Switched On: Sony plays both ends against the Kindle
By Ross Rubin 
posted Sep 1st 2009 6:30PM
posted Sep 1st 2009 6:30PM
Ross Rubin (@rossrubin) contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
Last week, Sony introduced Reader Daily Edition, the latest and most advanced Reader in its 2009 lineup, and attempted to recapture the excitement around the category that it had at the launch of the original Reader but then gave up to Amazon. By adding 3G connectivity to the Daily Edition, Sony's answered the biggest perceived feature gap between its products and Amazon's e-reader.
However, far from playing me-too, the Daily Edition tells quite a different distribution story than the Kindle, from purchasing devices to the content. The $400 Daily Edition (a term that warmly evokes printed books and newspapers without being corny) will join the $300 Touch Edition and the $200 Pocket Edition. Of these, the Pocket Edition has the most near-term potential for success due to its greater portability and low price, particularly in these grim economic times.
Speaking of which, Sony seems to have picked up more positive buzz about its library integration for free book lending than it has for adding wireless to the line. For all the struggles of subscription services, consumers don't have any problems with renting content as long as it's free.
If the Pocket Edition fills in the sub-$200 gap, the $400 Daily Edition (the name of which auspiciously hints that we may see a stronger tie-in with newspapers), occupies a gap between the $300 Kindle 2 and the $490 Kindle DX. Its widescreen display may provide a superior experience for reading, say, newspaper columns. And unlike the Kindle 2, the Daily Edition has both wireless access and a touch screen, although both the Touch and Daily editions dispense with the sidelighting that was in the PRS-700.
One open issue is how Sony will manage to answer Amazon's full subsidization of wireless access, which is justified by Amazon being the exclusive bookseller for the Kindle; although Sony has its own store, Readers also support other booksellers who offer electronic publications in the EPUB format. For now, the compromise is to limit wireless access exclusively to Sony's marketplace while requiring that other books be sideloaded. Openness to competitors is one thing; subsidizing them is another.
Sony, then, will field strong value at both the high and low end of the Reader line, but it is least competitive with Amazon's flagship, the Kindle 2. At $300, the same price as the Kindle 2, Sony's Touch Edition lacks wireless access. Therefore, more consumers willing to pay $300 (but no more than that) will likely opt for the Kindle 2. Those looking to trade up should find the Daily Edition a nice hardware upgrade while those looking to trade down won't have many options for dedicated e-readers that have ready-made bookstores.
Clearly, Amazon will not stand still with hardware development. Assuming Sony can get 3G (or at least Wi-Fi) onto its midrange models next year, it should have a consistently strong hardware lineup and better overall content story than Amazon does today. That will be a lineup that's booked solid.
Ross Rubin is director of industry analysis for consumer technology at market research and analysis firm The NPD Group. Views expressed in Switched On are his own.
However, far from playing me-too, the Daily Edition tells quite a different distribution story than the Kindle, from purchasing devices to the content. The $400 Daily Edition (a term that warmly evokes printed books and newspapers without being corny) will join the $300 Touch Edition and the $200 Pocket Edition. Of these, the Pocket Edition has the most near-term potential for success due to its greater portability and low price, particularly in these grim economic times.
Speaking of which, Sony seems to have picked up more positive buzz about its library integration for free book lending than it has for adding wireless to the line. For all the struggles of subscription services, consumers don't have any problems with renting content as long as it's free.
If the Pocket Edition fills in the sub-$200 gap, the $400 Daily Edition (the name of which auspiciously hints that we may see a stronger tie-in with newspapers), occupies a gap between the $300 Kindle 2 and the $490 Kindle DX. Its widescreen display may provide a superior experience for reading, say, newspaper columns. And unlike the Kindle 2, the Daily Edition has both wireless access and a touch screen, although both the Touch and Daily editions dispense with the sidelighting that was in the PRS-700.
