07-27-2008, 05:35 PM | #1 |
Sir Penguin of Edinburgh
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Wifi on the 505 - SDIO or Memory Stick?
I was in my favorite electronics store the other day, and I noticed the PRS-505 with its two card slots. It occurred to me that Sony might have added the second slot with the intention of adding a Wifi card upgrade some time in the future.
A question for our hackers: If Sony is going to add Wifi, which slot do you think it will be? Is there any chance the hardware would support the equivalent of SDIO for the Memory Stick? I think it will most likely be an SD card. If you also think this, then do you think a new 505 owner should plan for the upgrade by buying a Memory Stick for expansion instead of SD? |
07-27-2008, 06:36 PM | #2 |
Wizard
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We discussed some of this before.
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25287 But if they come out with a WiFi-enabled model, I'm pretty sure it'll be built in, not SDIO. |
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07-27-2008, 06:47 PM | #3 | |
Sir Penguin of Edinburgh
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But why have 2 slots if not for SDIO Wifi? Can't be for extra storage. Also, there is no cover on the slots. I would say they are expecting to have a card sticking out. |
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07-27-2008, 06:51 PM | #4 |
Wizard
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Second slot is for MemorySticks.
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07-27-2008, 06:55 PM | #5 |
Sir Penguin of Edinburgh
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07-27-2008, 09:50 PM | #6 | |
Booknut
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Oh yeah--there's no cover for the slots because they gave us those plastic dummy cards to protect the contacts. |
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07-27-2008, 10:15 PM | #7 | |
Sir Penguin of Edinburgh
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07-27-2008, 11:11 PM | #8 |
Connoisseur
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Those things need drivers as well, there'd have to be another firmware release with the drivers in it for it to work.
I'm kind of lukewarm about Wifi support. I can understand why people want it (for RSS feeds etc.) but I sort of feel that there's just no need to urgently hop on to a wireless network and get more books. I mean, given the vast storage capacity available and the time it takes to read a sizeable novel I just can't imagine the urgent need to get more content. |
07-28-2008, 04:30 AM | #9 |
Liseuse Lover
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Even if the controller supports SDIO, you would still need a firmware update with drivers and a way to interact with the wireless. It would also need some kind of input device hack to enter WEP/WPA keys. I don't see it happening.
My thinking is Sony is sticking with its Memory Stick fetish as they have done all these years, and added SD support to appeal to a wider range of people. SD and memory stick card slots are seldom fitted with a cover, usually they just stick in a dummy (which is exactly how I got my 505, with 2 dummy sticks). Or possibly they wanted you to have the books in the memory stick slot, and you can quickly and conveniently slot in an SD card with pictures from a camera or something. |
07-29-2008, 05:43 AM | #10 | |
Media Whore.
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07-29-2008, 06:33 AM | #11 |
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Sony have a habit of making devices with a memory stick slot plus something more "standard". Eg, several of Sony's digital cameras have both a memory stick and a CF card slot. I suspect it's simply a pragmatic approach - they feel obliged to include a memory stick slot because they invented that memory format, but realise that more people are likely to buy a device which also supports the far more popular SD or CF format.
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07-29-2008, 06:40 AM | #12 |
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There were Wifi memorysticks. (And prototypes of cameras, gps...)
If the PRS firmware was more open, I think a bluetooth connection would be more useful. It would be able to download books within RSS feeds. I'm not always home but I always have my phone with me. |
07-29-2008, 06:42 AM | #13 | |
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Hacks don't have to be hardware-based. |
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07-29-2008, 06:52 AM | #14 |
Sir Penguin of Edinburgh
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Now that was the answer I was looking for. Thank you.
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07-29-2008, 07:31 AM | #15 |
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I think that poster is confusing SDIO SD cards with memory sticks.
SDIO can do other things besides store data: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital_card#SDIO the whole memory stick pro thing is ONLY about storage. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_stick_pro |
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