Sony's eBook Reader gets a price on SonyStyle store

Well, it's not really any huge surprise that Sony's Reader (PRS-500) has a price and has shown up on Sony's SonyStyle store site, now is it? We mean, it was indeed expected any time now for spring 2006 launch between $300 and $400 US, so if you've got the $350 cash in hand that they want for one of these, head on over friends, and get some serious book wormin' done up.

[Thanks, Maurice]

[Martin @ Feb 27th 2006 5:54AM]

What benefit do you get from this that isn't provided from a cheaper, more functional Windows Pocket PC?

[JCG @ Feb 27th 2006 6:34AM]

@ #1
E-ink display. If i remember correctly it should be easier on the eyes. I certainly hope so, because i don't find it comfortable reading a whole book on a lcd screen.

[tobe @ Feb 27th 2006 6:42AM]

Battery life for one.
It's for reading, and it does this one thing pretty well due to the screen technology.
$350 is still kinda pricey though... maybe $200 would be more of a sweet spot.

[Simon @ Feb 27th 2006 6:45AM]

You get months of battery life. E-Ink display which is much less stressful to read long text from. You get a larger display more suited to reading books.

It's meant for reading books. That's what it does. Nothing more, nothing less. Believe it or not, not everyone wants or needs the functionality provided by a full fledged PDA. I want this device as a replacement to having to carry 2 books everywhere I go. My library of paper novels is huge and I get through at least 2 decent sized books each week. This will save space and reduce my library to a stack of memory cards.

If reading an e-book is a secondary requirement to you, then a PocketPC is probably the right way to go. But if you primarily want to read books then either this or the iliad http://www.irextechnologies.com/home.htm is probably a better investment.

[TZK @ Feb 27th 2006 6:47AM]

these should be FREE with a subscription to some electronic weirdo book club. There is no point in owning one.

Whats next? Integrating some strange wireless technology so you can download books from your local BN? Whoa! Freaky.

[Sean DL @ Feb 27th 2006 7:05AM]

Yeah, that'd be it...go put one of these EDGE Cingular chips they have in their laptop and you have a live always updating newsfeed and one day: newssites access in color.


And once the price of this item goes down(and hopefully fairly quickly) this would be a nice item to take with you to the beach and other places on vacation when you don't want to lug your laptop and it's 3 hour battery around.

[Ash @ Feb 27th 2006 7:16AM]

The main advantage would be the battery life due to the use of a E-ink display. This is due to the fact a E-ink display only requires a electrical charge only when a page is required to be changed (Or turning a page if you like). Thus the battery life is a lot longer.

[SteveoDBGT @ Feb 27th 2006 7:20AM]

I'm going to get one since most of my book collection is on my computer.

[skype_fan @ Feb 27th 2006 7:45AM]

Just thinking of all my technical/computer books after 1-2 years these are already outdated again. I'm waiting for years for such an ebook solution should save tons of paper and plenty of space at home :D.

[Herman @ Feb 27th 2006 7:48AM]

now if only textbooks are available in electronic format. students will buy one immediately. some books are just too thick and expensive to carry around

[Joe Smith @ Feb 27th 2006 8:09AM]

god, can't they at least make the thing look better? for godssakes, it looks like it was from 1986. They should make apple design it.

[WWN @ Feb 27th 2006 8:23AM]

What is the Connect eBookstore? Any URLs? I tried to find it but failed. I did find a link to a page from an old WinCE device that too used Connect eBookstore for content. I'd like to be able to browse titles before realizing the device is nice T but contentless like that damn Sony portable game device.

[rws @ Oct 25th 2006 3:13PM]

http://ebooks.connect.com/index.html

[caniseeitinthedark? @ Feb 27th 2006 8:34AM]

I do most of my reading when the lights are out just before I sleep. Does this thing have a backlight?

If not then there still isn't anything that can replace my Jornada 720. Except my Jasjar. Well, almost. The screen is a bit too small.

[Scott @ Feb 27th 2006 8:37AM]

When a company other than Sony comes out with one of these, I'll be all over it. There's nothing quite like the feel of a real book, but I'd give it up in a second to bring my entire library with me.

