It is likely that Asus is going to make its own ebook reader device under the Eee brand, reported by Digitimes. This Eee reader could be seen on the market possibly by the end of this year. It is also implied by the report that another Taiwan based company, MSI plans to expand its portfolio with an ebook reader.
While we have already predicted that there will be an abrupt increase of ebook reader units on the market stimulated by the introduction of the EPUB open standard by Sony, it seems that a prosperous ebook reader time is approaching much faster than we thought. We won’t be surprised to see more units coming out of the surface.
Sony’s new Daily Edition Reader
With a 7 inch touch screen, a 3G modem, and full content support from NYPL, the Daily Edition is set ready to compete with Amazon Kindle DX. This new unit will be available in December at $399. Still you need some patience to have your hands on this hot gadget.
Sony just announced that the NYPL (New York Public Library) will offer its digital content free of charge to Sony e-reader users. Along with this announcement, Sony also launched the new 3.0 ebook Library Software, including the feature to print the notes made on the touch screen.
Sony just keeps moving on. A new ebook reader called “Daily Edition” now appears on Sony’s ereader website, with a “Coming Soon” label on it.
Daily Edition from Sony
Rumor has it that the new daily edition ebook reader will finally adopt the wireless network for digital content access, but yet this is just a rough guess based much on the website’s slogan: Words Move Me. We will find it out very soon according to Engadget.
Update: OK. So the guess is right. The new Daily Edition is equipped with a 3G modem, so now its quite easy to get the digital content from the internet just like Kindle DX. Sony again fulfils its promise.
Sony to adopt common format for ebooks
It is obvious that Sony is keen on its ebook reader, and we have been seeing a lot of news from Sony Reader lately, which almost surpasses the heat of Amazon Kindle. Now Sony is trying to push its ebook product line to another level with the introduction of common format for ebook readers.
The fact with the most popular ebook reader is that the downloaded books is only readable on its proprietary reader. This (might) bring some troubles to the users when they attempt to read their ebooks on another platform. Sony announced on Thursday that it will sell its digital books only in the ePub format by the end of the year. The ePub format is an open standard created by a group of publishers including Random House and HarperCollins. Another great news is that Sony will also scrap its proprietary anticopying software (some kind of DRM) which is used to restrict the copy and distribution of ebooks. Still a new measure using Adobe’s technology will be adopted to control how the digital books can be copied or shared.
It is expected that there will be a abrupt increase of the ePub capable ebook reader in the market after this announcement because all ebook titles for Sony Readers will also be readable on other ePub platforms. This change is significant, as Sony will not making its ebook business hardware-reliant but rather title oriented. “If people are going to this e-book shopping mall, they are going to want to shop at all the stores, and not just be required to shop at one store,” said Steve Haber, president of Sony’s digital reading unit.
Thinking of the (relatively) high price of Amazon Kindle unit, the move to the open format is natural and competitive. Amazon still holds the largest collection of ebook titles, however, it imposes hard restrictions on the copyright management of its ebooks. The recent advocation arised since Amazon deleted the copies of George Orwell’s “1984” and “Animal Farm” from the Kindle libraries of people who have bought the novels.
To sum it up, Sony will adopt an open format for its digital content, and will sell its ebooks at $9.99. Sony also says that it will integrate the wireless connectivity in its next generation Reader lines late this year. With the rumor that Apple will also announce a Tablet unit which is also capable of ebook reading, the ebook business war officially heats up.
Sony Reader homebrewed
Nigel Whitfield recently wrote a detailed guide on the hacking of the Sony Reader PRS-505.
The universal flasher
Sony new readers revealed
Several days ago, we expected the new readers from Sony, the PRS-300 and PRS-600. Now they are officially announced by Sony, at the price of $200 and $300, respectively. Sony also gives these two devices with more friendly (or boastful) names: Sony Reader Pocket (PRS-300) and Sony Reader Touch (PRS-600).
The PRS-300 is so far the cheapest e-book reader device on the market. It is equipped with a moderate 5 inch screen, and can be easily fit into a (large) pocket. In an attempt to rival the Amazon Kindle, Sony claims that it will introduce the $9.99 new releases and best sellers for Sony readers. Wireless connection feature, however, is still absent on these two new models, and Sony says it is still under development.
Sony’s new e-readers leaked
The pictures of two potential Sony reader PRS-300 and PRS-600 have been leaked to the internet, as well as their service manuals. The new PRS-300 and 600 models have a 5-inch and 6-inch screen, respectively. Both models are equipped with 440 MB internal storage, while the PRS-600 exclusively supports SD/MS extension. Three colors (red, silver and black) will be available for both units. Other specs, like WiFi connectivity have not been confirmed from the service manual alone. The price should also be in line with the preceding Sony readers.