just slightly too old to support ePub (it does support Adobe DRM PDF). Firmware version 2.0.00 1425 1 (c) 2006-2009.) When I load an ePub on it, it just doesn't show up in the Menu.

[ZodWallop]

This thread made me plug in my 505. Unfortunately, I can't find a mini-USB cord, so couldn't connect it to the PC.

I believe my 505 only reads BeBB (someone gave me the reader and I've never really used it). If I install the Sony Reader software and connect the reader, that should update the firmware, right?

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

This thread made me plug in my 505. Unfortunately, I can't find a mini-USB cord, so couldn't connect it to the PC.

I believe my 505 only reads BeBB (someone gave me the reader and I've never really used it). If I install the Sony Reader software and connect the reader, that should update the firmware, right?

I don't think so. I don't think you need the Sony Reader software at all, but you will need the PRS-505_Updater_xxxxx.exe application.

I asked the same question last December and was given a link to the firmware that no longer works...

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=325794

But I do have the file (fortunately). I think it's less than 19MB (I incorrectly wrote kilobytes, sorry.) I'll see if I can put it up on my Google Drive.

(PM sent.) I "compressed" the single file into a zip since some virus checkers don't like downloading .exe files.

[AnemicOak]

Still have a Sony 505 and a Cybook Opus that work fine. Had a Kindle 2 US that worked fine until about a month ago when I traded it in for one of Amazon's 20% off a new device deals.