RSSSony Updates Electronic Book Reader
By Ed Oswald | Published October 2, 2007, 2:50 PM
Sony unveiled the newest edition of its digital book reader, roughly a year after it launched the first version. It will go on sale later this month.
At a price of $299, it is about $50 cheaper than its predecessor. It will also come in two colors -- silver and dark blue -- and have better controls to browse through books.
While the first reader broke ground in crispness and clarity of display, the newer model has even better contrast, making for clearer images and text, and easier reading in bright sunshine.
The internal battery will last for approximately 7,500 pages, and the device includes magnification and landscape viewing capabilities. Formats other than Sony's proprietary reader files supported include PDF, RTF, text, and JPEG.
To get users started with their devices, Sony offers a credit to purchase about 100 different classic books at no charge. The store includes an additional 20,000 titles for purchase, the company said.
About 160 books could be stored on the device at any given time. ""The Reader can handle a stack of books and other documents that people would rather not carry," Digital Imaging and Audio senior vice president Steve Haber said.
If the user chooses, he or she could store additional books on a Memory Stick Duo or SD card, as the device includes an expansion slot. Additionally, the new Reader can be used as a mass storage device.
Sony said the device will be available through its Web site, and through authorized retailers including Borders when it is released.
Another great gadget. I actually own PRS500 and it was one of my best bargain. You can read book clearly. Personally i use RTF file. They are smaller than PDF, and you can magnify them faster. I bought one in march and read almost 15 books.
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|yet another gadget to carry around.
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|Personally, I prefer the Nokia 770 for reading ebooks.
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|kbsoftware, if you're still wanting to see one in person, I recommend visiting a store like Borders.
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|Very interesting I never got the chance to see the first version, nobody I know owns one and the Sony stores never seem to have any, well except one excuse after the other.
I buy most of my books now in pdf format (about 5% come in chm and I have 3 books in djvu) because they are way cheaper, many are free. Even my Everyday Practical Electronics in pdf format, $18 for a year subscription compared to over $100 for the magazine.
I also travel some plus it would be nice to read with this device without having to turn the computer on, would be cheaper on hydro :)
But before I buy one I really want to check it out in person first. So hopefully I'll get a chance.
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|Does anyone actually read books through one of these? I see advertisements for the thing littered all over several San Francisco BART stations, but have yet to see anyone actually use it.
Is it an acquired taste? I read around 35 pages in one, but found it to be rather annoying IMO. I do like the amount of books that can be stored on the device, but those books don't do me any good if I can't stand to use the bloody thing.
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|available in Canada yet?
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