[charlie @ Feb 27th 2006 8:52AM]

Take one of these, put a transparent OLED screen on top of the e-ink screen, add stylus capability and handwriting comprehension, and this thing would be worth $400.

The reason? The OLED screen and stylus could be used to highlight and annotate books and textbooks. The OLED screen could also be used to bring up menus for going to a specific chapter, user bookmark, searching for specific words or phrases, etc. As a student, I love using the internet because I can search for specific words and phrases, compared to a textbook where I have to use sometimes unreliable indicies. Put it on a computer where I can search, save specific pages, save highlights, save annotations, share annotations with other people, etc, that would be huge.

[Jake @ Feb 27th 2006 9:04AM]

Will be getting one of these as soon as they appear - way too many heavy books - I travel a lot. Yes it lacks a backlight (for reading in the dark) but you can adapt an "ittybitty booklight" or similar clip on led light. Imagine future models will have some kind of reading light built in. OK, the design does look pitiful but early mp3 players did too (remember the original Nomad?) It's still early days for e-ink technology. Sony's biggest problem will be (as always) their paranoid DRM scheme, although this model offers more flexibility for sure. We badly need e-book standards.

Short term, I predict this model will not totally fly, the critics will say "nobody wants e-books" (again), the market will grow and eventually e-ink, digital books will be abslolutely everywhere. Bring it on!

[Michael C @ Feb 27th 2006 9:54AM]

RE: Connect store, I'm guessing it will be a section on Sony's CONNECT website (http://www.connect.com). I say 'will', because there's no evidence of any ebook's on there currently.

[LC @ Feb 27th 2006 10:07AM]

Put an OLED screen and handwriting recognition in screen this size the cost would be more like $1000 than $400

[GTi-VR6 @ Feb 27th 2006 10:11AM]

I might get this to replace my old Gemstar/RCA/Rocket e-book reader. This thing displays pdf's too, wich will be great for e-comics. Too bad it doesn't have a touchscreen. With my current setup, i can highlight text, bookmark, and write notes on the pages.

[triplight @ Feb 27th 2006 10:32AM]

The Connect store works only with IE. This should be a sign to everyone about the kind of control Sony is going to exercise over your use of this device. Will it even accept your own text files? I doubt it.

Back to waiting for a non-asshole company to give it a try.

[mike-o-rama @ Feb 27th 2006 10:56AM]

#18:

Why not do some research before shooting of your mouth? The sofware that comes with it will covert text, rtf, and pdf to the Reader's native format.

Doesn't seem all that restricted to me.

[Frank @ Feb 27th 2006 11:02AM]

GREAT! I would buy one instantly!

But...

The reader will use some sort of Connect software to load eBooks onto the reader. This software will CONVERT the pdf's...

ONLY SONY!

The reader should support PDF. All other solutions are ridiculous.

[apeguero @ Feb 27th 2006 11:13AM]

I wonder if these would be considered electronic devices when one is on an airplane. I mean, the reason I bring a book or magazine with me on my flights is so I don't have to deal with the pesky flight attendant telling me to shut off my electronice device.

[Jacob @ Feb 27th 2006 11:59AM]

Wow, complete with the cutting-edge design stylings of 1996!

[Entica @ Feb 27th 2006 12:11PM]

Anyone else notice in the specs that it supports JPG and MP3 formats? Interesting...

"� Format
BBeB Book / PDF / JPEG / MP3 192"

E.

[Greg @ Feb 27th 2006 12:42PM]

Has anyone heard anything more about pricing for the iRex/Phillips e-ink reader, Illiad?

It is supposed to read pdf, txt, etc in addition to mp3 and stylus input. All I want to be able to do is read a book or the news on the train in the morning (and maybe look at a calendar) in e-ink.

[James Picone @ Feb 27th 2006 12:48PM]

Wow, this is way more expensive then I thought it'd be.

[The IT Monkey @ Feb 27th 2006 2:09PM]

This article gave the impression that it was available for purchase... but on the SonyStyle site it still says coming in Spring of 2006 as it has for the past month. Am I missing somethign? I was all excited to get over there and get one. I have been waiting for a product like this for a while... I purchase a LOT of books via baen.com's webscriptions.