One open issue is how Sony will manage to answer Amazon's full subsidization of wireless access, which is justified by Amazon being the exclusive bookseller for the Kindle; although Sony has its own store, Readers also support other booksellers who offer electronic publications in the EPUB format. For now, the compromise is to limit wireless access exclusively to Sony's marketplace while requiring that other books be sideloaded. Openness to competitors is one thing; subsidizing them is another.
Sony, then, will field strong value at both the high and low end of the Reader line, but it is least competitive with Amazon's flagship, the Kindle 2. At $300, the same price as the Kindle 2, Sony's Touch Edition lacks wireless access. Therefore, more consumers willing to pay $300 (but no more than that) will likely opt for the Kindle 2. Those looking to trade up should find the Daily Edition a nice hardware upgrade while those looking to trade down won't have many options for dedicated e-readers that have ready-made bookstores.
Clearly, Amazon will not stand still with hardware development. Assuming Sony can get 3G (or at least Wi-Fi) onto its midrange models next year, it should have a consistently strong hardware lineup and better overall content story than Amazon does today. That will be a lineup that's booked solid.
Ross Rubin is director of industry analysis for consumer technology at market research and analysis firm The NPD Group. Views expressed in Switched On are his own.
Finally, I have loved my 505 since the day I bought it, and have shrugged off the Kindle as feeling like a chintsy piece of kit since then. With the Daily Edition, it may be worth upgrading from the 505, because I just can't say I really want the kindle.
It's very encouraging to see products like the Daily Edition. Another generation, and I might be able to justify a purchase on my next-to-nothing income.
I to am on a low fixed income (Think 3 digits a month not 4) and I bought a PRS-505 because it would save me money. And it has. I am a voracious reader of older science fiction and adventure novels. I like some modern authors to but mostly old SF. I also read stuff from almost every other genre. Most of what I like is either out of print or no longer copyrighted. Having read 3 to 5 novels a week from the age of 9 to my current age of 47 coupled with having the time to read as much as I want being disabled now, the price of buying stuff to read became a serious budget consideration. Even with buying a lot of my reading material from used book stores and getting someone to take me to the library I was still spending way more per year on books then the cost of an eReader.
I really feel that people under value a reader based on the initial cost. Sticker shock. But really I'd advise anyone to sit down and figure out first of all what you read and how much it costs. Second do some research and find out how much of it you can get for free online. Third can you borrow it from your local library in ebook form in a format you can use on the reader (With Calibre you can convert almost any format in existence to a format readable on every ebook reader on the market! And in almost ever OS: http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/download_windows ). Even if only a percentage of what you read is available for free, after doing the math you may find out that it would actualy save money by reading ebooks.
If you decide that this is what you want to do find a reader on eBay. You will spend a whole lot less by buying used. Having used my Sony for 2 and 1/2 years I have to say it's quite rugged the case being made entirely out of metal makes it have a very rigid feel and because the PRS-505 is not a touch screen it tends to stay very clean if taken care of. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a used one as I've dropped mine more times than I can count and have never damaged it. That being said, yes the screen can be broken if pressure is put on it. Like someone sitting on it. So, like any electronic device you take precautions. I never use it without the vinyl cover that came with it. Also I still constantly amazed by how long the battery lasts. I've read as many as 8 average length novels (Week and 1/2 ??) before having to recharge it. Personally I think Sony should just coat the vinyl cover with flexible solar cells and that way you would never have to plug it in ever.
Sadly, like the Kindle the chances of seeing the Daily edition outside of the US are slim at present - adding 3G would mean having some sort of deal with one of the mobile phone networks, something that all are dragging their feet over.
Actually, there's a very solid chance this will be in the UK, if not everywhere in Europe. The GSM connection means it's compatible with European cellular networks (which the Kindle's CDMA connection is not) and Sony already sells their reader in the UK, partnered with Waterstones. It probably won't come out there immediately (unlike the Touch and Pocket editions, which I believe are both available now in the UK), but chances are good it will get there eventually, with the rest of Europe a distinct possibility.
I'm English, so the question I have to ask is; what the hell is an E-book Reader? The only books we have back here in the 18th Century are the ones made out of paper.
