One of the reasons the Sony PRS-T1 was so popular was the fact that the underlying Android operating system could be hacked to run Android applications to bring a number of additional features to the Reader.
It could install several different ereading apps, alternate homescreens for a different look and feel, support for additional languages, and even the Android Market, among other things.
Unfortunately it doesn’t look like Sony’s latest ebook reader, the PRS-T2, will be getting the same advancement in features anytime soon, despite the fact its operating system is based on Android as well.
Boroda, the person responsible for figuring out how to root the PRS-T1, has tried the same method to hack the PRS-T2, but it appears that Sony has closed the back door.
Here’s what Boroda recently posted on a Russian forum regarding his attempts to hack the PRS-T2:
I don’t think I can do much more, but I am sure there are others who can try a different approach and possibly get different (successful) results. At this point I’ve pretty much decided it’s not worth the effort and the time to keep poking in the dark. I am rather impressed with Sony’s work towards locking the device, especially since PRS-T1’s only advantage over its bigger and better competitors was ability to install and run Android applications. I wish Sony had spent the time improving hardware and software rather than looking for ways to shut down independent development.
That certainly doesn’t sound too promising. Someone will likely discover a way to open up the PRS-T2’s software at some point in time, but it doesn’t sound it’s going to happen any time in the near future. If you want a hacked Sony Reader, you’re probably going to be better off getting a PRS-T1.
Someone needs to remind Sony that one of the best secret weapons a company could have is “Open Source”.
Let’s just face it. One more reason not to get the T2.
I’ve got the T1 myself and have been very satisfied with it but the next one wont be the T2, that’s for sure. It felt outdated before it even hit the shelves. Too bad.
If I had any stocks in Sony I think I would drop them now before they experience “The Kodak Moment”!
Yeah, I will be shocked if B&N follows suit and actually makes it HARDER for people to hack their new devices. They have to know that there are probably thousands of people who chose to buy the Nook Color/Tablet exclusively because of its root capabilities (it would be interesting to find a statistic on that). Hopefully B&N will play to this advantage and reap the sales benefits of having a more open device. They would be stupid not to do this.
As for the Sony PRS dev, aside from the comments he made about the new difficulty of hacking the PRS-T2, he also said that it wasn’t worth his money to pay for a device that wasn’t really an upgrade! He is sticking with his PRS-T1, haha! Sony has created an EPIC fail with the PRS-T2. At $130 for an outdated device, I can only predict that Sony Reader sales with crash and burn this holiday season. Any tech-minded shopper will immediately pass it up.
I’m wondering if the Sony Reader division will live to see the PRS-T3 at this point…
While competitors were working on front-lighting, better fonts, and XGA eink screens, Sony was busy taking out the two features that made the T1 interesting: audio and android hackability.
Congratulations, Sony; you succeeded in making the T2 totally irrelevant to the marketplace.
Amazing how well they read the needs of the market.
Yeah, I’m hoping that Sony takes a brutal pounding during the last quarter of 2012 so they can feel our pain. They removed key features from the PRS-T2, like half of their dictionaries and audio. They did absolutely nothing to improve their three-year-old 600 x 800 E Ink screen, not even a font rendering firmware update. And what do they offer in return? The same $130 price tag, Evernote, and a Facebook feature that didn’t even work on release?!? This has to be the most insulting upgrade in the history of eReader devices. Don’t forget, Sony has been willing to put out crap before. Their first touch screen readers had the worst glare and contrast of any reader, ever. But they still presented them to customers with a smile.
Please buy a Kobo this Christmas, and support a real eReader developer.
I’ve got two Sony T1, for me and my wife. We have both rooted in order to read our fb2 books and to execute an application we use to have our library sorted (Lipapa T1). Now I was looking for two ereaders more, for my children, but I’m going to buy two Kindles. If I can’t get the control over my ereader, I’ll choose a cheaper (and better) ereader. It takes to me the same time converting my fb2 books to epub or mobi, so I’ll get two cheaper and more modern Kindles. I think Sony ereaders are going to dissapear very soon, with this wrong marketing and building police. People are demanding open technologies, but Sony is building black boxes. What a pitty!
Hi,
I’m also surprised by the fact that all eReaders are systematically based on a “closed OS”.
Hopefully, now, the majority of smarphones and tablets have an open OS thanks to Android.
It could be so easy and cheap to supply a good eReader based also on a basic Android.
Who wants to join me to design and deliver this device ?
😉
It does sound like there’d be no reason to move to this from the PRS-T1. I have the latter and have been happy with it–with this exception, which unfortunately is looming ever larger: prices at the Sony Reader store are ridiculously high, and rising all the time. I was just looking for some books and there wasn’t one I wanted for under $15.99–and I saw several for $17.99. This is absurd for an e-book. I’m getting very steamed up about it.