'Sony Reader News Qtr1 2010 : four articles on this page
Sony: No color e-Reader in development
From techon.nikkeibp.co.jp, Jan 28, 2010 Sony Vice President Fujio Noguchi in an interview, revealed that while Sony is developing new markets and new e-ink devices,the technology is not commercially viable for features like color display.
"There are some contents that require a color e-book reader like magazines, photo albums and picture books" said Mr Noguchi. "Of course, we are considering making color e-book readers, but there is no electronic paper whose quality is high enough for us. We could use LCD panels, but we would like to use electronic paper for our main products".
Mr Noguchi also explained that Sony is pleased with e-Ink Corp's electronic paper and they do not plan to develop alternative e-paper to produce color screens.E Ink newly developed 7-inch wide electronic paper was co-developed with Sony for the Reader Daily Edition.
Noguchi finished the interview by explaining Sony is focusing running the e-book business in eight countries including the US & UK but not Japan. "In non-English-speaking countries, we make our devices support local languages and contents. We launch our businesses in countries that meet our standards such as the availability of fresh contents. When Japan meets those standards, we will launch the e-book business in Japan, too".
"There are some contents that require a color e-book reader like magazines, photo albums and picture books" said Mr Noguchi. "Of course, we are considering making color e-book readers, but there is no electronic paper whose quality is high enough for us. We could use LCD panels, but we would like to use electronic paper for our main products".
Mr Noguchi also explained that Sony is pleased with e-Ink Corp's electronic paper and they do not plan to develop alternative e-paper to produce color screens.E Ink newly developed 7-inch wide electronic paper was co-developed with Sony for the Reader Daily Edition.
Noguchi finished the interview by explaining Sony is focusing running the e-book business in eight countries including the US & UK but not Japan. "In non-English-speaking countries, we make our devices support local languages and contents. We launch our businesses in countries that meet our standards such as the availability of fresh contents. When Japan meets those standards, we will launch the e-book business in Japan, too".
Sony to develop their own iPad?
From MTV.com, March 6, 2010 - The Sony Reader looked like the PlayStation-maker's big stab at the tablet and reader market, pitting itself against the Kindle, Nook and Apple iPad. According to a new report, though, Sony wants to unite PSP and Reader functionality in a new line of products 2010. These plans include PSP-esque phones made with Sony Ericsson technology, as well as a netbook/tablet competitor.
Sony wants a better Reader product that can go toe to toe with the iPad, sources told the Wall Street Journal. The new mobile devices will be capable of "downloading and playing videogames," according to the Journal, it sounds like the multifunctional tablets will perform similar tasks.
Sony Online Services, a service intended to be an answer to iTunes, will launch in the near future, and content on the next-gen Reader will reportedly come from that distribution channel, which should feed PS3s, PSPs, PCs, and Internet-ready HDTVs and Blu-Ray players.
Sony wants a better Reader product that can go toe to toe with the iPad, sources told the Wall Street Journal. The new mobile devices will be capable of "downloading and playing videogames," according to the Journal, it sounds like the multifunctional tablets will perform similar tasks.
Sony Online Services, a service intended to be an answer to iTunes, will launch in the near future, and content on the next-gen Reader will reportedly come from that distribution channel, which should feed PS3s, PSPs, PCs, and Internet-ready HDTVs and Blu-Ray players.
Sony's Daily Edition looks impressive
From CNET, January 26th, 2010 One thing has always been clear about Sony's line of e-readers: they're arguably the most elegant dedicated electronic-reading devices out there today.
The same holds true for the Reader Daily Edition PRS-900, Sony's first e-reader to include built-in 3G wireless service for accessing e-books wirelessly from Sony's Reader Store. Like the Touch Edition PRS-600, this model also has a touch-screen interface, but its screen is elongated, measuring 7.1 inches diagonally instead of the more standard 6 inches. That makes it almost exactly the same length as the Amazon Kindle in terms of pure physical dimensions, but because the Kindle uses up some real estate for its physical keyboard, the Sony delivers several more lines of text on its longer screen.