He's not kidding. I moved to the UK a year ago (from continental Europe), and when I saw the houses here I realised that, technology-wise, they ARE still in the 18th century.
I think you're on the wrong forum - this site is more for gadget technology, rather than building material technology. Besides - if the houses are built to last, why knock them down?
@RikF
Amen to that. Why tear down classic architecture if it's still in good condition? Though old buildings are much nicer if "restored" rather then just maintained or "repaired".
I remember talking with a friend years ago that had moved here (USA) from Europe. I commented on the house across the street being 115 years old and he related to me about his last apartment in Europe. 100 years old is new in Europe. The apartment building he was in was over 500 years old. Obviously when originally built there was no electric nor indoor pluming. That had been added sometime in the last 100 years, replaced with new wiring and pluming at least 4 times before he lived there. He said that when the landlord had to make pluming repairs in the bathroom they discovered that the layers of paint on the wall was thicker then the plaster!!! LOL
I will pay a max of $200 for an EBook that can just read: txt, doc, docx, rtf, html and pdf.
Everything must be able to be zoomed in (including pdf) and an SD card slot would be desired.
I don't care if it has a touchscreen, nor do I really want to pay extra for cell service.
Wifi would be a nice feature and cheap to include, though It isn't a requirement!
I only want an html reader, because I have some books in that format.
For me you should add to that the ability to move stuff to it without some propriety software.
Yeah, I should have used the words: "natively read."
The PRS-300 doesn't have an SD card slot, can't read html files, and doc files have to be converted into one of the supported formats.
Add that it doesn't have wifi and I will have to pass.
I read that it does have a pdf zoom, so that is a big plus over the Kindle for those who care!
The old PRS-500 has a dual purpose SD/MS Pro slot, you can load books straight onto the card, and it supports all those files including PDF (support isn't great, but it works.) Add in the fact that it's around 150 or less on eBay and you've got a winner.
I have the Sony PRS-500. I bought it on the Amazon Marketplace for $150 about four months ago and I love it. It does all I need it to do. I have several SD cards loaded with stuff on them and can read at my leisure. The downside is Google books won't load on the 500 (only 505 and higher or I guess these new ones). But that's okay Project Gutenberg filled the bill on that one.
Woah, that's nice. I'll buy one.
You got 3 Sonys and 2 Kindles. Pick one, any one!
Any portable device that you place content on NEEDS wi-fi.
At the risk of getting downvoted, it's probably one of my favorite features of my Zune. What? It has new content on it all the time, even when it's not tethered to my pc? How nice.
It's tempting to say that modern devices need wifi, but I think it's very application specific. We want iPhones and Zunes to have access to content on-the-fly because we move through that content very quickly. 3 minutes a song, 45 minutes a show, an hour a podcast, etc.
For the eReader, you're dealing with a different breed of content. Books aren't fully read in the context of a break, or lunch period. Books often are consumed over the course of days, or weeks. Unlike music, we usually put more thought into the books we read. We're not satisfying the urge for a song we heard on the radio.
There are two exceptions for this that apply to eReaders:
1) News content - in which case the device like the Daily Edition is excellent.
2) The Airport book-buyer. The last minute "I need something to do on the plane" type-person, in which case it's a minor lifestyle change to look for books before you get to the airport...
I don't really understand this either. Wifi is so cheap right now that it makes no sense not to include it.
I can't imagine it being more than $2 in terms of manufacturing costs, probably even less...
Seeing the 'intellectual crisis' right now in software engineering I'm guessing it's the adding it to the firmware that is the stumbling block.
Not having Wi-Fi is probably a number of factors-space inside the unit, battery concerns, and the issue of using more memory for the connection software. Plus, would you want to shop for books on a black and white screen? It wouldn't be terrible, but it wouldn't be perfect either.
How do you think kindles shop for books? And didn't you see how you browse the library in the devices? Also on b&w with cover pictures and description
It would be nice to shop for books on your PC, then have them zapped to wherever you normally keep your e-reader. That's all I'm saying.
