Sony Reader details and pics

We snagged some details on the Sony Reader we've been spying as well as some precious one-on-one time with the device. We should expect the device to be available in the U.S. this spring (Europe will have to wait for some licensing issues to be worked out with publishers) with a target date of April and a retail price between $299 and $399 depending on bundles accessories. The online book store will launch with about 10,000 titles, with each book available for approximately 20-25% below regular retail price for the physical copy. The display quality is very nice on the unit -- crisp and clear. The UI is fairly intuitive to navigate and you've got several options for frequently used functions such as page turning.

The unit reads PDF files as well as Sony's proprietary (anyone surprised?) BBeB format (stands for Broadband Electronic Books). They will be releasing software for reading BBeB format on your computer so you can read books you've purchased on your PC as well as on the Reader, but apparently you can only "share" your copy of the book with up to six other devices. When pressed for details about how this "document DRM" actually works, the PR rep we spoke with had zero information -- we asked whether a Mac version of the BBeB-reading software would be released but no word on that either.



There is a bookmark feature on the Sony Reader such that you can mark multiple passages and pages for later reference, but there's no on-board search capability. There is search capability in the PC BBeB reader software, but we were told Sony's research indicated on-board search wasn't a high priority for users (or at least the focus groups they asked, in any case). The unit comes with a docking station for connecting to your computer, but there's also a standard USB port on the bottom of the unit in addition to the docking connector, so presumably you don't need to lug the dock around with you to transfer files on the go.

[Kamalot @ Jan 6th 2006 5:29PM]

Get yourself a small slat-styled tablet PC and read your books, web sites, PDFs, word docs and anything else in full color. Surf the Interweb, control your smart home, VNC into your media center, skype with users using your bluetooth headset and stream shoutcast. You can also add more software as time progresses to expand your capabilities in the future.



Tablets also make great media players! Transfer your DVDs or TivO shows and watch them on a huge screen. Try watching video on this e boom reader.



I use an HP TC1100, but many models are already available and make a very nice reading experience and you don't have to use Sony's shitty software.



Oh, and you can search documents on a Tablet, unlike this trash.

[TC @ Jan 6th 2006 5:33PM]

Did you guys deliberately choose a page with 'DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER' written loads of times or is it unintentional irony? ;)

Screen quality looks sweet.

[tiuk @ Jan 6th 2006 5:36PM]

If it were around $150 I'd consider it, but at those prices I'd rather just use my laptop or PDA.

[Bearius @ Jan 6th 2006 5:45PM]

I agree with Kamalot. Why bother shelling that much money for such a limited function tablet. You can buy a lot of books for that kind of cash. I'm still waiting for the next gen Flybook myself.

[Mike Cerm @ Jan 6th 2006 5:45PM]

Yeah, I actually couldn't agree more. Why would I pay $400+ to read on this little device, when the same amount will get me a PDA, Zen Vision, or even a totally bargain basement laptop that will do far more than this will. e-Ink could be great someday, especially if they make it color. This device is useless.

[Roger @ May 16th 2007 11:32PM]

You obviously don't understand how impressive this device actually is. The breakthrough technology with regards to the better than book quality print is amazing. I can't see the graphics on my cellphone outside but the reader is clear in full sunlight. You can stuff alot of books and other sorts of print media in it. A single charge allows hours of reading. It's light and compact. Text size can be changed according to your eyesight. This device will do to reading what the walkman did for music. And, yes, I bought the first one for $300.00 in 1980. 27 yrs. later & Sony's done it again. I'm a writer and also have a 5000 book library. I love my books but this is going to revolutionize how writers get published and how soon they get their stories out to the public. Paper and printing is expensive. Sony didn't make this because they wanted to compete with laptops and other types of portable readers. They have created something that all of their competition is scrambling to catch up to.
Tigeroar

[TC @ Jan 6th 2006 5:47PM]

PS. Kamalot I think you're missing the point of e-readers. If you need to actually continuously read text TFT screens are a bitch, plus the battery life from a tablet is only around six hours compared to days from e-ink. Fair enough if you don't like Sony or e-readers (or both), but be fair they aren't designed to compete with tablet PC's in terms of features and entertainment, that's why it's $299 and also why it's far more viable to dish out to schools/libraries etc. instead of $799 tablets!

