I recently flashed the firmware on my Sony PRS 650 Touch using Boroda’s “Russification” firmware. If anyone else is interested in doing the same, here is a not-as-short-as-I-thought-it-would-be guide for you.
The Russian firmware replaces the Dutch language options on the Reader with Russian. It will also allow you to change some of the button functions, take screenshots, and have an always-visible clock next to the battery indicator. The most useful thing it does, however, is allow you to change the font used for DRM and non-DRM ePUBs that don’t already have fonts embedded in them. (I have read on Mobile reads that adding a Body tag to your CSS will sometimes override the embedded fonts in some ePUBS, but I haven’t tried it myself yet to confirm it.)
Notes/Warnings:
Flashing the firmware on your Sony can be risky. It is possible to “brick” your reader if something goes wrong. DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. Ensure that your Reader’s USB is securely connected to your computer and that your Reader is fully charged. It’s been suggested that temporarily disabling your virus protection and firewall may also help, though I cannot confirm this myself. This works on the newer model Sony Readers – the 350 Pocket Touch, the 650 Touch, and the 950 Daily Edition.
Flashing the Firmware:
1. Download the appropriate firmware from the Russian site here (Google Translate link).
I used the latest version available at the time of this posting (Version 1.05j). The firmware creator has provided the downloads for the original firmware for each of the Readers, so don’t forget to download that as well, just in case something goes wrong, or you decide the “russified” firmware isn’t for you.
2. Unzip the “russified” firmware onto your Desktop. You must have a Windows machine for this to work. For Mac/Ubuntu users – I do not know if this will work with Windows running in a Virtual Box. I just borrowed a Windows laptop for a few minutes.
3. Connect your Reader to your computer and wait until Windows recognises it. If the Sony Reader software opens, close it.
4. Open the folder where you unzipped the firmware and double-click the file called “flash_reader.bat”. Be sure you are running it as the Administrator. A window will pop up. Type “Y” to confirm that you want to flash the Reader. When prompted, press any key to continue. Your Reader will reboot twice. You can now remove the Reader from your computer. If all went well, you should be able to change a few new settings on the About page in the Settings section. Tap each new “button” on-screen to scroll through your options for each setting.
Click = Bigger
Changing Fonts:
When you connect your Reader again, you’ll notice a new folder called “epub” on your device. It contains a few CSS files – userStyle.css, userStyle.dflt.css, and userStyle.droid.css – and a subfolder called “FONT”. userStyle.dflt.css is a backup of the Reader’s font style. userStyle.css is what the Reader will use to choose the default font from (the Russian firmware has this already set to Droid Serif). userStyle.droid.css is a backup copy of the Droid Serif font style.
If you want to change the font to something else, say Cambria, then all you need to do is a little editing and some copy/paste. Create a new subfolder in the FONT folder. Name it “cambria”. Put your font files in there. Then open userStyle.droid.css and copy/paste the contents into a new blank text document (you can use any text editor for this). Edit the font names and folder paths so that they point to your new font. Save the document as “userStyle.cambria.css” so you have a backup of it. Copy the contents of this new file, open userStyle.css, paste it into that file and save again.
Disconnect your Reader and enjoy your new font!
References:
Boroda’s Firmware
Troubleshooting and further info on how to customise the firmware.
Flashing the Firmware
Troubleshooting, font styles, and CSS help (MobileReads).
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m a little confused about the description of “Russianification.” If I run this, will the menus of the Sony Reader become Russian? On the Borada page (on Google translate), it shows a picture of Sony Reader with Russian menus. The method of changing fonts is exactly what I’m looking for, except of course I don’t want to have Russian menus.
Basically, it replaces the Dutch menu option with Russian, so the rest of the language options are still there. Does that help? I’m sorry for the confusion!
Can I use this method on a PRS350 (japanese version, with only English/Japanese) to add French to the menu ?
I believe you can use this on the 350 (though I’m not sure about the Japanese version). Check out the original link for the downloads and more Q & A. Good luck!