Any idea if the Daily Edition will be coming to the UK?
I own the PRS-700 and I hate it. The touch screen needs to be angled a certain way to read, or you get a massive glare, which goes away when you turn on the internal side-lighting. Guess what? The internal side-lighting turns the supposed-1000s of hours of charge-free reading into about 2 hours of reading until the battery is completely drained. I've resorted to buying e-books using other sites rather than the Sony E-Store. Why? Because it requires the use of the special software, which will often times not connect to the E-store, not recognize my login, and last night, did not recognize my payment information. There are livable quirks, and unlivable quirks...and would trade the ugly Kindle 2 for a screen that I can read, and does not require software to connect to its book store.
I have to say, I have never had the problems you mentioned with the 700. I own it and love the back light. Yes, it drains the battery, but I can usually eek out two or more days easily after using it. I don't think I have ever had it die on me while using the light. I agree with not liking to have to use software to sync it (that is why I refuse to get an ipod), but I really have no trouble with the software over all and this update looks promising. I am sorry you had such a bad experience with your 700, I hope you have a better time with your next one!
@hange
Songbird is the bees knees if you have an ipod as long as you don't want to use apps you downloaded.
I don't see very many daily newspapers or monthly magazines being available on the Sony Reader.
I don't see the need of e-book readers for about the same price tag you can buy a 10in netbook.
For the same amount of money, which would you get?
An ebook reader... I have a perfectly working laptop, and even if I didn't I wouldn't buy a netbook. I understand how they are useful, but I don't need nor want one and I'd rather have something MORE portable with e-ink so I can read anywhere I go without having to carry books with me.
That being said, I don't have either and I won't an ebook reader until I know the technology has settled down. It's still in its infancy.
I've seen budget 15.6" laptops for not much more than a midrange netbook. So what reason is there to buy the latter instead? To answer my own question, the netbook is smaller+lighter and likely offers much better battery life.
The eBook Reader is smaller and lighter still, and has an even better battery life thanks to its bistable display. Furthermore that same display makes it daylight readable. Plus the tablet format means I don't have to set it down to use the device.
PS I suppose there will be a much stronger case for netbooks in place of the dedicated readers if and when Pixel Qi technology is fully implemented.
As long as the "content" is only "rented" I am not interested, and nobody should encourage these asshats by buying this crap!
Can you "buy" a book, then give it to a friend?
Can you transfer it off your reader and onto another?
>As long as the "content" is only "rented" I am not interested, and nobody should encourage these >asshats by buying this crap!
Content is not "only rented", you can put purchased or downloaded content on any of the readers (Sony, Kindle, etc.). Rented content is fine for me as long as it's free.
>Can you "buy" a book, then give it to a friend?
A: Yes, to some extend. Even if it is DRMd. Sony allows for up to 6 (?) devices to be connected to your personal account, so you can give a password to your friend and he can read your book, or all of your books on his hardware. There is a downside of giving him your password, but that's another story.
> Can you transfer it off your reader and onto another?
A: Sure. As long as it's not DRMd.
So if you want a freedom of sharing your purchased books with your friends, then yes, you need to stick to a paper media for now.
As long as you download the right format it's easy enough to cleanse an ebook of its unholy DRM. Then you can read it on practically anything.
You can't give it to a friend but if your other reader is a sony reader than you should be able to move the book over or have it on both as long as both readers are linked to the same account.
"consumers don't have any problems with renting content as long as it's free." ... Until they find out they have to wait for someone to return the virtual library copy because only 2 or 3 virtual copies of the book "exist." That is the only frustrating down side to the service they partnered with.
Thats because its a freakin library
Technically you can add fills without the software. Drag and drop on the sd as long as its a supported format. I think u could drag and drop on the readers internal memory. I'm not sure though because I never did that. I'm 100% sure about the sd though.
You can drag and drop files, but I think you have to make sure the files land in the appropriate subdirectories.
