Sony opens up Librie e-book reader to standard doc formats

Dedicated e-book readers haven't exactly had a great run. From the Franklin eBookMan to the Gemstar eBook Reader,
they've all bombed, hobbled by high prices, poor screens and limited titles. And it looks like Sony's Japan-only
Librie may well be the next casualty. Though the device includes a screen that critics have lauded, Sony has been criticized for a DRM plan that amounts to 60-day rentals of e-books. Sony recently opened up the device to many standard formats, allowing readers to use Sony-approved software to convert Word, Excel, Powerpoint, PDF, HTML and RSS documents to the Sony BBeB format. The Librie has always been more of a proof-of-concept for Philips' high-res electronic-ink technology than an actual consumer product, so don't be surprised if it vanishes without fanfare at some point in the near future, only for the screen tech to reappear in a Clie or some other real Sony product.