Complaining to Sony

[dclavey]

Does anyone know a good SONY email or telephone that gets answered (I have tried to complain using official channels, but all I get is clueless support people), that I can send a complaint email to about the units inability to cope with 13,000 ebooks?

Built-in 512MB memory easily stores up to 350 eBook titles, so you can carry all your favourite novels on-the-go. Add more memory with MS Duo (up to 16GB) and SD card (up to 16GB) slots for up to 13,000 eBook titles - practically an entire library

Well it can cope ... but only if you put it on mains charger because it takes days to re-index regardless of how you put the books on the device.

Anyway I am mad, this is blantant mis-marketing!

[lilac_jive]

I don't really see how it's false. In the second part it is showing the highest capabilities. That is why it says "up to."

I still don't see the purpose of having that many books on it. Since the Sony interfaces with a computer it's just not necessary.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by dclavey

Does anyone know a good SONY email or telephone that gets answered (I have tried to complain using official channels, but all I get is clueless support people), that I can send a complaint email to about the units inability to cope with 13,000 ebooks?



Well it can cope ... but only if you put it on mains charger because it takes days to re-index regardless of how you put the books on the device.

Anyway I am mad, this is blantant mis-marketing!

Just a suggestion: Don't re-index. Build the index once. This may take hours, but then it's done. Don't change anything. Without changes, there should be no need for re-indexing and your unit should start within seconds. I've never tried with 13.000 books, my maximum was about 1.800 - didn't have the slightest problems. When adding for example 10 books, it took about the time for indexing the 10 books, not the existing 1.800. Deleting seemed to take way more time though.

[dclavey]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Just a suggestion: Don't re-index.

I don't want to repeat another Thread, but it seems that when you remove the unit from a USB or put a Flash Card in the software shows the busy sign while it checks if any books have been added that its does not know about. The more books to check the worse the time gets.

Here is a summary of my tests repeated with lots of variation over three days:

600 ePub's on SD Card take:
- 12 mins to re-index
- 3 mins to start if indexes are correct

With 1000 lrf books and 600 ePub's onto the SD Card = 1600 books
- 61 mins to re-index
- 33 mins to start if indexes are correct

With 2000 lrf books and 2000 ePub's
- I stopped reindexing after a day - Totally nuts

I have tried five methods of re-indexing.
1. Deleting everything except the books from SD Card and Sony Memory and letting the unit itself reindex.
2. Using Sony eBook Library to copy them on
3. Synconisaing using Sony eBook Library
4. Using Calibra
5. Manually editing the cache files.

I have found the Sony eBook Library appears some how to create "incorrect" indexes. and if I use them I get the worst time every time I USB the device.

End of summary

As for "False" - if their marketing say 13,000 books and it would take several days to use the reader every time you attach the USB and detach it again. Thats got to be a complaint. The problem is the "automatic re-index detection" if there was some way of saying "Don't even try to reindex" then all would be hunky dory. You could almost call this automatic process a Bug ... How could they have ever tested it?

[dclavey]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

I've never tried with 13.000 books, my maximum was about 1.800 - didn't have the slightest problems. When adding for example 10 books, it took about the time for indexing the 10 books

What software were you using to syncronise?

[dclavey]

By the way Sony support are answering my support emails.

However no real answers yet to my serious questions about the products performance when it has 13,000 ebooks on it.

[Superlucky]

Originally Posted by dclavey

Does anyone know a good SONY email or telephone that gets answered ...

I called the 877-263-2863 number today and was helped quickly by someone pretty competent. I was having a problem with Adobe authorization stuff. I started with the "chat support" and spent an hour arguing with someone who kept trying to convince me that epub was not supported on the 505 and kept referring me to the manual. When I finally won the argument, he admitted that he couldn't help me with the problem and gave me the phone number. He said he was very sorry and I told him he should be fired.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Superlucky

He said he was very sorry and I told him he should be fired.

Well done!

I called for help the other day. I had three computers authorized to my account and one of them we no longer have access to so I called and had Sony remove the two and they did right away.

[dclavey]

Sony support have cut me off

Here is the email trail:

Me to Sony:

The product description for the PRS-600 states:

"Add more memory with MS Duo (up to 16GB) and SD card (up to 16GB) slots for up to 13,000 eBook titles "

Now it is possible to get 13,000 ebooks or more on the card - however after you have used USB comms to add one more book you have to wait 12 hours for the unit to reindex, even when you use the "Sony eBook Library".

So I want to know how can I load 12,000 ebooks and not cause a reindex for 12 hours ?

Sony's Reply:

Thank you for your recent e-mail received on 03/10/2009 01.39 PM.

I am sorry to learn of the issue you have encountered with your Sony PRS-600.

I would recommend that you download the firmware update for your product, from the link below.

http://support.sony-europe.com/dna/p...n_GB&m=PRS-600

I trust that this will be of assistance to you.

Yours sincerely

Nick Burbridge

Thank you for filling out our enquiry form. If the suggested solutions below do not answer your question and you choose, or have chosen to submit your question, it will be allocated to one of our agents for reply.

