Sony unveils trio of eBook readers

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By Reuters and Nicole Kobie

Posted on 2 Sep 2010 at 10:06

Sony has unveiled a trio of new e-readers, but only two of them will be available in the UK.

Sony will bring the updated versions of its Reader Pocket Edition and Reader Touch Edition to the UK on 17 September. However, a third Daily Edition, featuring wireless access and a larger screen, will initially only be released in the US.

The 5in Pocket Reader Edition now features a touchscreen and 2GB of storage. The 6in Touch Edition PRS-650 also allows up to 32GB on an SD card. Sony said both were lighter than the previous versions, weighing in at just 215 grams, and featured better displays for easier reading.

The Pocket edition will cost £160, while the Touch will be priced at £200.

Price war

While Sony has kept costs below the launch price of the last editions, it has refused to follow rival Amazon in slashing prices.

Over the summer, Sony dropped prices of its previous versions, following a price cut by Amazon, which has since unveiled the Kindle 3, with a 3G-version for £149 and a Wi-Fi only version for £109.

Steve Haber, president of Sony's digital reading unit, said consumers were willing to pay more for extra functionality.

Lowering prices to get cheaper and cheaper - that's not our direction

"Lowering prices to get cheaper and cheaper - that's not our direction," Haber said. "Our plan is not to race to the bottom."

Haber said the company expected to sell more of its lower-cost pocket version last holiday season, but sales of its higher-priced touchscreen version outsold the cheaper one.

"People stepped up and spent another $100 to buy touch," he said.

Haber said overall sales of its readers were growing at three or four times last year's levels. "We haven't seen any change in momentum," he said.