[dave @ Feb 27th 2006 3:16PM]

Not to mention the fact that the Connect store only works with Windows. Expect all sorts of nasty DRM to be built into this thing.

Shame. Seems like a wonderful device.

[cbh @ Feb 27th 2006 3:27PM]

I've owned a Sony Librie reader for about a year. Except for the wacky chiclet keyboard on the Librie, the PRS-500 seems to be the same 800x600 e-ink technology. It also appears that formats such as pdf still require conversion. FWIW, I've used the Librie to read perhaps 50 books.

Pros and Cons of the Librie:

Pro:
- Lovely, high resolution display (170dpi?)
- Nice form factor (except for the keyboard)
- good placement of multiple buttons for scrolling
- Uses AAA batteries
Con:
- Fragile dislay - a little pressure will destroy it
- The screen replacement cost is the same as a new device
- Somewhat creaky plastic construction. It has an aesthetic more geeky than elegant.
- Battery life is okay but not nearly as good as, say, a Clie TH55. My TH55 lasts for about 8 movels, the Librie perhaps 4. And I'm a fast reader (although for the Librie, apparently it is only page turns that use power)
- Converted PDFs are effectively unreadable - fonts are too small, margins are too big, and zooming the PDF image is arduous
- The Librie only reads BBEB format (tools are available for various OSes)
- The Librie is unable to traverse/index its own contents; an index file must be created externally (using Sony or open source tools like Peter Knowle's booklistgen)
- There is no backlight
- The contrast isn't nearly as high as paper: the reflectivity of the screen is substantially less.

- Not sure how many of these pro/con items refer to the
PRS-500, but lacking more detailed specs I assume most are still relevant.

Although I have high hopes for e-ink, ebooks and reading devices in general, and have read perhaps 50 books on the Librie, 100 or so on palm devices (TH55 and Treo) and 30 or 40 on a Nokia 770, my own experience suggests:

- For books without graphics, it doesn't much matter which device you use -- resolution, battery life, form factor and for some people, backlight are the crucial features. For others (not me) DRM might be a concern.

- For reference materials in HTML or CHM format -- many, many technical manuals are supplied this way -- the Nokia 770 at 800x480 and 220dpi cannot be beat. Likewise for txt and pdb (aportis doc) files.

- For early adopters, e-ink may well be irresistible -- it was for me. But the format conversions, content indexing and profound wariness of breakage associated with the Librie have made me put it aside in favor of the Nokia 770, the TH55 (still a stellar device -- I bet the next video ipod will be reminscent of it) and the Treo.

- I know of no handheld or reader that works well for complex or graphics-rich PDFs. The Librie is visually unusable, the Nokia and the palm devices are too slow to render pages. I imagine tablets are better for this -- the Casio Fiva, old and bulky as it is, handles PDFs nicely, and with a 200Mhz Natsemi Geode CPU, too).

In general, though, the burgeoning ereader/PDA/etc age clearly shows how inappropriate a page-layout format like PDF is. And how incomplete the ereader market will be until those PDF textbooks and reference books are digital and mobile, as well.

Guess this was rather long-winded. Hope someone finds it of interest.

Craig

[Hamson @ Feb 27th 2006 3:49PM]

That was very informative, well put, and easy to read Craig, thanks!

[Joseph @ Feb 27th 2006 5:22PM]

I hope no one buys this thing. In a year or two, they will be able to perfect the technology. It'll be faster, in color, be able to have some PDA like functions, and much cheaper.

[John @ Feb 27th 2006 5:27PM]

It looks like the price is about $20.00 for a new novel. They show De Vinci Code for $15.00. I really like this product but not the prices.

[Mark 2000 @ Feb 27th 2006 7:03PM]

This is still WAY too expensive. Its a black any white display and it shows only text and basic graphics. A 2 megahertz PC can do that.

True not everyone wants the full functionality of a PDA, but they certainly don't want to pay for LESS functionality. I wouldn't pay more that $50 for this. No one else will either.

