Buying Sony PRS-T2 in 2024, need your advice

[quentincompson]

Hey, guys! I’ve already made a post here a while back, and you helped me out a lot. Now I was hoping you could once again give me your advice about the following issue.

I’ve found a mostly unused Sony Prs t2 for around 45 bucks (the seller says he’s only read two or three books with it and that the e-reader has mostly been gathering dust on the shelf). I’m considering buying it, but I’m a bit concerned about the battery.

The guy says that he never let the charge drop to zero, and that the last time he used the book was about four years ago and the battery was half-charged when he turned it off. Now, four years later, he turned it on again and according to him it still shows the same charge (two segments). Do you think he ‘s telling the truth? Is it possible for the battery to remain with about the same charge for 4 years? And if he’s not lying, then does the fact that the book hasn’t lost its charge for such a long time mean that the battery’s health should be ok?

I’ve already have a T2 model and I was hoping to buy a second one as a spare. In fact, I also recently bought a secondhand T3 model, but it doesn’t feel that much different from the T2 (I only read novels in epub), and it’s supposedly been much more frequently used than the T2 that I’ve found (though the T3 is still in great condition, with one minor issue - i feel like that by default the text that the T3 displays in somewhat fainter and not as bold as the T2's); consequently, I could sell the T3 and buy another T2 instead.

Thank you!

[Sirtel]

Personally, I wouldn't spend such an amount on an ancient Sony reader. If you want bold, sharp text with good contrast, any modern Kobo or Kindle would do, as you can adjust the font weight and sideload a custom font (neither of which you can do on a Sony).

[Quoth]

$45 is too expensive for a Sony T2

[JSWolf]

The T2 is an old slow Reader with a low-res screen. It has problems with hi-res images. It can either be very slow to open the images or it can crash.

[quentincompson]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Personally, I wouldn't spend such an amount on an ancient Sony reader. If you want bold, sharp text with good contrast, any modern Kobo or Kindle would do, as you can adjust the font weight and sideload a custom font (neither of which you can do on a Sony).

Hello, thank you for the response! It’s not that i actually need those features and options - i don’t really care about them one way or the other - my T2 works just fine for my taste; the reason I’m not that satisfied with the T3 is that the way it displays the text by default (without messing around with the settings) compared with the T2 is a little bit frustrating to me - the text in the T2 seems kinda more saturated and bold, and on the T3 it’s somewhat lighter and more faint. I don’t know what to make of that - is this the way all T3 models display the text? It makes me think that the e-ink display on my T3 model started ok – more bold, but has been getting worse with time and the text will continue to become fainter and fainter until it gets impossible to make out. I’ve attached the photos of displays for comparison purposes:

T3: https://imgur.com/a/mzxUHpp
T2: https://imgur.com/a/fhLbhSZ

[quentincompson]

Originally Posted by Quoth

$45 is too expensive for a Sony T2

Hello, I appreciate your response! You are probably right – it’s a bit pricey for such an old piece of technology; even so, other e-readers are even more expensive in my country these days (for instance, the latest basic Kindle costs around 140 bucks; Kobo Libra 2 is more than 200), and I can’t really afford to pay that much for them right now. But i get your point - it will make more sense to just stick with my existing Sony e-readers until they call it quits, and then buy some modern e-reader; hopefully, by that time i will be able afford one.

[quentincompson]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The T2 is an old slow Reader with a low-res screen. It has problems with hi-res images. It can either be very slow to open the images or it can crash.

Thank you for the comment! You are correct - i'd imagine that Sony e-readers are a lot slower compared with the newer readers, but i'm not really bothered by their speed - my T2 and T3 seem plenty fast for my needs (i only read fiction / non fiction, hardly ever read any pdf’s, and can't remember the last time i read something with images). But i do get your and Sirtel's and Quoth's point - it's not a good idea to pay so much for such an old e-reader)

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by quentincompson

Hello, I appreciate your response! You are probably right – it’s a bit pricey for such an old piece of technology; even so, other e-readers are even more expensive in my country these days (for instance, the latest basic Kindle costs around 140 bucks; Kobo Libra 2 is more than 200), and I can’t really afford to pay that much for them right now. But i get your point - it will make more sense to just stick with my existing Sony e-readers until they call it quits, and then buy some modern e-reader; hopefully, by that time i will be able afford one.

Yeah, I would try to save some money to buy a new device in the future, rather than cough up 45 bucks for an old Sony. But of course you must make your own decision - your preferences may not be the same as mine, and almost certainly aren't.

[graycyn]

OK, as the owner of a still-working Sony T2, as nice a device as it is, I would not spend this much on buying that old of a device.

I check on my own Sony T2 every month or so, and it generally is fine, but eventually, I'll need to top it up.

The reason I would not go out and buy such an elderly device is that these batteries eventually all give out, and it's possible for them to swell and crack the e-ink substrate, or even cause a fire. The seller might be being perfectly honest, yet, you could spend your money, and end up with the device failing very soon after purchase. One just never knows. After a decade, the clock may be ticking.

If your current device is still going, keep using it, save up for something a little more recent. But it's up to you, as there's always the possibility your Sony could decide to up and "go" as well.

The benefits of a more recent device can include things like front lighting, or even warm front lighting, not to mention more speed and the ability not to struggle with higher resolution images, as mentioned. And even if you don't read illustrated books, it can be an issue with cover images.