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Sony Finally Releases its Ebook Reader

Newspaper current event by Xtremegene on 28 September 2006, tagged as technology

After being delayed for the better part of a year, the Sony Reader has finally been released in the US at the price of $349.99. A branch of Sony's online Connect store was opened for purchasing electronic books, or ebooks, along with the hardware launch. Borders is also slated to carry the Reader and its accessories.

While other ebook readers exist and applications enable one to read ebooks on a PC or PDA, the market has been slow to take off. DRM and a dizzying array of ebook formats have likely contributed to this.

The Reader follows in the footsteps of the Sony Librie, which was only released in Japan. Competition that the Reader faces in the US includes the iRex iLiad, a more feature-rich and pricier ebook device. Both devices (and others) utilize 'electronic paper' - a display technology that uses less battery power (only using power when changing what is displayed, e.g. when "turning" the page) and is easier on the eyes (does not use a backlight) compared to LCDs.

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Start of a Reading Revolution? by Xtremegene :: NR5

While the Reader is not perfect by any means, the fact that it is being released in the US by a major electronics company should say something. While content provided by Sony is still under DRM, the Reader does support many other unencrypted formats such as TXT, RTF, PDF, JPG, GIF, BMP, and even MP3 & AAC. The price point is too high IMO for real 'mass-market' acceptance ($200 or so would be best), but it is cheaper than, say, the Ipod when it first got released. Apples to broccoli, I know, but I think (and hope) that the Reader will build a significant niche market.

Alas, I was planning on getting one soon and trying one out at a Borders, but the Borders around here don't really know when they will first get them. Sony also apparently underestimated the demand and changed their shipping date from "On or before October 31st" to "Mid-November".

If anyone happens to be interested in learning more in-depth about the device, I would recommend this place. It has some first hand impressions and a lot of general information (links to other reviews and what not) about the Reader.

Posted 28 September 2006, Hide, Reply