Sony PRST1BC eReader

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Fog

372 posts

Ultimate Geek

#90532 23-Sep-2011 14:34

Sony PRST1BC eReader being released next month. Anyone had a play with this prior to release.?
Or is there a decent write-up other than the Sony site.? I am not sure whether to wait for this model or
get a Kindle.

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7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#525182 23-Sep-2011 20:39

I have the PRS-600, which is the older 6 in. model w/out the wifi. The main difference between the kindle and all the other readers is that the kindle pretty much only reads books from Amazon. There are ways to read pdfs on the kindle, but they were convoluted. All of the other ereaders (sony, ipad, nook, etc.) are native pdf/epub formats.

This means that you can buy books, get books from your library, and older books free on the internet. W/ kindle, you can buy only from Amazon. It's kind of like beta vs. vhs, and vhs won. Epub is going to win this battle. The library server, last Christmas, crashed because of all of the people who bought ereaders and were trying to check out books. They had beefed up the server, but it wasn't enough.

The sony is pretty bad for periodicals. If you want Time, Newsweek, etc., kindle or ipad are the way to go on those.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44481080/#.TnxC43OJsi8

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40276953/#.TnxDknOJsi8

These are a couple of links from newsvine. My comments are under Christina-977072.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Reader-Digital-Book-PRS-600BC/product-reviews/B002MWYUFU/ref=cm_cr_pr_btm_link_next_3?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addFourStar&pageNumber=3

This is my review on Amazon. If the new reader is basically the PRS-600 w/ wifi, which I think it is, this should give you a good idea of what you are looking at.

Fog

372 posts

Ultimate Geek

#525186 23-Sep-2011 21:09

Many thanks for your helpful comments. Much appreciated. It looks like the Sony is the way to go so I will
just wait for the new model to be released. Cheers.

ferret455

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#525188 23-Sep-2011 21:20

No problem. It sucks to pay for electronics that don't do what you want them to do. I know a person w/ a Nook, and she really likes it. It is also an epub native, but I don't know if it does periodicals well. Adobe digital/epub is definitely the way to go Amazon screwed up by making the kindle software proprietary. Many publishers would have used the kindle software to publish their books, but Amazon got greedy. Enjoy the new ereader.
The only reason I was poking around for Sony ereaders on the net is that my 18 month old battery is dying. Other than that, no problems, except the crappy software.

ferret455

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#525190 23-Sep-2011 21:24

I think I forgot this--my Amazon review is under C. Mendrinos. 4 stars.

If you don't care about the wifi option, maybe a used prs-600 is the way to go.

Fog

372 posts

Ultimate Geek

#525268 24-Sep-2011 11:32

Thanks again. I am in NZ and we haven't got the choice of readers that you have. No chance of getting a Nook here. Not too many PRS-600 around either. I guess I will wait to see the new Sony.

rscole86

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#525270 24-Sep-2011 11:42

Kindle does support a range of other formats, not just their own (.azw(1)).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200505520&#recognize

Calibre is a great piece of software to use with your kindle, or any other ebook reader. It keeps your books well organised, and will even convert formats that do not display natively on the kindle. ie epub.

If you get a kindle, have a look at this,

http://www.freewaregenius.com/2011/08/28/the-big-list-of-free-kindle-tools/

Fog

372 posts

Ultimate Geek

#525364 24-Sep-2011 16:32

Thanks for those sites. Very interesting and useful. Kindle has hidden talents!!

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shermanp

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Ultimate Geek

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#525370 24-Sep-2011 16:56

As far as the Sony readers are concerned, there is a great team of people working on an extension to the stock sony firmware.

The project is called PRS+, and works on all the current Sony readers. It's homepage can be found here. There are high hopes that it will be able to be adapted to the new PRS-T1 as well, although there are no guarantees.

I currently have the PRS-650, running PRS+, and it's really great.

ferret455

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#525401 24-Sep-2011 19:16

Thanks very much for the link. My only true complaint has been about the Sony software. I would upgrade to the new Sony reader if they applied this software upgrade.
Does this work w/ a mac or just pc?

shermanp

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Ultimate Geek

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#525405 24-Sep-2011 19:38

First time has to be done with windows, but is a very quick and easy process (plug in reader, run PRS+ installer).

Any further updates can be done from whatever OS you prefer (simply copy the update to the internal memory and restart reader)

ferret455

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#525407 24-Sep-2011 19:43

Let me see if I got this right--I get my pc and download the program, install it, then plug in the ereader. I put the program on the ereader itself, and then plug it into my mac?

shermanp

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#525409 24-Sep-2011 19:50

No.

Download the zip file and extract (on your PC).

Plug reader into PC.

Run "setup.exe" that was in the zip file. This is a self contained executable.

The "setup.exe" program will detect your reader, and copies the new firmware to the reader. The reader automatically reboots and flashes the firmware.

PRS+ is installed!!.

To update, download new zip on PC or mac. extract contents.

plug in reader to PC or mac.

Extract update.zip to the internal memory of the reader.

Unplug reader from PC or mac, and reset reader.

PRS+ is now updated to new version.

ferret455

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#525411 24-Sep-2011 19:55

Thanks. I really appreciate the help.

shermanp

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#525414 24-Sep-2011 19:59

You're welcome.

I'm sure you will really like the added functionality PRS+ provides.

For me, I couldn't live without the custom CSS feature for epub files :D (I love my own custom epub settings)

freitasm

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#525418 24-Sep-2011 20:15

ferret455: ... that the kindle pretty much only reads books from Amazon. There are ways to read pdfs on the kindle, but they were convoluted. All of the other ereaders (sony, ipad, nook, etc.) are native pdf/epub formats.

Kindle supports other formats as pointed out, and you can also get free books (out of copyright) from Project Guthemberg and read on your Kindle.

As for PDF conversion, you get a Kindle email address when you register your device, you just need to email the PDF to your address and it will automatically download to your Kindle, in the right format. Nothing convoluted about it.

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