taking the plunge: buying a 650, selling my 600

ebooker · 10-13-2010, 12:31 AM

After thinking about it for a long time, i've decided to take the plunge.

Truth be told, I did not have any major issues with the 600. I know the standard complaints, but they did not bother me all that much. I actually liked the less-contrast screen. I dont like high contrast screens. I liked the extra heft that screamed quality. Size? It was certainly small enough for any reasonable person. And the Sony cover fit it so perfectly.

So why upgrade? The only reason i'm upgrading is because I figure I'll upgrade anyway, so it may as well be now. I'll upgrade mainly for the dictionaries. I think its a no-brainer for language learners to have one-tap definitions popup on the screen, in e-ink no less.

Sure, the lighter weight, better screen responsiveness, and better contrast, are all plusses, technically

Upgrade issues to be navigated:
1. de-authorizing, syncing books and notes, resetting old one
2. putting it up for sale. I have all the original packaging, I think.
3. setting up new one, transferring books. I'm actually not counting on notes and etc seamlessly syncing to the 650.
4. I want an ac adapter for the charger. Dont want to pay $30 at the sony store for what is essentially an ac-usb adapter that you can get on ebay for $5. I'm assuming any old ac-usb adapter will work.
5. I want a nice cover like the sweet brown leatherette cover I have for the 600. I cant find covers for the 650 anywhere. I dont want to pay $35 (!) for the sony official one. The sony official one also has an extra-large plastic connector, which I dont get. Why so large? I want my cover to be small and light (and brown and leatherette). Cant find one. I might just buy a small journal cover and use velcro as someone suggested. At least until someone (m-edge, we're waiting) comes out with a decent and reasonably priced one.

The sony store in manhattan has the 650. I called them up asking about price-matching and/or student discounts. The answer was "No" on both :-(
I mentioned that tigerdirect would save me $18 in taxes, and asked if they could offset the price by a bit. "No". Oh well, tigerdirect, here I come.

I hope to keep the 650 for a while (2 years? 3 years?) and not upgrade in a knee-jerk way every time a new model comes out, because i think actually for an e-ink e-reader, it pretty much has everything a reasonable person could require. I think the only thing that could make me upgrade again is if a)bluetooth keyboard connection, or b)better audio player with playback speed control, for listening to audio books (without playback speed control and audio bookmarks, the player is useless for anything except background music). It seems to me its also a no-brainer for sony to add those two features to create a single device for both text and audio books.

SeaBookGuy · 10-13-2010, 12:37 AM

I have a 650 on order myself to replace my 505 I'm giving to a friend.

Audiobooks really suck up the juice, even there were bookmarking (resume function). Moreover, most of mine are either wma or audible format.

I'm not planning on another unit for at least 2 - 3 years either.

ebooker · 10-13-2010, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

I have a 650 on order myself to replace my 505 I'm giving to a friend.

tigerdirect quoted me a nov 15th ship date :-(

Quote:

Audiobooks really suck up the juice, even there were bookmarking (resume function). Moreover, most of mine are either wma or audible format.

thats true, and i dont mind a dedicated reader without using its audio features. What i'd like to see going forward, technology-wise, is better integration of notes back to the PC. The sony is the only ereader that has such comprehensive note taking ability among ereaders (freehand plus text notes plus highlighting plus bookmarks) and that was a huge draw for me. I'd like one-click xfers of those to MS Word though

Someday.

Quote:

I'm not planning on another unit for at least 2 - 3 years either.

I think thats reasonable because a) its one way to get our money's worth out of the premium we pay for the sony, and b) as a simple workhorse dedicated reader, the 650 should do the job, its not missing much at all and is way ahead of other readers in its annotating/dictionary/touchscreen features. All in a small and lightweight package.

SeaBookGuy · 10-13-2010, 01:22 AM

ABT has the 650 with no tax + free shipping (UPS Ground) for the list price of $229 -- mine is in transit as I type this, due to arrive roughly a week after I placed the order.

I don't take notes, or highlight, but I wouldn't mind the freehand drawing feature for sketching simple maps, etc.

