I got myself a Sony Reader (Portable Reader System PRS-500 – is that a better name?) a few weeks ago. Great little device, and I’ve been reading a lot on it since I got it. In the beginning I also regularly had it hooked up to the computer to upload content, but now I’ve got nearly 50 books in it that need reading, so I didn’t hook it up for a while.

Since the device didn’t have any power supply connected, I’m checking out how long the battery actually works. Sony says it should be around 7500 page turns, and it seems to me that this is rather far from the truth… the power meter in the device is a bit jumpy – it has 4 parts, and every time it goes down one, it spends some time flipping back and forth. I got down from 3/4 to 2/4 one day, and the next day I was up to 3/4 again, stayed there for quite some time before going back down. Right now I’m on the brink of going down to 1/4, and while I haven’t counted the pages I’ve read meticulously, I’m guessing that I should be at about 3000 page turns now. Reaching 7500 before the battery needs recharging seems rather unlikely.

Do you have any experiences with this? Mind you, I’m not saying I have a problem with the battery. I’m sure it lasts long enough for anyone the way it is. I’m just wondering whether other people’s experience is similar to what I’m seeing.