Make a Sony E-Reader Picture Frame

The technology world is continuously changing. Today’s awesome technology is tomorrows trash, its just a simple fact of life. I truly believe we should do what we can to reduce, reuse and recycle our old tech.  Today while rummaging through the archive of stuff I came across an old Sony PRS-600.

The Sony PRS-600 was released in 2009 and by all standards ready for the trash heap. Before sending this device off to its finial resting place I decided to make a cute black and white picture frame.

Step 1 – Prepare the PRS-600

Using an old  2GB SD card, I loaded up around 300 of my favorite photos, inserted it into the unit. On the settings menu I configured the PRS-600 to never shut off, and run a perpetual slide show with a 60 second delay between images.

Step 2 – Mounting the unit

The next step into re-purposing this device is to find a suitable frame to mount the unit in. I found mine at the local Christmas Tree Shop for around $5.00 including the mat. The frame was 1″ thick, plenty of room to mount the unit.

I double stick taped the device to the mat and positioned it as shown in the image. A notch needed to be cut into the side of the frame to allow the power cord to exit.

Step 3 – Front Light?

One of the faults of the PRS-600 was it did not have a back light. The e-reader required ample room lighting to be seen. Once the device is in the frame, it could be difficult to see the images under certain room lighting. My device came with a case that had a battery operated book light. I harvested the book light and mounted it inside the frame.

Final Thoughts

The PRS-600 was a pretty lousy e-reader back in the day, and to be honest it makes a pretty lousy picture frame too. However for $5 in supplies it makes a nice item for your desk and keeps some old technology out of the landfill. If anyone has a way to ROOT this device and install a copy of Linux on it please let me know.

Thank you for reading my blog,
Joe

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