This was released several years ago. I recall reading about how cheap the OLED screens were to manufacture. I'm thinking Sony is getting ready to release an updated (color?) version and I bet the price will be cheaper. The screens are very inexpensive, so I bet the $299 price point was set to recover some R&D costs with this model. Kodak used OLED color displays in several of their lower end cameras so the perception is that this reader should be at a $99 retail.

actually, this one is pretty new, and they use 2.5 generation E-Link.

it runs linux inside.
http://blog.timcarmichael.com/2006/12/11/montavista-linux-on-the-sony-prs-500/

I have one of the Sony readers and I love it (even if it is Sony). Minimal eye strain, the e-ink makes a huge difference over reading from laptop or PDA. Battery life is huge, 2500+ pages between charges. Holds 100+ books in internal memory and SD cards up to 2 gb (I've been grabbing every book I can and haven't made a dent in the SD card). Great for travel, I can't stand to read paperbacks anymore.

Deal info: $100 credit if you sign up for the Chase card and purchase through Sony website. $150 credit is $50 on Sony Connect weebsite (recent books, bestsellers, etc) and $100 for classics (public domain books you can get for free from project Gutenberg).

Very active community providing conversion tools (mobileread.com). Sony format is LRF, but also supports txt, rtf and PDF. PDF's are a pain to read unless they've been formatted for the reader. Basic indexing, so not the best for reference manuals or encyclopedias.

G53DSS said:The screens are very inexpensive, so I bet the $299 price point was set to recover some R&D costs with this model. Kodak used OLED color displays in several of their lower end cameras so the perception is that this reader should be at a $99 retail.

OLED displays CAN be cheaper to produce in theory but have yet to become reality.

Kodak does NOT use OLED displays in several of their lower end cameras. They have used OLED in one camera which was the Kodak EasyShare LS633 which originally sold for $399. This initial price point takes it out of the lower end of their cameras. The camera did not sell well and the OLED displays did not appear in other cameras. The display on a LS633 was immediately noticeable as an OLED display because of greater viewing angle and with what appeared to be (in my opinion) better blacks. No other OLED camera from Kodak comes to mind.

I am not against a color ePaper device coming soon to market but I am not aware of any major strides in that area which would make it possible.

i have just ordered one at tiger direct for 100 bucks... i rather pay extra 50 and no cc BS!
well i guess even for 100 its a pretty good deal...
it seams that after a day the item is "no longer available..."
we ll see when i get the item!

ketayun said:What did you get? The card or the reader? According to Chase they will issue a coupon for the reader after the card has been approved. However the CSR was very vague and did not know that the offer was for applying/being approved for the card and not for using it... so just wondering.

Thanks.

Card does also have other benefits -- 0% APR on BTs for 12 months, for one.

frenzieddeals said:damager said:Generally TigerDirect will note something as refurbished if it is. This looks new, HOWEVER, the price is now up to $249, so I'm not sure if it was a very limited time offer or a price mistake. I purchased one at the $99.95 price as well.Up to $329 now. Maybe they are trying to recoup their losses from those of us lucky enough to get in at $99?

I came across the deal at TigerDirect by coincidence, and stumbled my way back here to see that there was a post about it. I asked the customer service rep then, to confirm it was a new product, and they said it was. Anyways, I ordered mine for $99 and it already shipped will be here tomorrow.

Edit: For further information, I ordered mine on the 3rd in the late afternoon. It was shipped that night. It appears I ordered it 1 day before there was discussion here about it.

mine was shipped too.

eclipz said:I know somebody at SonyCard and they said existing card members can get the product at a big discount in the next week or so. I dont think it will be $49 probably like $150 or $200, but you will still get the free software ($149). Better than the crap shoot with TD. Anyway, I just applied for another Sony Card account, I said I wanted a separate one for business. I'll keep you posted.

Did they mention *how* existing card members can get the reader at a big discount? through their website, or a phone promotion, or what?