Would love to see wi-fi/UMTS added to the e-ink reader though.

[Sean DL @ Jan 6th 2006 5:49PM]

Yeah, but will a tablet or PocketPC be under 100 buck in a year?



Thought so....



And was color needed to read Manga or a book?

[Reynor Padilla @ Jan 6th 2006 5:52PM]

I love reading ebooks on a PDA -- in fact it's the only reason I would use a PDA anymore (I have a paper organizer and Blackberry for phone email/text/talk/addresses and an iPod for multimedia) but none of those things can read palm-formatted books.



This seems 1). Too big. 2). Way too expensive (color PDAs start at around $100 and 3). Can't use currently available mobipocket Palm-formatted books (of which there is a fairly good selection at my library for free).



This is frustrating too. *Someone* should come up with a good ebook reader -- there has to be something better than a Palm PDA.



Heck, I'd read books on my iPod if there were a decent selection formatted for it!

[Mills @ Jan 6th 2006 5:54PM]

i think the 1984 reference is great. out of all the books a conglomerate could be offering to demo.....

[Jeff @ Jan 6th 2006 6:00PM]

"Yeah, I actually couldn't agree more. Why would I pay $400+ to read on this little device, when the same amount will get me a PDA, Zen Vision, or even a totally bargain basement laptop that will do far more than this will."



Yeah, everything except display a book properly.



Go ahead and try to read a book on a PDA. I dare you. A whole book, not just a couple pages. Start with War and Peace, that'll be a good test.



I think this reader's overpriced and I wouldn't buy it, but the only real alternative is a tablet PC and they're too heavy. A PDA is nowhere close to the sort of thing I'd want to use to actually read a book on. The bottom line is you need a certain number of words on the page at a certain font size and that ain't happening with a PDA or a PMC.

[zill @ Jan 6th 2006 6:05PM]

I agree with #3 $ony is WAY-OFF on price... $150 is a good price point to start at if they really wanted to get them into peoples hands. I too would just use my PDA or laptop for that matter. I am more into audiobooks myself and listen to them while driving. I don't have enough time as I like to read. But when I do it is still nice to crack open a real book or magazine and smell the ink on the paper. That is something that this device will never duplicate. What is it that makes the reader $o Expen$ive? Is it the E-Ink tech?

[Rob @ Jan 6th 2006 6:06PM]

Has anybody heard whether this supports annotation, like highlighting and marginal notes?

[Mike @ Jan 6th 2006 6:10PM]

as tiuk rightly pointed out it is just too pricey...When prices would come below 100usd I would consider buying it but now it's just a waste of money.

[Kendall Sutton @ Jan 6th 2006 6:13PM]

What I find with a lot of commenters on this post and on the rest of Engadget is a complete disregard for form factor and function as contributing factors in a device's usability.



Consider the size of the device: small and light compared to a Tablet; about the size of the medium it's trying to emulate (a paperback); and bigger and easier to read than a PDA.



It runs cooler than both (hell, it probably doesn't even generate heat), it lasts more than ten times as long between charges, its screen is designed for readability-- I mean novel after novel readability. I've heard comment after comment, "Oh, I could just read a novel on my PDA/Tablet/Laptop"-- and I wonder how many of you have actually tried. It's simply not a pleasant experience-- and you'd probably have to recharge before you finished a single book.



What a lot of people seem to underestimate is the design of an e-book reader. They are designed to read books. That is their purpose. They are not meant to be an organizer or a PDA or a laptop. You don't have a search function in a book-- and I can't once remember needing one (a bookmark has always worked fine). This is meant to provide a simple, unhindered reading experience, and that's exactly why people are making them.



If you want to read on a PDA or a laptop or a tablet, go spend your 350 dollars on a PDA, 800-1600 on a laptop, 1200-2000 on a tablet. They're not meant for novels, they're meant for what they're built for, just as this device is meant for what it was built for: reading.