[Griffon @ Feb 27th 2006 8:07PM]

This has the same value as the 3 or 4 paper back books you will actually read on it. Hundreds of dollars? Don't make me laugh, this type of tech won't be relevant until the costs is driven down to nothing.

[Mike @ Feb 27th 2006 8:40PM]

I'm going to wait for the Philips Irex.

http://www.irextechnologies.com/home.htm

[Stanley Shih @ Feb 27th 2006 9:46PM]

Amen Craig and Griffon. Here's my 2 cents:
For a portable electronic reader, the E Ink screen is as much a problem as it is a solution. It solves the problem of letting human eyeballs read electronic documents for long periods of time. At the same time it poses a problem because it�s functionality is limited (currently) to static, black & white images precluding it�s use in a multi-tasking device. An E INK device that could display web content, video, and photographs is not possible.

Since E INK�s functionality is limited, pricing power for such a device is limited too. Sony doesn�t have a prayer for a successful product if they�re selling this device for over $100. It�s simply not very useful - it�s functionality would be limited to reading novels/non-fiction books, magazines/newspapers (without pictures). Period.

The upshot is this: success of E INK will not be achieved as a stand-alone consumer product (portable or otherwise). These E INK displays must get cheaper and thinner so they can be integrated on to existing products which have other functionality (such as the back-side of a video iPod or as a notebook computer�s 2nd screen). Once that happens, it will be a home-run because the killer apps (newspapers, books, journal articles, instruction manuals, textbooks, PDF�s, etc. etc.) will already be in place.

[Maurice Avery @ Feb 28th 2006 1:28AM]

For all those that doubt the utility of this device; for me it will end the continual upgrading of PDA's that I've been doing over the last few years. I've collected between eBooks purchased, downloaded from Gutenburg and gleaned from newsgroups over 100,000 eBooks. I have not read a "dead tree" type book in over 7 years and I read from 3 to 5 SciFi novels a week, several periodicals and plenty of tech books & refrence material. This has saved my thousands of $$ over what I would have spent on paper books, saved me lot's of time running to and from the library and enabled me to use my debit card and get tech books for web design, programming etc right when I sign up for a class. I also always have them all with me (I have two 1GB SD cards in my Zodiac at all times).

As far as school text books go, Palm has had a program set up with high schools all over the US for years now where the students get a Palm PDA with all of there text books on it. My daughters middle school did that when we lived back in Michigan 5 years ago. It was a great success. It saved a considerable amount of money for the school district. I also know that some universitys are exparamenting with electronic text books and lap top computers as a requirement for some majors.

And regarding what formats Sony will support on there device. At this page in Sony's site: http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/+INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Print?ProductSKU=PRS500

go down to the subheading in bold "More than eBooks" the 3rd line says after mentioning PDF & BBeB Book formats "AND OTHER TEXT FILE FORMATS". It's not talking about the device itself but about the "Connect Reader PC Software" that allows you to convert PDF, TXT etc. etc. etc. to the format you read on the PRS-500. So it appiers that even though the device only reads one format you have tons of file format conversion options to convert from. Thats cool with me. Most of what I have is PDB's and there are tons of utilitys out there that will allow you to convert a huge batch of PDB back to TXT, MS Doc or RTF formats. So based on this info from Sony I can just convert all my PDB's to text then using there software convert all of the text to Sony's format. No big deal. Unless I am missing something. Like if they require that all the books have DRM, but reading that section over again seems to indicate that just about any text will convert fine.


Regards,
Maurice Avery

[Maurice Avery @ Feb 28th 2006 1:44AM]

