SonySyle.com said pre-orders of the Sony Reader Daily Edition will ship to consumers between Dec. 18 and Jan. 8. A Sony spokesman said details on which retailers will carry the product will be announced next month. Also next month, Sony will announce newspaper and magazine partners for its e-book store, it said.

The $399 Reader Daily Edition, unveiled in August, is Sony's first e-reader to offer over-the-air downloads of e-books.  It has a 7-inch touchscreen and allows users to take handwritten notes with a stylus pen or virtual keyboard that can be exported or printed. It also includes an embedded dictionary so users double tap on a word to access its definition.  The device holds more than a thousand e-books and has memory-expansion slots for additional books.  Wireless service is provided at no charge, as on the Amazon Kindle and on the Barnes & Noble Nook, which is currently offered for pre-order at BN.com with shipment promised by Dec. 25.