[Fingermouse @ Jan 6th 2006 6:15PM]

what about refresh rates? Was updating the page ugly? did you get to play around with any of these features?

[Mandarin @ Jan 6th 2006 6:17PM]

Can you sell your Ebook to Half.com after you're done with it?

Can you lend your Ebook to a friend ? How many times? 6 ?

Do you have to buy a pricey memory stick for your Ebook?



Sony is a geriatric baboon..

[iPilot @ Jan 6th 2006 6:30PM]

Overall very good thing, but that's because electronic ink.



Please, tell anyone to Sony, that it's the last time to hire some designer. Their devices are mostly ugly. Incl. this one.

[Jacob Varghese @ Jan 6th 2006 6:37PM]

books? wtf! Who reads books anymore? This is so 1999.

[Cy Fenton @ Jan 6th 2006 6:38PM]

I'm in the book biz and this has all been tried before. This ship has SAILED 3 years ago. Anybody remember RocketEBook, or GlassBook, or even Acrobat eBook - which is sorta still around.



Besides - who wants yet ANOTHER device to lug around. If they were going to do some kind of new shot at the eBook market, at least they could have made the thing do it all - MP3, Pictures, PDA, etc .... Certainly that idea is not outside Sony's collective engineering abilities.



More bad ideas and bad implementation.

[abigsmurf @ Jan 6th 2006 6:42PM]

$400...



Who the hells gonna pay that? You're far far better off getting a PDA, even if they're not good for reading.



ebooks that are only 20% cheaper than printed versions? Considering how quickly the prices of books are slashed in the stores any it'll end up cheaper buying the physical copies.



I'd rather carry around a paperback which I don't have to worry about breaking/losing/getting stolen and won't feel like a fool for staring intently at

[consumer_q @ Jan 6th 2006 6:44PM]

I will wait for digital "paper". encased in a "retro" looking cloth bound book.

[yonatron @ Jan 6th 2006 6:49PM]

Who in their right mind wants to read a book in digital format but doesn't care if they can search it? And what the hell is up with the BBeB? I understand that there was no way this'd come out without supporting some kinda DRM, but why not Adobe eBook, which has been around already and is built on top of PDF?



Gah, I so wanted to want this, but the above combined with the price is so irritating. Oh well, maybe after 6 months or so they'll add search and drop the price, and I'll have dug up some tools for cracking Adobe eBooks..

[Mike @ Jan 6th 2006 6:50PM]

I have read about 30 books on my pda/phones split equally between my old ipaq 6315 and my new ppc 6700. The books are very readable on the devices. You just have to change pages more often. BUT, I can read anywhere, while waiting for a doctor, a ride, sitting outside, lunchtime, etc.. Don't knock it till you tried it.



The thing that bugs me the most about this new ebook are the prices of the books. 75% of retail price ? So, the book, distribution, warehousing and shipping only costs 25% of the price. I doubt it. Time for greed to kick in. Wait till people start ripping books. Maybe some authors will go indie.

[Ben @ Jan 6th 2006 6:50PM]

#9: I have read many whole books on my Treo 90 and Palm m500 (small screens, 160x160 resolution). While for many people this might not be the best solution, I can guarantee you that it is possible to read lengthy books on a PDA.

[Fingermouse @ Jan 6th 2006 6:57PM]

don't forget that e-ink is also working on a colour screen. The next gen of these readers should be pretty sweet.

[Jeffrey Blank @ Jan 6th 2006 7:13PM]

I have read over 30 books on my Palm Pilot and love it. Complete books not just a few pages, but not War and Peace either, current novels. They also drop in price over time although I wish they would drop in price sooner. The e-books seem to be coming out sooner then they used to. I don't do searches but I do have a dictionary, and the word is looked up just by highlighting it, which is a great feature. I need to carry the Palm for my day to day activities, so having a book on it means I don't have to carry anything extra.



Sony's reader is doomed to failure-too big, e-books has a huge library compared to Sony (proprietary? get real), and way too expensive-I could get a powerful Palm or WindowsCE device for that money.