Sony has made it so that not any charger (adapter) will work, but compstible Blackberry ones are available for a lot less than $30.

ebooker · 10-13-2010, 02:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

ABT has the 650 with no tax + free shipping (UPS Ground) for the list price of $229 -- mine is in transit as I type this, due to arrive roughly a week after I placed the order.

thanks, i'll change my order first thing in morning

Quote:

I don't take notes, or highlight, but I wouldn't mind the freehand drawing feature for sketching simple maps, etc.

or even just to scribble a todo list, instead of booting up computer

Quote:

Sony has made it so that not any charger (adapter) will work, but compstible Blackberry ones are available for a lot less than $30.

well i figure a usb-ac adapter like this one that mimics a usb port should technically work... i have one lying around i'll try that first I guess. WOuld love to know the voltage/current specs on the official sony one.

ebooker · 10-19-2010, 03:30 PM

got my 650 from abt today. Its better in every respect. THe very first thing i noticed out of the box was the weight difference. Next I noticed the rubberized back. Then the smaller size. Everything is better, i'm glad for the upgrade, tho i cant afford to always upgrade like this! I hope this one will last at least 2 years for me.
Love the multi-language dictionaries.

I considered taking 600 vs 650 pics side by side, but there are pics like that already out there, and I have to package up the 600 to put in the mail (just sold it).

tvuongpham · 10-19-2010, 04:11 PM

call back ABT cust serv for your free cover!!
Sony Reader Digital Black Book Cover With Light - PRSACL65B (black)
or
Sony Reader Digital Red Book Cover With Light - PRSACL65R (Red)

$49.99 value free!!!

sony cover with light!

ebooker · 10-19-2010, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tvuongpham

call back ABT cust serv for your free cover!!
Sony Reader Digital Black Book Cover With Light - PRSACL65B (black)
or
Sony Reader Digital Red Book Cover With Light - PRSACL65R (Red)

$49.99 value free!!!

sony cover with light!

I noticed that (sony sent me an email about the offer), and i looked for it on the sony site but didnt see it. Also I didnt particularly like those lighted covers (weight = .6 lbs! over half a pound! Also so huge). But if its free, I suppose I may as well get it. Meanwhile i'm making my own cover for it out of a leatherette journal cover.

ebooker · 10-19-2010, 05:11 PM

ok, just chatted with abt customer service. They ROCK. Seriously. So technically i bought the reader just before the offer of free cover began, so technically i did not qualify. However obviously I could have just sent it back to them and reordered it (technically), and they know that. So without any fuss, she basically said, ok as a courtesy we're going to send it to you. Very cool, I didnt have to plead with her or anything.

Really enjoying the new reader btw. The screen is just gorgeous and the touch sensitivity is so much improved. The only feature I think was beter on the 600 is note taking, probably the result of moving to the new technology. But it still does work, just have to slow down a bit while writing.

I wholeheartedly recommend ABT to anyone, btw. I hadnt heard about them before buying this, and so far my experience with them has been 110% positive.

10-13-2010, 12:31 AM	#1
ebooker Banned Posts: 140 Karma: 16076 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: NYC Device: sony prs-650!	taking the plunge: buying a 650, selling my 600 After thinking about it for a long time, i've decided to take the plunge. Truth be told, I did not have any major issues with the 600. I know the standard complaints, but they did not bother me all that much. I actually liked the less-contrast screen. I dont like high contrast screens. I liked the extra heft that screamed quality. Size? It was certainly small enough for any reasonable person. And the Sony cover fit it so perfectly. So why upgrade? The only reason i'm upgrading is because I figure I'll upgrade anyway, so it may as well be now. I'll upgrade mainly for the dictionaries. I think its a no-brainer for language learners to have one-tap definitions popup on the screen, in e-ink no less. Sure, the lighter weight, better screen responsiveness, and better contrast, are all plusses, technically Upgrade issues to be navigated: 1. de-authorizing, syncing books and notes, resetting old one 2. putting it up for sale. I have all the original packaging, I think. 3. setting up new one, transferring books. I'm actually not counting on notes and etc seamlessly syncing to the 650. 4. I want an ac adapter for the charger. Dont want to pay $30 at the sony store for what is essentially an ac-usb adapter that you can get on ebay for $5. I'm assuming any old ac-usb adapter will work. 5. I want a nice cover like the sweet brown leatherette cover I have for the 600. I cant find covers for the 650 anywhere. I dont want to pay $35 (!) for the sony official one. The sony official one also has an extra-large plastic connector, which I dont get. Why so large? I want my cover to be small and light (and brown and leatherette). Cant find one. I might just buy a small journal cover and use velcro as someone suggested. At least until someone (m-edge, we're waiting) comes out with a decent and reasonably priced one. The sony store in manhattan has the 650. I called them up asking about price-matching and/or student discounts. The answer was "No" on both :-( I mentioned that tigerdirect would save me $18 in taxes, and asked if they could offset the price by a bit. "No". Oh well, tigerdirect, here I come. I hope to keep the 650 for a while (2 years? 3 years?) and not upgrade in a knee-jerk way every time a new model comes out, because i think actually for an e-ink e-reader, it pretty much has everything a reasonable person could require. I think the only thing that could make me upgrade again is if a)bluetooth keyboard connection, or b)better audio player with playback speed control, for listening to audio books (without playback speed control and audio bookmarks, the player is useless for anything except background music). It seems to me its also a no-brainer for sony to add those two features to create a single device for both text and audio books. Last edited by ebooker; 10-13-2010 at 01:06 AM.