In the meantime, we think that the following answers may help with your question:
• Reader PRS-505 : What titles are supplied on the CD supplied with the Reader
• Reader PRS-505 : Cannot view a pdf file from a memory stick or SD card
• Reader PRS-505 : Can not be switched on when connected to a PC
• Reader PRS-505 : My Reader will not charge
• Reader : PRS-505 Is it safe to just disconnect the Reader from the PC

My Reply:

Nick

I am very unhappy with your reply because you are not taking the problem seriously. This appears to be a Product (i.e. all PRS-600's) problem, not a problem with my unit. Please re-read my problem description.

For your information (From About Box):
Sony Touch PRS-600 is version 1.0.01.08040
eBook Library version 3.0.00.08040

I have also reset the Sony Touch PRS-600 to factory state and reformatted both the internal flash and the 8G Duo Flash Card and repeated my experiments.

So I want to know how can I load 12,000 ebooks and not cause a reindex for 12 hours?

From Sony:

Thank you for your reply.

The link you have provided details specifically Hacking on the PRS-600, this would suggest the product has been changed from original specifications.

I regret that I cannot offer any further assistance and I will be passing the link details to another department.

Yours sincerely

Nick Burbridge

I replied

Nick

Your answer to my question is almost unbelievable. I am completely shocked. I have always been a Sony Product fan and here I am telling you about a deficiency in your product and you reply with nonscence! "this would suggest the product has been changed from original specifications".

I have a new PRS-600 which is completely in pristine condition, which I have been trying to put 13,000 ebooks on as your advert says. It became quite clear with experiments that when I got above 2,000 ebooks the machine became very very slow when it is loading. Basically unusable for long periods whenever the USB is connected and disconnected.

I asked all sorts of experts on the www.mobileread.com web site as to what I should do. But with the goal of discovering how to get 13,000 books on the PRS-600.

My PRS-600 is not hacked in any way, as far as I know it is completely unhackable.

I do not think that returning my machine to factory condition and reformatting the internal memory and Duo memory is hacking as I was following the instructions in your manual.

I am very suspicious of the "Sony eBook library" software which appears to create "faulty" (not sure how) indexes (cache) files. I am a very computer literate person so carried out lots of tests after my attempt to load 3,000 books failed on day one of having the new device.

Sorry when I say "pristine condition" obviously as soon as I started up "Sony eBook Library" for the first time it straight away downloaded the latest firmware release. Indeed your first email to me said download the latest firmware release.

The only other modification I have made to the product is to fit it inside a "Sony Leather Cover" and put a 8G Duo memory card and a 16G SD Card in it. Why so much memory - My original thoughts were to put my library of eBooks on the device - like your advert says.

Lastly

"I will be passing the link details to another department" - hopefully you are esculating my call to your R&D guys. Because you have a product problem here I think.

Currently I have only 100 books on the device and it operates sweetly, I love it. This is the first sony reader I have bought. I did wonder whether to get the PSR-300 but finally splashed out extra cash and bought the PRS-600 because your adverts promised you could put upto 13,000 eBooks on it.

I am also assuming that this problem with your device will take a while for your software guys to fix, which I will accept.

I suggest you give me a call around 11:00 tomorrow to discuss this problem in detail, or email me back and suggest another time.

regards

David

Sony replied

No email, no phone message .... silence ...

#@&*£$

[lev]

here's a hotline number I was given to contact for technical support.
hope this can help you
1-800-222-7669

[NSqirrel]

May I make one point, and that is that Nick Burbridge has seemingly had a look at this forum, and hence I hope that he picked up some of the comments about the Sony readers and that he,or others, will continue monitoring the discussions.

As far as the PRS 600 goes, Sony has a good platform, with a few quirks and oddities; It would be nice to hope that Sony will address the issues rather than just incorporate them into new hardware and effectively discard the current range. (Alternatively, open up the s/w links so that other developers can improve performance, e.g. with PDF files.)

[dclavey]

Ooooo possible Happy ending

Sony actually rang me and then sent this email:

Following our conversation this morning as requested I am advising your product does not appear to be acting as it was designed, in this instance i think it may have a fault.

As you have been in contact with Sony since 3rd Oct 2009, i would advise you speak to your retailer about the possibility of them replacing your product, however if they are not prepared to do so please for to the address below for me to inspect the unit and replace if confirmed to be faulty.

Sony United Kingdom Limited
Customer Information Centre
Jays Close
Viables
Basingstoke
RG22 4SB

I trust that this course of action meets with your approval and look forward to hearing from you in the near future.

Yours sincerely

Will Wilson
Customer Information Centre
SONY UNITED KINGDOM LTD

Thank You Sony ... and give Will a Pay rise ... he listens.

[el.astrologo]

Interesting, please let us know if the "new" one can handle all 13k

[dclavey]

Originally Posted by el.astrologo

Interesting, please let us know if the "new" one can handle all 13k

Bet it doesn't ! But the very helpful Sony Support Guy seemed to think I had a faulty machine, rather than it was a Product (software) fault.

[kacir]

Report them to authorities for false advertising.