PRS-950 page refresh speed VS PRS-505

[petercreasey]

I don't have my 950 handy.

Is there a history section in the 950 that needs to be cleared?

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by petercreasey

I don't have my 950 handy.

Is there a history section in the 950 that needs to be cleared?

No, not on the 950. You can't clear the history cache from the menu options for individual books like you could on 505. I suppose you could probably edit the CacheExt.xml file to erase the history for a book, but I don't think it's worth the effort. The 950 has a much larger memory and is more stable so I don't think it's really an issue.

[Enkidu of Abydos]

My cynic / pesimist / realist side is thinking - there has to be a catch to the 950, everybody just keeps praising it and counting the ways in which it improves upon the 505, there's got to be a drawback. In my experience with most kinds of gadgets, whenever the manufacturers release new versions of gadgets they are more powerfull and have cool new features, but also usually have at least one (or sometimes several) drawbacks compared to the older version, a step back so to speak. Like how the Canon Powershot SX30 is better in most things then the SX10 (zoom especially), but they switched the AA batteries for stupid proprietary batteries, and the battery compartment can't open with a tripod attached. So far the only flaw I've managed to find with the PRS-950 is that it's a bit uglier IMHO (especially the thicker left edge, wtf ?) then the PRS-505 (which was aesthetically flawless IMHO) which sounds almost too good to be true.

[petercreasey]

No drawbacks to the 950 compared to the 505!

[mcrmama]

Interesting, I have a canon sx10. My Dad said he noticed our friend had a new camera and it was the sx30. He said it was taking beautiful pictures and then he realized it was a newer version of what I had.

In any case, I have the Sony 650 and really love it. I have never been a big reader but am flying through books on it. I love the touch screen. Once I learned how to change the font, that is what has gotten me reading, the reading experience. So nice. I had wanted the 950 but it was not available in Canada and I managed to get the last 650 in a local store here. I am so happy with it.

Jodi

Originally Posted by Enkidu of Abydos

My cynic / pesimist / realist side is thinking - there has to be a catch to the 950, everybody just keeps praising it and counting the ways in which it improves upon the 505, there's got to be a drawback. In my experience with most kinds of gadgets, whenever the manufacturers release new versions of gadgets they are more powerfull and have cool new features, but also usually have at least one (or sometimes several) drawbacks compared to the older version, a step back so to speak. Like how the Canon Powershot SX30 is better in most things then the SX10 (zoom especially), but they switched the AA batteries for stupid proprietary batteries, and the battery compartment can't open with a tripod attached. So far the only flaw I've managed to find with the PRS-950 is that it's a bit uglier IMHO (especially the thicker left edge, wtf ?) then the PRS-505 (which was aesthetically flawless IMHO) which sounds almost too good to be true.

[delphin]

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

No, not on the 950. You can't clear the history cache from the menu options for individual books like you could on 505. I suppose you could probably edit the CacheExt.xml file to erase the history for a book, but I don't think it's worth the effort. The 950 has a much larger memory and is more stable so I don't think it's really an issue.

I agree, but anyone concerned about what you would do if some internal file did become corrupted should know that the PRS-x50 readers DO have a 'Restore Defaults' and 'Format Internal Memory' features that can be used if needed. Along with the hidden hard factory reset.

These are a little drastic though because they will delete everything, so you not only loose any books you have loaded, but also end up deleting your current DRM authorization so then have to reauthorize the reader.

So I agree, these are last resort measures that are not routinely required. Nice to know they are available if needed though.

I have only had one lock up that required a 'soft' paper-clip reset on my PRS-650 and that was related to a EPUB book with rather extreme internal formating (thousands of pages with more than 1200 internal 'chapters'). Even that book was fine until I did a complicated multi-word search for a specific phrase inside the book. All the slightly less complex searches completed in less than a minute, so after a half hour or so, I figured that I had managed to lock up the reader and did a simple paper-clip reset and after that everything was fine. I didn't loose anything.

Badly formatted EPUBs can probably lock up ALL the current readers (not just the Sony, but the Nook and others as well), because they are all based on the same Adobe ADE mobile code.

I have over 1250 titles on my 650 now, including lots of amateur formatted public domain material, and have at least opened most of these titles to check them, and with the exception that single questionably formatted EPUB, I haven't had a single other problem with ANY of them.