[azayzel @ Oct 13th 2007 2:07AM]

How about a ittle FUD and fudged numbers to help sell a product. I've had the PRS-500 since it came out and can tell you that some of the numbers being thrown around are an over-exageration, such as:

1. The PRS-500 is the same thickness as the PRS-505; in other words, it is also 3mm at its thinnest, with maybe 5mm in the middle; not quite a half inch (which is actually quite thick!). So, it's not "far thinner" than the other, maybe a mm difference between the two.
2. The screen refresh is not much faster than the earlier model, which didn't take a whole second to change, mor elike .5 seconds. People who have the 500 and 5050 side-by-side say they cannot tell the difference in which flips pages faster. So it not a "vast" improvemment.
3. The main thing that is an improvement over earlier models is the Vizplex screen, which is brighter and has less ghosting, due to having a higher contrast. Not two talking points, but one and the same.
4. The memory improvement is nice, which means you probably won't be needing to use an SD or MS expansion card. Didn't really need one on the previous model either.
5. Start-up is "near instantanious" with the 500 model as well. In other words, no lag, it's instant-on.
6. And finally, the PRS-505 actually has more buttons than the previous model, so you better rethink your re-tooled interface with less buttons comment. I've actually heard quite a few issues with the power button on the new model being quite problematic.

If you're looking for a Reader and already have a 500 model, don't bother upgrading unless you sell your current one on eBay to recoup your cost. It's not really worth the upgrade.