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.

[JSWolf]

I have a T1 with the modified reading app so I can side load my choice of fonts and it has a clock. It still woks. But would I pay $45? No way.

I would put that $45 towards another Reader. I would buy a Kobo Libra 2 if I could find one which I can. Otherwise, I'd go for the Pocketbook Era.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by quentincompson

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 got a couple T2s and the batteries are good in them. So I have no trouble believing the battery is still good. That said, I do have trouble believing the charge would stay the same for four years without charging. I think, at the very least, I would ask him to fully charge the T2 it to see how it reacts.

If you want another T2 and this one is in as good of shape as the seller says, it might be worth it to you, whether the battery is good or not (replacement T2 batteries are not hard to find and are not expensive, at least not in the U.S.).

As for $45, that would have been expensive for a T2 a few years back, but they're beginning to pass into the "rarer" stage now and prices are getting higher.

Good luck whichever way you go.

[rcentros]

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).

Actually I like the way Sony readers render fonts. And, though they don't have a "bold" setting, you can adjust the contrast, making the font darker without changing its shape — which can be an advantage over "bolding" the font, which makes fonts thicker.

Besides the OP already likes the display on the T2. There is something to be said for familiarity.

[rcentros]

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.

Images aren't that common in novels.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by quentincompson

... I’ve attached the photos of displays for comparison purposes:

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

The T3 uses a higher resolution Pearl screen (1024x768, 212 pixels per inch) while the T2 uses an 800x600 resolution Pearl screen (167 pixels per inch). This means the T3's fonts are finer, but I'm guessing you like your fonts more "filled in" — bolder. You can darken the T3's fonts' contrast but it will still produce finer fonts. It would help if you could install a darker font (like Constantia) to the T-3, but it's not easy to do that (I don't know if it was ever possible on the T3). (Personally I like the T3's finer fonts.)

You can convert your ePubs and change the default font to Constantia (or another thicker font), but I get the impression you just want to read your books without a lot of fuss.

In your case I would probably advise getting a backup T2 and selling your T3 (which should more than pay for the cost of a T2 as they were much rarer).

Or, as others have mentioned, you might want to look at a newer reader.

Good luck whichever direction you go.

[kwik]

Originally Posted by quentincompson

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 cannot say if he's not lying, but a half-charged li-ion battery is about what they recommend if it is going to be in storage for a while.

Originally Posted by quentincompson

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!

I have only tried the PRS-T2 "case with light". I had plans to get the PRS-T2 after they were discontinued, but I never actually got around to it. The T2's cover with light is so much better than the one for T3, which starts to wear and fall apart at the edges and doesn't give you a nice gooseneck-mounted LED which the T2's case does, nor does it properly protect the edges of the device like the T2's case does. The T2's case is thicker, but so much more robust and usable.

The PRS-T3 should be higher resolution, so if you appreciate smaller pixels, it might grow on you. As others have said, you can play with the settings if you would like to see text darker.