[Dr Rock @ Jan 6th 2006 7:15PM]

I think I'd rather have a Nokia 770 for the same price and web surfing ability at a local hot spot when I need a break from the book.

[Suzanne Shea @ Jan 6th 2006 7:18PM]

Actually I have been reading many long books on my Sony Clies for years, using eReader (nee PalmReader). Turn the video to white on black and it is very clear, readable, and easy on the eyes for multi-hour reading sessions. It's my prefered way to read since it so easy on the eyes, and also very easy to hold compared to actual books. The Clies always had good screens though, compared to most other PDAs - a crisp 320x320 on some models and 320x480 on others. Pick up a used Clie supercheap, and save money and weight. The eReader site has a huge number of choices, good prices, reasonable DRM, and free readers for Palm, WinCE/Windows Mobile, PC and Mac. Also a free utility to convert text files to the eReader format for your own stuff or Gutenberg stuff.

[Matthew @ Jan 6th 2006 7:24PM]

I *really* like the idea of an ebook reader with a good non-backlit, high-res screen. However, I don't think I'll be getting one just yet:



* Too expensive - but fair enough for those early adopters.



* 'approximately 20-25% below regular retail price' - so, still more than it costs to buy the book at Amazon. Why, as with music, should I pay more to download it? It costs them almost nothing. When it's half the (going) price of the book, then I'll be interested.



* You'll have to use Sony software with it. Sony software is extremely lame. And likely no Mac support.



Maybe someone will take this idea and do it properly some day?

[Operator99 @ Jan 6th 2006 7:31PM]

I am one of those who have in fact read hundreds of books on my palm, starting about 5 years ago - and in answer to someone above, while I haven't read War and Peace, I have read Crime and Punishment, all the Sherlock Holmes, all the Dan Brown Books, Most of the new Neil Gaiman titles and a tremedous variety of everthing from Buddhist texts to Stars Wars - This all becomes possible once you get used to reading in this format and have bus ride to work and back each day- I wouldn't want or need anything larger, but I'm sure it would be nice for those who couldn't handle the smaller size of a PDA. Content is the key and it will depend on the size of the library and whether readily availble formats, including things off Gutenberg for example, can be easily downloaded.

[Fred @ Jan 6th 2006 7:52PM]

The e-ink displays are really that good, people. There's just no cmparison.



I've read plenty on my PDA, but I'll get an ebook reader with e-ink as soon as a non-Sony, non-proprietary format one appears. iRex loks like it's going to cost a bundle, but Hanlin readers look much more reasonably priced, and are open to more than pdf and Sony's format. Don't know if they support Mobi-Pocket yet, but there is a Linux-powered Hanlin in the works.



The biggest problem for e-ink is getting it into people's hands so they can see the difference inthe displays.

[David @ Jan 6th 2006 8:54PM]

I would buy one of these *if* it had a stylus/touchscreen, the ability to scribble down notes in the margin, and then sync those back to my PC. Most of my reading is from academic journals, and most of the articles are available as PDF files. I would love to be able to leave the photocopies and laptop behind.

[fed @ Jan 6th 2006 9:00PM]

I have read many books on a Palm Tungsten E2, which has pretty good battery life for a PDA. But ever since I got a Sony Librie I've never read another book on the Palm again.



There is just no comparison on resolution, battery life, screen size, readability, handling, ... etc.



Battery life is just awsome. I read around 10 books on a set of AAA rechargebles.



The screen is not backlit, but it's just like paper, it's fully readable under bright light, even sun light. Something even the PDA designed for outdoor use cannot compete with. Not to mention it's at least the screen size of the usual PDAs.



It's light. Read a book using a tablet PC? you've got to be joking. They weight at least 1 kg and battery lasts about 2 chapters. Would you take a tablet PC on a holiday trip just for reading books?



Only complaints, it's expensive and file formats suck.

