Sony drops Pocket Reader price to $169... are e-readers about to get super cheap?
By Laura June 
posted March 23rd 2010 4:20PM
posted March 23rd 2010 4:20PM
posted March 23rd 2010 4:20PM
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They should've been cheap in the first place. Price is one reason people are not adopting ebooks. I mean it's a tough price to swallow on the price of the reader vs buying regular paperbacks.
Now I wish Sony drop the price of the Daily Edition instead. It's hard to justify $400 for an e-reader when just a little bit more will buy you a more capable device like the iPad.
@pika2000
Apparently, Sony is thinking the same thing. I'm sure this is a response to the iPad.
@pika2000
For me, it's a no brainer to buy an ebook reader at this point. I've been buying (or building) new shelves for my books every year. Even buying cheap Ikea bookshelves would end up costing me more than buying an ereader, and I'm out of places to put the shelves.
Hmm...maybe it's time to upgrade. But I prefer the button layout on the bigger models.
And yet the e-readers and tablets shouldn't be compared. Because unless the Tablet is using a Pixel Qi screen (like the Notion ink Adam) it will never as comfortable to read books on anything else but an e-ink screen. Nor will the battery last long enough. You can get 10 hours on an iPad just reading e-books, or you can get 200+ hours from an actual e-reader.
If you're going to just be reading books, there's absolutely 0 reason why you would get anything except a dedicated e-reader.
@Prevacator
e-Ink is overrated IMO. There isn't enough contrast to make it useful for long reading sessions. e-Ink displays reflect light equally between background and text... so shining a light on an e-Ink display will "lighten" the background it also lightens the text...resulting in a contrast ratio that remains the same (or near the same).
But it is most likely subjective depending upon an individual's eyesight.
It's nice that Sony is dropping the price, but I think as many others do that it is a bit too little too late.
@Prevacator
When was the last time you read for 8 day 8 hours non-stop? You can compare them: tablets are better. Why carry around a ton of uni-tasking electronics when you can have one that does it all?
Granted if tablets work like all-in-one printers, then we are all screwed...
Meh... e-ink, LCD... I'm waiting for Mirasol. I agree with Prevacator that reflective is better than backlit for long-term use (and wish I had that option for regular computing, too) but I also agree with sracer that the contrast on e-ink just ain't that great.
I do know some people who are perfectly happy reading for eight hours straight. And I bet spending hours working on a paper or coding would be more tolerable with a reflective screen... which is why I'm hoping to eventually see both a Mirasol tablet and a desk monitor... though probably the market for the latter isn't too big. It could never fully replace my wide-gamut LCD monitor but I'd find use for it, for sure.
@vanmankline "Granted if tablets work like all-in-one printers, then we are all screwed..."
You hit the nail on the head.
A 5 inch ebook just doesnt cut it. Just like a woman, I want at least 9 inches.
@10inchpower
you want a 9inch woman?... what a strange fetish.
@Brent1700
Build me a woman , make her 10' tall, don't make her ugly, don't make her small. The Doors
I'm waiting until Sept. 2011 until I decide my ebook preference. Will it be the iPad? Courier? Kindle? Nook? The market is too saturated right now.
E-readers should be all about price and not about features. If I want to browse the net, listen to music or run apps I'll do it on my phone. I'm not even bothered about 3g or wifi. I'm quite happy to find my own content and a data cable or memory cards will do fine for that. In fact the only feature I'd pay extra for would be a "tough" version.
I want a cheap device, with very long battery life, that's cheap enough that I'm not bothered if I take it to the beach or read in the bath. The price on this Sony is a good start, I can't wait till we see more generic hardware companies trying to compete.
I hope this means they will slowly come down to where they should be. $99.
Black and white with no back lit screen. MP3? I don't care. I'm not looking for books on tape or internet access. I want a reader that I can use to read books. Point blank.
I'm patient.
@HektikLyfe Actually, you can get the jetBook Lite for $130 and it is a pretty bare bones ebook reader. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16858723010
I haven't used one myself though. I'd prefer one with an e-ink screen personally, and this thing looks a little shady/cheap, and I'm not sure how much the company will support it. But if all you want is to read books, I think this might be a good choice.
Sony's pricing is messed up. From play.com I bought a PRS-505 (6" screen) for £150 a year or so ago. Unfortunately it was stolen, and if I want a replacement I can either get the same thing now for £200 or the smaller 5" PRS-300 for £160. Wtf?
I have the Sony pocket reader. It's an excellent size. Great for reading on a treadmill or on a plane. The build quality on the Sony readers are solid, moreso than the kindle.
They had this sale 2 weeks ago in Canada...finally picked up the SONY that I coveted and am very happy with it.
its just a sale.
"the price cut lasts only through April 4th -- but that date, just two days after the iPad is made available,"
---Did i miss something or is the ipad now coming on the 2nd??
@Kinte Kunta
...you seen it?
The screen seems very small on the Sony but there will probably be a lot more e-book readers in the future in all sizes.
I've got one of these.. no problem so far, pretty darn close to an average paperback. Much less strain on the eyes too.
My only problem with the whole eBook thing? Publishers who know sweet F'all about how to market the product. I mean what kinda idiot thinks $25 is a fair price for an ebook of around 200 pages. Yes it's in hardcover, boo hoo. You can buy the hardcover from the shops for less, AND you can sell it on secondhand (or buy it secondhand).
The danger is not the price of the reader - that's still not bad - it's the publishers that expect unrealistic margins on already inflated prices.
@canny
One other thing I wanted to add. Publishers have been very noisy about how the ebook is not popular, open to piracy, etc, etc. Huh. And here I was thinking the price might have something to do with it. But hey. Piracy will be blamed, I'm sure. Not the idiots calling the prices.
PS.. hey engadget.. how about an edit comment feature?
Sony Reader Touch is a really amazing eInk reader, mainly because it supports unicode out of the gate. But I feel buyer's remorse for paying $250 for it.
The actual price for it should be close to $120. When I get my iPad on the 3rd I'll still hold on to the Sony but the value of it will diminish given that it's a single purpose device and isn't going to see much use commensurate with the money spent.
Pocket Reader should be taken out back and shot. It has no future and is grossly overpriced.
Well, they may just be looking to clear out inventory prior to releasing a new model.
Heh, that would be my guess....
I read a lot of people commenting about how just a few dollars more will get you an iPad. I get that and I totally see where that's coming from, but here's my line of thinking. I'm a little ADD, and if you give me something like an iPad, I'm probably never going to read books on it, because I'll be spending all my time playing with XYZ app or surfing the internet. Rather than tempt myself, I'd rather eliminate my weakness for distractions by getting one device that does books and does it well and does little else. It's hard to get distracted watching a cat video on YouTube when all you can do is read books and buy more books. So for *me* [and me only--I won't presume to speak for anyone else], the limited functionality of an e-reader is actually a net plus for me [and a compliment to the other devices...a win-win!].
I think e-ink devices will eventually become commodity items... like cheap 50 dollar mp3 players people buy just to use at the gym.
I'm still going to buy an iPad because I want a flexible device for everyday use, but if e-Ink readers got down to 50bucks I'd dfinitely pick up for the few times a year when a 5 or 6 hundred dollar tablet doesn't make sense (at the beach, near a pool, on a long camping trip with no access to power, etc).
@Duckman I seened it too!