10-19-2010, 04:11 PM	#7
tvuongpham Banned Posts: 183 Karma: 2826564 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: Kobo Aura, Kindle Paperwhite 2nd gen, Kindle KB (dead) PRS-T1, PRS 350	call back ABT cust serv for your free cover!! call back ABT cust serv for your free cover!! Sony Reader Digital Black Book Cover With Light - PRSACL65B (black) or Sony Reader Digital Red Book Cover With Light - PRSACL65R (Red) $49.99 value free!!! sony cover with light!

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Taking the plunge	Roger Parkinson	Introduce Yourself	8	06-01-2010 02:40 PM
PRS-600: I think I'm taking the plunge!	michaelhughes	Sony Reader	20	03-03-2010 01:52 PM
Taking the plunge for a second time	Peverel	Lounge	10	09-25-2009 12:12 AM
Finally taking the plunge. . .again :-)	gravescp	Which one should I buy?	13	09-23-2009 02:53 AM
Taking the plunge	pshrynk	Writers' Corner	9	08-14-2009 11:14 AM

10-13-2010, 12:37 AM	#2
SeaBookGuy Can one read too much? Posts: 2,029 Karma: 2487799 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Naples, FL Device: Kindle PW 3, Sony 350 and 650	I have a 650 on order myself to replace my 505 I'm giving to a friend. Audiobooks really suck up the juice, even there were bookmarking (resume function). Moreover, most of mine are either wma or audible format. I'm not planning on another unit for at least 2 - 3 years either.

10-13-2010, 01:22 AM	#4
SeaBookGuy Can one read too much? Posts: 2,029 Karma: 2487799 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Naples, FL Device: Kindle PW 3, Sony 350 and 650	ABT has the 650 with no tax + free shipping (UPS Ground) for the list price of $229 -- mine is in transit as I type this, due to arrive roughly a week after I placed the order. I don't take notes, or highlight, but I wouldn't mind the freehand drawing feature for sketching simple maps, etc. Sony has made it so that not any charger (adapter) will work, but compstible Blackberry ones are available for a lot less than $30.

10-19-2010, 03:30 PM	#6
ebooker Banned Posts: 140 Karma: 16076 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: NYC Device: sony prs-650!	got my 650 from abt today. Its better in every respect. THe very first thing i noticed out of the box was the weight difference. Next I noticed the rubberized back. Then the smaller size. Everything is better, i'm glad for the upgrade, tho i cant afford to always upgrade like this! I hope this one will last at least 2 years for me. Love the multi-language dictionaries. I considered taking 600 vs 650 pics side by side, but there are pics like that already out there, and I have to package up the 600 to put in the mail (just sold it).

10-19-2010, 05:11 PM	#9
ebooker Banned Posts: 140 Karma: 16076 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: NYC Device: sony prs-650!	ok, just chatted with abt customer service. They ROCK. Seriously. So technically i bought the reader just before the offer of free cover began, so technically i did not qualify. However obviously I could have just sent it back to them and reordered it (technically), and they know that. So without any fuss, she basically said, ok as a courtesy we're going to send it to you. Very cool, I didnt have to plead with her or anything. Really enjoying the new reader btw. The screen is just gorgeous and the touch sensitivity is so much improved. The only feature I think was beter on the 600 is note taking, probably the result of moving to the new technology. But it still does work, just have to slow down a bit while writing. I wholeheartedly recommend ABT to anyone, btw. I hadnt heard about them before buying this, and so far my experience with them has been 110% positive.

Advert

Advert