The latest version of the Sony Reader software is much improved (version 3.0). It's easy to drag files there, set up book collections, and sync your reader. A lot of the lag that plagued the early versions have been fixed, from my experience anyway.
I don't see the point in comparing an ebook reader to a netbook. A netbook will never replace an ebook reader. Now a tablet will long battery life would be a different story. Maybe an e-ink tablet if that ever happens.
Just got the touch edition. I've owned the 500 and the 505. The touch is truly awesome. Showing a friend who owns the kindle 2 gave them buyers remorse. Just show a kindle user how you can double click on a word and get an instant definition. Her response was, "I can look up words too, but I have to really really want to know what it means because it takes so long to do.
The touch interface has been done really well on the 600. The glare in comparison to the 505 is no big deal, it's nothing like the 700. In fact it more resembles the kindle than the 505. Calibre is supposed to have a new version out any day now that will support the 600, giving you the ability to load just about anything onto it.
As far as popularity of these devices, I spend all weekend looking for one. The sony style stores all sold out in a few hours (2 within driving distance of me). They both had the 300 still available, though in limited colors. The sony site turned from "pre order" to "back ordered" and the sony stores eventually showed no date for more stock. There is only a couple sites online selling them and they all showed out of stock. I kept refreshing and finally abt.com changed from out of stock to in stock and I got one immediately (overnighted). This will probably be hard to get for some time. The only thing that made the kindle popular is Oprah. Have her talk about the sony and you'll never find one. It's amazing how many people think that the Kindle is the only type of ebook reader.
For me pdf is the #1 feature. I donot understand why Amazon is so reluctant to put pdf on Kindle 1 and Kindle 2. Plastic logic ebook reader seems promising since u can open 5 documents simultaneously (Especialy useful for business use) and also support word and power point.
Much times,Sony is in the name of fashion.But now,Sony only has fashional goods，without fashional conception,especially in the area of internet.For example,in phone area,it follows Iphone's step;in reader area,it follows Kindle's step,and so on! If Sony doesn't change it,it should has declined.
actually, the kindle is a follow on to the sony reader. They were making these years prior to the kindle. All amazon did was lock theirs down and add internet. saying sony is following is a gross mis-understanding. yes, maybe they're following with the addon of wireless internet, but they've also improved on it quite a bit. Try all devices and you'll see the sony's are still a couple generations in the hardware design and now their functionality is also a generation ahead. time for amazon to start following some more.
If I could download a selection of daily newspapers, I might be tempted to buy one of these readers.
I've been pretty harsh on Sony in the past because, as a content company, its content-control lawyers have too much to say about the hardware they make. Most Sony efforts are hamstrung by this conflict of interest and that's why a lot of what they make is disappointing. In Ebooks however, Sony thankfully owns no content so what do we see, a product that is MORE open than it's competition. If this market takes off, I think Sony could do very well as long as they don't buy a publishing company.
How about a really portable ebook reader with amazing contrast and back lighting? Just use a Iphone/Ipod Touch with the Stanza app. Stanza has content with all the free books (Random house offers some great free reads within the app) plus with Calibre you can download digital versions of newspaper.
For me the future is already here. I been reading a lot on my stanza app probably 3 books a month. And there is support for all the formats via the Desktop application which converts pdf html doc to the native epub format.
Amazon is NOT the exclusive bookseller of Kindle books (although it is the exclusive retailer) as stated in the article. Kindle owners can get books from Scribd, Smashwords, Feedbooks, Mobi, and many more.
Open standards yes, but NOT freely available. I live in Singapore and cannot get any of this new technology (illegal imports aside). Hoping for plastic logic to break the mold (mould perhaps..) of business models still constrained by monopolistic anti-competitive distribution chains. Give me an open format reader, internationally available, and I will buy one tomorrow - and perhaps a few other people in my area of the world might do so too (which at last count was two thirds of the world population...).
Until them I remain disappointed with money to spend.
Ricardo
They should allow you to loan your book to another ePub user, say for three weeks. In the meantime you'd lose your own access to that content.