At the moment, the third party tools for loading .txt files work quite well. Sony has some IE plug-ins for uploading webpages and BBeB virtual printer that prints files to the right format, but I have problems using these with large files. You _can_ upload pdf files, but it's not handled natively, just loads as a full page image (or something) and you can't zoom in, which makes it a bit useless.

[Eric @ Jan 6th 2006 9:48PM]

so ugly...

[popemello @ Jan 6th 2006 10:37PM]

This is just the FIRST of a new generation - when they can do color E-ink on a flexible screen (possibly from Philips, who made the prototype Readius with a polymer pull out screen), with adequate refresh rates and low power consumption, there will be a real product the general population can salivate over. Then, newspapers and magazines will be mainstream digital - both eco- and hopefully eye-friendly.



I am actually very excited about the Sony and the IREX reader, which offers more "open source" potential. The possibility is that, like the PSP, enough people may become interested in this product to allow "homebrew." Until Color as mentioned above, I doubt it, though.



I own a Cybook, which actually is great, aside from the battery life (4.5hr), and the slow speed it has for reproducing color pdfs. Its just an old-style PocketPC with a large screen. I think, when I decide on the EInk reader come springtime (most likely the Irex), The Cybook will end up mounted on the kitchen wall to function as a digital chef's reference.



Ultimately, even this DRM stuff may be useful, too. No, not in the consumer sector (I borrow books from libraries, why can't we borrow the digital ones, with built in "renewal requirements," from an E-library?). Rather, the professional sector may benefit. Physicians could have charts available at a moment's notice, based on their current patient base, with the same "requirement for renewal" necessary. As a consultant, it would save a lot of time during the day, and ultimately improve the care I give to patients. The ability to have plenty of medical journal and references in hand would be very nice...



In any case, by 2008 we'll see some palatable items...

[Chad @ Jan 6th 2006 11:10PM]

The eReader is listed on the Sony site, with all the sepcs. Looks like it is going to be $349 out of the gate...



http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/%20INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_BrowseCatalog-Start?CategoryName=pa_pdr&Dept=audio

[bob @ Jan 6th 2006 11:14PM]

It can't take txt? So no good for Project Gutenburg type texts?

[tiuk @ Jan 6th 2006 11:46PM]

#13 Kendall - "If you want to read on a PDA or a laptop or a tablet, go spend your 350 dollars on a PDA, 800-1600 on a laptop, 1200-2000 on a tablet. They're not meant for novels, they're meant for what they're built for, just as this device is meant for what it was built for: reading."



The thing is, I already have a PDA, and a laptop. Along with my cell phone and MP3 player that's a lot of stuff to be hauling around. So I can spend even more on an ebook reader when I already have two devices well suited (backed up by the others on this thread that claim to have read countless books on their PDAs) to the task and take up even more space when I'm travelling, or just suck it up and read something on my PDA or laptop. Sure their battery life isn't as good, but I don't read for hours on end whilst away from an outlet, so it's not a huge deal.



As someone said above, when products like this have roll-up screens, cost less, and have a lot of support behind them I'll be all for it. At this point in time, though, it seems like a "hey, look what I have!" type device.

[fed @ Jan 7th 2006 12:01AM]

it seems like a lot of people commenting here simply don't know anything about this product, and are just mouthing off from assumed knowledge and rumours.



The new e-book can use SD as well as Memory Stick, so there goes the expensive media argument. The device about to be released in US also plays MP3, although I think this will drain the battery quickly, and instead of using AAA batteries, they've switched to Li rechargeables.



Conversion tools work pretty well and simple to use, so Gutenberg files are easily uploaded.



This is NOT for web-browsing and for watching video, the refresh rate of this technology is simply too slow for that kind of things for now. This is for READING books.



repeat after me: this is for READING books.



saying that a PDA can be used for reading a book as well as a Librie is about as valid as saying that a PDA can be used to play games as well as a PlayStation or XBox.



To poster Cy Fenton who said that this has been tried before and failed, he or she simply didn't read any of the articles on this topic. This is a _new_ technology, it is _NOT_ LCD. The e-book screen does not require power to display, only to refresh. There is just no way a LCD screen can compete e-ink for this particular purpose.



