Sony unveiled two new models in its Reader line of e-readers and announced lower prices for its eBooks.
“We firmly believe consumers should have choice in every aspect of their digital reading experience,” said Steve Haber, president of Sony’s Digital Reading Business Division. “Our goal is to expand the market and provide greater access to what consumers want to read when they want to read it – whether they buy, borrow or get it for free.”
The Reader Pocket Edition (PRS-300) and larger Reader Touch Edition (PRS-600) will both come with 440MB of memory (enough for about 350 eBooks), support for Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word, BBeB, and EPUB formats, and a sealed-in battery promising up to two weeks of reading on a single charge. The Reader Pocket Edition will come with a 5-inch display while the Reader Touch Edition will sport a 6-inch touchscreen display (both will come with 8-levels gray scale and a resolution of 800 by 600). The Reader Touch Edition will also support handwritten notes (stylus, finger, and virtual keyboard all supported) and come with both Memory Stick PRO Duo and SD card slots and an onboard Oxford American English Dictionary.
Unlike the Kindle, neither supports a wireless connection. Users will need to connect these to their PCs to download new books.
The Reader Pocket Edition will be available in blue, rose, and silver whereas the Reader Touch Edition will be offered in red, black or silver.
Both will be available later this month. The Reader Pocket Edition will cost US$199 and the Reader Touch Edition for US$299.
Sony also reduced the price of its eBooks. New releases and New York Times bestseller titles in the eBook Store from Sony will now be available for US$9.99.