PRS-600 Where does additional flash storage really fit in?

[helebor]

I took delivery of my PRS-600 a couple of days ago and, as a piece of hardware, it does the job I needed it to do. However, to be frank, the documentation (user guide for the device and help file for the Reader Library) are very poor. I think also the firmware is not bug-free. I feel like a beta tester. Have read up a bit about Calibre, which tempts me to give that a go.

I ordered a 16GB Kingston SDHC card at the same time, and plugging it in "works", insofar as it is seen by the RL software. I would expect the system of the device itself to reflect the presence of the card in the memory report that appears on a cold startup. However, it still shows only the inbuilt storage available. I see repeatedly in the docs that Sony would not certify that *any* brand would work.

Should I conclude that this card *doesn't* work, then? Or am I mistaken in the assumption (taken from the Sony sales pitch) that adding a card increases the storage available to the device? The poorly-written documentation doesn't make it clear, one way or the other.

I'd be pleased to know what experiences others have had with their cards.

TIA
Helen

[Paul58]

A simple test would be to remove the SDHC Card and transfer a file to it via your computer, then insert the card in your reader and see if you can find in the list of files.

[Mike_73]

Originally Posted by Paul58

A simple test would be to remove the SDHC Card and transfer a file to it via your computer, then insert the card in your reader and see if you can find in the list of files.

That's exactly how the 505 was handling files.
I just got me a 600 and haven't tried the SD-Cards yet as files stored on the device were faster (opening and page turn) on my 505. The 600 has a little more memory and therefore there wasn't a need to use the memory cards yet.

If there is no answer to your question in about 5 hours, I can try this when I get home. But even if Sony states the use of SDHC-Cards is ok, it could be possible that there is a limitation of size for the cards. Most "older" devices could handle up to 4GB and everything beyond was not properly recognized. Now the only thing I don't know is if Sony utilizes an "old" or a newer card reader in the 600.

[igorsk]

Originally Posted by helebor

I ordered a 16GB Kingston SDHC card at the same time, and plugging it in "works", insofar as it is seen by the RL software. I would expect the system of the device itself to reflect the presence of the card in the memory report that appears on a cold startup. However, it still shows only the inbuilt storage available. I see repeatedly in the docs that Sony would not certify that *any* brand would work.

The Reader only shows books if they're present on the card (and shows a little SD icon next to them). It doesn't have any way to indicate just the presence of the card itself.

[elcreative]

Igorsk hit it spot on... if there are no books then it doesn't show... Mike is right about some devices having size limitations but the last Sony to have any size limit (with SDHC cards) was the 505 and that was fixed with the firmware update (the one that also allowed ePubs).

All current Sony eReaders are perfectly happy with 16GB SDHC cards but just because you can read a card this size doesn't mean you can fill it and use easily. After a few thousand books, the Sony scan gets very long winded... we are talking hours after loading books whilst it rescans.

[helebor]

Originally Posted by elcreative

Igorsk hit it spot on... if there are no books then it doesn't show... Mike is right about some devices having size limitations but the last Sony to have any size limit (with SDHC cards) was the 505 and that was fixed with the firmware update (the one that also allowed ePubs).

It certainly didn't complain!
Thanks to you and the others for replying. Actually, what I did not long after writing the original post was download Calibre. Using that, everything proved to be straightforward: I used its tool to load some books onto the card and subsequently they showed up in the Books UI when the reader resumed, along with the little "card" marker that was mentioned here.

Originally Posted by elcreative

All current Sony eReaders are perfectly happy with 16GB SDHC cards but just because you can read a card this size doesn't mean you can fill it and use easily. After a few thousand books, the Sony scan gets very long winded... we are talking hours after loading books whilst it rescans.

Hmmm...I didn't think of that. Actually, I didn't have 100% success with the Synch tool, not helped by the fact that the doc in both the Reader Library help and the User Guide seem to be describing how to do that on a different device altogether. Contrary to instructions, there doesn't seem to be a way to disable the auto-synch and do it manually. It referred to a "Synch Now" button that isn't there and to context menus that are not there, either.

Thanks, folks, I'm getting there. Doing research reading PDFs on LCD screens was becoming impossible. The characteristics of the reader seem to suit just fine for studying in bed!

Cheers, Helen

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Mike_73

That's exactly how the 505 was handling files.
I just got me a 600 and haven't tried the SD-Cards yet as files stored on the device were faster (opening and page turn) on my 505. The 600 has a little more memory and therefore there wasn't a need to use the memory cards yet.

If there is no answer to your question in about 5 hours, I can try this when I get home. But even if Sony states the use of SDHC-Cards is ok, it could be possible that there is a limitation of size for the cards. Most "older" devices could handle up to 4GB and everything beyond was not properly recognized. Now the only thing I don't know is if Sony utilizes an "old" or a newer card reader in the 600.

Haven't tried 16GB, but my SanDisk 8GB is working without problems.