To be able to do touch-screen type of functions you need something that will use a lot more power. This thing is about _READING_! Maybe later generations of e-ink can have fast refresh and full coloured, but at this point it's not, but it is fine for reading books, it is not suitable for pictorial porn.



I agree that this is still expensive and that Sony hasn't done a good job with the file formats. But the rest of the criticisms are simply voiced by people who don't know jack about it.

[Reynor Padilla @ Jan 7th 2006 12:02AM]

I've read tons of books on my PDAs. Full Books. "On Writing" and a collection of short stories by Stephen King. The Harry Bosch novels by Michael Connelly. "Neverwhere" and "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman. I loved being able to read them in the dark while my wife slept. Also I could read them wherever I was because I always had my PDA with me. It was great. I really miss being able to do that. It's almost enough to make me want to buy a Treo... except they break so easily.



I would love a PDA size ebook reader that's about as thick as an iPod nano. I mean come on people.... it's text! Each books is just a few hundred kilobytes. It's totally possible to make one!

[Tim @ Jan 7th 2006 5:57AM]

Is that "25% off the price of a physical book" referring to a paperback or hardback? That is a huge difference...

[James @ Jan 7th 2006 11:46AM]

Every time new info is posted on the Sony Reader you get the same people posting in the thread saying how much better a tablet is than an ebook. I'm curious, how many of you have seen e-paper/e-ink? It's all about the paper like "display".

[Sandhya Lonial @ Jan 7th 2006 12:04PM]

I have to agree with the last comment. People who read books on tablets and palms, and ipods, (well more power to you) are probably not "bookworms". I own the original Librie and I cant wait to gift this to my hubbie. Its all about the display.



Plus on the comment of lugging "one more electronics". I would rather lug one small ebook reader, than 5 books on my journey. But then again thats just me.

Sandhya

[Drew @ Jan 7th 2006 6:19PM]

I've read at least 400 books on my Treo 650 - one of the smallest screens out there. I'm SURE its an aquired taste and I dont expect everyone else to do it but I'm Mr Convergence. With my treo 650 I can do all my organizing (very little) play all my media (2gb mem goes really far when encoding video in that small format) and browse the internet. Hell, even with sprint's crap speed internet service I can even stream mp3s from my server. That combined with the audible.com player for palmos mean that I have no desire to get another device.



Ps. I find that white text on a black bg for eReader really helps with any eye strain. I havn't noticed eye strain at all since I did that and I read for at least 1 hour a day on my treo.

[jean @ Jan 9th 2006 2:18AM]

Think anyone will make a djvu to BBeB converter?? I'd buy this thing in a heartbeat if it would just take my Djvu books. (incidentally - do any of you realize just how many books in djvu format are out there?? Answer: probably not a whole lot less than in PDF!!!)

[AH @ Jan 9th 2006 12:32PM]

of course, most books out there are in txt format at the moment--Gutenberg coupled with the "less official" publications are largely txt.

[Alan @ Jan 10th 2006 2:26AM]

I read books on my Treo 600 (now 650) regularly, and the biggest problem I have is with my thumb paging down all the time. And Acrobat is hideously slow on the 600. I'll keep reading books on my 650 because it's always with me and the Reader is too big for that, but if the display is as nice as it's supposed to be, it will become my primary reading device when I can have it with me (mainly at home and while travelling I expect). I can't wait. I'm also hoping that they'll bring some reality to the epublishing pricing if they really do the 20-25% discount. fictionwise, ereader etc all seem to be charging full list for the *hardback* version, which is insane for something that has essentially no publishing cost at all past editing. I'll pay full paperback price for the convenience, but not more.

[Alejandro Rivero @ Jan 10th 2006 12:03PM]

It seems very much as a Librie. So is it linux? If so any buyer of the machine can ask Sony for the sourcecode of the kernel and related drivers.

[Chris Butterworth @ Jan 11th 2006 12:28AM]

If it were a bit less expensive, I might be interested except for one little detail.



It's a Sony.



I don't want my PC rooted, thank you.