At this point we've heard so many predicted launch dates for Amazon's Kindle ebook reader we're a little jaded about the whole thing, but CNET is reporting that their always-reliable "industry sources" have confirmed a Monday launch for the device and service. The specs will apparently remain consistent with what we've been hearing for so long now -- $399, 6-inch screen, no integrated backlight, WiFi, EV-DO on Sprint for OTA book purchases, and a big ol' dose of the ugly -- but rumors are rumors, so don't get too mopey if Monday comes and goes with no announcement.

[Thanks, Brian]

That was snappy. Just hours after hearing that Sony's PRS-505 eBook reader would be available "this month" for $300, the outfit is now selling the product right in its own webstore. For $299.99 (to be precise), users can snap up the Digital Book in silver or dark blue, and you'll even get 100 Connect eBook Classic titles (and two lines of engraving, if you wish) gratis with the purchase. As for the estimated ship date? Tomorrow.

With a name like the iBook eReader there's just no way a Chinese e-ink peddler like Jinke / HanLin could go wrong selling in the Ukraine, right comrade? Well, not unless they attempt to release in the US -- a country where the iBook trademark holds some weight -- which apparently is the intended destination for the €240 ($325) e-book reader. We can supposedly have high hopes for it, though, being equipped with a four-shade SVGA display, WiFi, optional touchscreen interface, and, of course, Linux. Expect this September or October. Or not.

[Via MobileRead]

We've watched Panasonic's 5.6-inch Words Gear e-book / media player make the jump from early prototype to trade-show circuit. Now, it's gone official. Sure it lacks e-Ink and the associated long battery life, but there's something to be said for the ability to not only read books for 6-hours at a time off the lithium Ion battery, but also view MPEG-4 video and JPEGs on that 5.6-inch, 600x1024 display -- you get AAC audio to boot. Pretty limited codec support frankly, and too bad it only supports SD cards (up to 2GB) what with SDHC now pushing 8GB and 32GB on the horizon. Still, for just ¥41,790 (about $355) when loosed upon Japan on December 20th, you just gotzta take notice.

[Via Impress]

Speaking of the future, we always thought that by the 21st century we'd all have digital pads to read stuff on, instead of these old-fashioned analog "books." Well, that's what Sony's betting on with its PRS-500, anyway, which has just been spotted in the wild for the first time -- in the hands of none other than Phillip Torrone of MAKE magazine (and Engadget) fame. We'd previously reported that this $350-ish e-book reader was going to be delayed (again), but that somehow it would be shipping in time for "the holidays." Given Sony's other problems of late, though, we wouldn't be surprised if the company was referring to our next summer holiday. Remember, regular ol' books may be low-tech, but at least they don't explode. Keep reading for another snap, and then head over to MAKE for the full lowdown...

We tend to field a lot of inside information here at Engadget HQ, but we've gotten not one, but two bits from separate, trustworthy insiders that Apple's not satisfied merely vending Audible's books-on-digital-audio solution. With the iRex iLiad and Sony PRS-500 Portable Reader both right around the corner, is it possible the next iPod might catch the eBook bug? We'd say the possibility is very real, since according to a source at a major publishing house, they were just ordered to archive all their manuscripts -- every single one -- and send them over to Apple's Cupertino HQ. A separate trusted source let us know that the next iPod will have a substantial amount of screen real estate (as we'd all suspected), as well as a book reading mode that pumps up the contrast and drops into monochrome for easy reading. It's no e-ink, sure, but a widescreen iPod would be well suited for the purpose, and according to our source, the books you'd buy (presumably through iTunes) won't have an expiration -- kind of like Apple-bought music, as well, but contradictory to the movie rental scheme we've heard rumored. Could they please just rename it the iTunes Music, Movies, and Book Store and get it over with already?