The move to wireless is a big deal for Sony, because it allows the company to compete directly, from a features standpoint, with the Kindle and other e-readers like the Barnes & Noble Nook, which bundle in "free" cellular connectivity. Mix in a touch-screen interface and the Daily Edition's mark-up and note-taking capabilities, and it is one of the better e-Readers out there.
The same holds true for the Reader Daily Edition PRS-900, Sony's first e-reader to include built-in 3G wireless service for accessing e-books wirelessly from Sony's Reader Store. Like the Touch Edition PRS-600, this model also has a touch-screen interface, but its screen is elongated, measuring 7.1 inches diagonally instead of the more standard 6 inches. That makes it almost exactly the same length as the Amazon Kindle in terms of pure physical dimensions, but because the Kindle uses up some real estate for its physical keyboard, the Sony delivers several more lines of text on its longer screen.
The move to wireless is a big deal for Sony, because it allows the company to compete directly, from a features standpoint, with the Kindle and other e-readers like the Barnes & Noble Nook, which bundle in "free" cellular connectivity. Mix in a touch-screen interface and the Daily Edition's mark-up and note-taking capabilities, and it is one of the better e-Readers out there.
The Daily Reader can't beat daily newspapers
From Financial Times.com, January 27, 2010 The Daily Reader Edition is the latest and priciest of Sony’s R offerings, retailing at $400, compared to the Touch version at $300 and entry-level Pocket at $200. This device matches the Kindle's 3G wireless data connection for the first time and enables the Daily Edition’s distinguishing feature - overnight downloads of newspapers and quick book downloads without the need to tether the device to a computer.
It’s certainly a nice experience to wake up in the morning, turn the device on and be alerted to the fact that the latest editions of the Financial Times, New York Times and Wall Street Journal are ready and waiting to be read on-screen. But the experience of reading does not compare to the actual paper or even on a computer.
Broadsheet newspapers are large format and the Daily Edition has only a seven-inch screen. To crunch their papers down to size, the publishers have forsaken newspaper design to reduce their front pages to a few headlines and brief introductions, interspersed with black-and-white photos, making them visually unappealing.
Go deeper and design elements are lost completely, with sections and stories reduced to directory listings, making it harder to find your way around the paper and sample content. The original newspapers or their Web versions with their own distinctive designs are better. - PDFs of the actual FT newspaper are also available through its website. Obviously, color is missing in the Daily Edition and the e-Ink display was lacking in contrast and hard to read in a lot of lighting situations - perhaps because of the extra touch layer added to the screen.
The Daily Edition works better as a book reader - the format is more akin to a paperback and text sizes can be easily adjusted. But if that is what you will mostly use the device for, the cheaper Pocket or Touch versions will suffice.
It’s certainly a nice experience to wake up in the morning, turn the device on and be alerted to the fact that the latest editions of the Financial Times, New York Times and Wall Street Journal are ready and waiting to be read on-screen. But the experience of reading does not compare to the actual paper or even on a computer.
Broadsheet newspapers are large format and the Daily Edition has only a seven-inch screen. To crunch their papers down to size, the publishers have forsaken newspaper design to reduce their front pages to a few headlines and brief introductions, interspersed with black-and-white photos, making them visually unappealing.
Go deeper and design elements are lost completely, with sections and stories reduced to directory listings, making it harder to find your way around the paper and sample content. The original newspapers or their Web versions with their own distinctive designs are better. - PDFs of the actual FT newspaper are also available through its website. Obviously, color is missing in the Daily Edition and the e-Ink display was lacking in contrast and hard to read in a lot of lighting situations - perhaps because of the extra touch layer added to the screen.
The Daily Edition works better as a book reader - the format is more akin to a paperback and text sizes can be easily adjusted. But if that is what you will mostly use the device for, the cheaper Pocket or Touch versions will suffice.
