Sony PRS 505 on its way

dannybgoode · 08-14-2009, 08:58 AM

Hi All

Having wanted an reader for ages I've finally taken the plunge - bit sad really but I want to catch up on some of the classics that I never enjoyed at school! My wife would kill me if I were to buy any more physical books so an ebook reader seemed to be the way to go as most of what I want to read is on Gutenberg etc anyway.

There seems to be a bit of a price war broken out on the PRS 505 with Play, John Lewis and WH Smith all offering it for £150.00ish which brought it into an acceptable price range (£200 is just a bit too steep).

I know there's the PRS 300 and 600 on the way but I want to read and have no interest in being able to annotate etc so no need for the 600. I've also been around gadgets long enough to know that whilst an early release doesn't necessarily have the techincal best spec they are usually the ones people keep hold of for years 'cos they're so good in all other respects, when a firm starts building things down to the price as seems to be the case with the 300 quality can suffer quite badly. I don't think for example that it will have a metal case. I know people point out the weight is similar to the 505 but plastic can easliy weigh as much as aluminium, especially as it often needs to be thicker.

The 505 looks incredible, is well built and well tested in the field. I remember having a Sony Walkman once (yes one that you put an actual tape cassette in) and it cost over £200 15 years ago! It was built like the proverbial and sounded absolutely brilliant but noone bought it because it was too expensive. They never made another one as good though. Wasn't go to miss out on the 505!...

Thanks

Danny B

HarryT · 08-14-2009, 11:31 AM

The "downside" of the PRS-505 is that it has a very early, and somewhat primitive, version of the "Adobe Digital Editions" software on it, which is probably unlikely ever to be updated, with the release of the newer models. It does not support full justification, and is restricted in the size of individual sections of text (called "flows") within an ePub file that it can display.

It may be cheap, but personally I'm afraid that I don't think the PRS-505 is currently a good choice of book reader.

lilac_jive · 08-14-2009, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

The "downside" of the PRS-505 is that it has a very early, and somewhat primitive, version of the "Adobe Digital Editions" software on it, which is probably unlikely ever to be updated, with the release of the newer models. It does not support full justification, and is restricted in the size of individual sections of text (called "flows") within an ePub file that it can display.

It may be cheap, but personally I'm afraid that I don't think the PRS-505 is currently a good choice of book reader.

I thought they were going to update it?

HarryT · 08-14-2009, 12:13 PM

If that is the case, then I happily stand correctly, but I've not personally seen an announcement of that.

pilotbob · 08-14-2009, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

If that is the case, then I happily stand correctly, but I've not personally seen an announcement of that.

I thought there was talk of a firmware update for existing units to support the Mac software...although I don't know why that would be needed.

Anyway, I guess we will know August 25th... only 11 days to go. Boy, I should set up a count down timer widget on my desktop!

BOb

dannybgoode · 08-14-2009, 01:53 PM

Given that Sony are only going to be selling epub books on heir online store from now on and given the installed base of PRS 505 users I'm confident of a firmware upgrade.

If its no good I'll flog it or return it (John Lewis have an excellent 28 day no quibble return policy if bought online).

Cheers

Danny B

pilotbob · 08-14-2009, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dannybgoode

Given that Sony are only going to be selling epub books on heir online store from now on and given the installed base of PRS 505 users I'm confident of a firmware upgrade.

We are talking about the 500 not the 505. The 505 already reads ePub books.

BOb

lilac_jive · 08-14-2009, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

We are talking about the 500 not the 505. The 505 already reads ePub books.

BOb

Actually, we were discussing the 505. Which is why I'm confuzzled.

pilotbob · 08-14-2009, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

Actually, we were discussing the 505. Which is why I'm confuzzled.

Oh... me too I guess. Thought this was a different thread. You don't need a firmware update to read ePub books on the 505. Although the viewer does have some drawbacks as I have heard... so an update to fix some of those issues would be nice.

BOb

lilac_jive · 08-14-2009, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Oh... me too I guess. Thought this was a different thread. You don't need a firmware update to read ePub books on the 505. Although the viewer does have some drawbacks as I have heard... so an update to fix some of those issues would be nice.

BOb

Yeah I'm a little nervous about the transition. I love my LRX files the way they are, giant margins and all.

AnemicOak · 08-14-2009, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

I thought they were going to update it?

Yes, they've said there will be a firmware update for the 505 & 700.

08-14-2009, 08:58 AM	#1
dannybgoode Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: Sony PRS 505	Sony PRS 505 on its way Hi All Having wanted an reader for ages I've finally taken the plunge - bit sad really but I want to catch up on some of the classics that I never enjoyed at school! My wife would kill me if I were to buy any more physical books so an ebook reader seemed to be the way to go as most of what I want to read is on Gutenberg etc anyway. There seems to be a bit of a price war broken out on the PRS 505 with Play, John Lewis and WH Smith all offering it for £150.00ish which brought it into an acceptable price range (£200 is just a bit too steep). I know there's the PRS 300 and 600 on the way but I want to read and have no interest in being able to annotate etc so no need for the 600. I've also been around gadgets long enough to know that whilst an early release doesn't necessarily have the techincal best spec they are usually the ones people keep hold of for years 'cos they're so good in all other respects, when a firm starts building things down to the price as seems to be the case with the 300 quality can suffer quite badly. I don't think for example that it will have a metal case. I know people point out the weight is similar to the 505 but plastic can easliy weigh as much as aluminium, especially as it often needs to be thicker. The 505 looks incredible, is well built and well tested in the field. I remember having a Sony Walkman once (yes one that you put an actual tape cassette in) and it cost over £200 15 years ago! It was built like the proverbial and sounded absolutely brilliant but noone bought it because it was too expensive. They never made another one as good though. Wasn't go to miss out on the 505!... Thanks Danny B

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08-14-2009, 11:31 AM	#2
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 "downside" of the PRS-505 is that it has a very early, and somewhat primitive, version of the "Adobe Digital Editions" software on it, which is probably unlikely ever to be updated, with the release of the newer models. It does not support full justification, and is restricted in the size of individual sections of text (called "flows") within an ePub file that it can display. It may be cheap, but personally I'm afraid that I don't think the PRS-505 is currently a good choice of book reader.

08-14-2009, 12:13 PM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	If that is the case, then I happily stand correctly, but I've not personally seen an announcement of that.

08-14-2009, 01:53 PM	#6
dannybgoode Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: Sony PRS 505	Given that Sony are only going to be selling epub books on heir online store from now on and given the installed base of PRS 505 users I'm confident of a firmware upgrade. If its no good I'll flog it or return it (John Lewis have an excellent 28 day no quibble return policy if bought online). Cheers Danny B