Reply to #36... About pictures. On there site they say it dispays very nice high resolution gray scale picture. In PDF's for example. Why wouldn't it? It's still a horizontal by vertical pixel display and not strate text. You can also increase the font size by 200% for persons that have vision imparement. You can also get news feeds and have them auto convert to Sony's format and sync the device every morning to get your daily news. As far as people not buying it becuase it only has one use, I know at least 15 people that have Palm PDA's that use them exclusivly for reading. I don't with mine and even if I get this device I will still always have a PDA. However I will no longer buy high end PDA's (like my Zodiac 2) because they will get used only for clasic PDA uses. The reason I'v bought high end PDA's before has always to get a good color high res screen to combat eye strain. With a good screen I get less eye strain then with paper books. With a monochrome 160x160 like my first palm had I had lot's of eye strain. Sony's eBook should be the best ever for reading and definatly cheaper for me to fill with books then what I would spend on paperbacks alone in a year. Before I went reading eBooks for 100% of my reading I spent on average $800 to $900 a year on paperbacks. And just about any tech book or manual you want you can find a PDF or CHM file of it on either the publishers web site for free, or search the net for it. You can just imagine the savings in books on Java, C++, Pearl, HTML, XML etc. I've had over the last few years. So for me at least the device is definatly a money saver.

Regards,
Maurice Avery

[Stanley Shih @ Feb 28th 2006 8:26AM]

Maurice,
I stand corrected. The new E INK does support greyscale (albeit only 4 shades of grey).
I suspect that photo quality is poor to fair, however... probably dithered. But it's hard to say because close-up examples of E INK displays sporting graphics/photos are unavailable at EINK.com or Sony's reader site:
http://products.sel.sony.com/pa/prs/index.htm

Does anyone know of close-up shots of the Sony reader showing photos/graphics?
Please share.

[sonybuff @ Oct 11th 2006 5:59PM]

The quality of the pics (grey) is very good. I have joined this forum to find more about this exciting product and if this phillips e-reader mentioned elsewhere has as good display as of the sony which I saw today I will prob get that one instead due to its input capability. Also didn't mension in my other post that he battery life is supposed to be very good (8000 pages if I remember well what the rep has said).

[Chris Taylor @ Feb 28th 2006 10:38AM]

$350 is not TOOO bad and I like the SD card support but if Installation of ANY software to make use of this is mandatory I have ZERO use for it.

I want to DROP my txt files or PDB or PDF (text only wouldd be tolerable) DIRECTLY onto an SD card via an SD Card Reader and have it read inside the device.

anything short of this removes ANY interest whatsoever I might have in the device. Optional software FINE mandatory conversion to a proprietary format ? NO thanks.

Chris Taylor
http://www.nerys.com/

[rob @ Feb 28th 2006 12:53PM]

this device is clearly a first try, the technology should get much better in a couple of years.

there is a bunch of information about this and other e-devices at this weblog:

papergadgets.blogspot.com

[cbh @ Feb 28th 2006 7:12PM]

> Does anyone know of close-up shots of the Sony reader showing photos/graphics?

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&imgsz=xxlarge&q=+librie&btnG=Search

-Craig

[tim @ Feb 28th 2006 7:44PM]

wow $350 for a device thats about 7 years late. I was expectin it to be under $100.

[LinkMon' @ Feb 28th 2006 9:20PM]

Closeup:
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/0611/4chi.jpg

[Bjorn Keizers @ Mar 1st 2006 10:30AM]

It's about bloody time they started selling them. I've wanted a device like this for ages. I primarily use my Pocket PC for reading, and I really want to get something that's a bit better suited to it with larger screen, better battery life, easier on the eyes etc.

I'm definitely getting one.

[Jim Ascher @ Mar 9th 2006 11:20PM]

Although I am interested in the Sony ebook reader, I don't think enough credit has been given to the considerably cheaper (about $100) eBookwise (Rocket) Reader. The screen size is about the same as the Sony's, has backlighting, different sized typefaces, and the ability to search, highlight, look up definitions, etc. I have downloaded many free classic novels and inexpensive current books (purchased from parent-company Fictionwise) and the reading is a pleasure in most lighting environments. I may in time consider also purchasing the Sony or similar reader, but it will depend on its ability to readily download and attractively format all the free literature that's out there. Jim

[Ethan Fineout @ Mar 13th 2006 11:13PM]

47) You're right on. I love my eBookwise Reader. Sure, it isn't eInk but a backlit screen is nice in most circumstances. The battery life may be less than with the Sony but it is plenty for me to finish a few novels before charging. Plus it was only $100 which is about the price point that tipped the scales for me. Another $250 dollars because it is eInk? I think not.