New York – Sony has
downsized its Reader product line to a single unit that the company says
incorporates the best of all its previous models and can compete with lower
priced competitors.
Effective Aug. 31 Sony
will market a single $149 Reader, down from three previously, said Phil Lubell,
Sony’s VP mobile solutions. With this move Sony has moved away from its
of offering higher priced, feature rich devices.
Sony’s 2010 Reader
offering had the Pocket, Touch and Daily selling for $179, $229 and $299,
respectively.
The new Reader features a
6-inch E-inck touchscreen display that gives the user the ability to pinch and
manipulate the content and more importantly, said Lubell, Wi-Fi connectivity.
This had only been available on the $299 model requiring consumers to
physically connect their device to a PC to download books.
The new Reader is also lighter and thinner and comes in three
colors, red, white and black. There is an improved ability to take notes using
an included stylus.
Sony is also increasing its partnership with the public library
system. It will continue with its librarian training program and has worked on
a better interface to enable people to download books from their library. The
Wi-Fi capability will now allow this to be accomplished from anywhere.
Sony is also tying in the launch with a co-promotion with J.K.
Rowlings Pottermore website. Reader purchasers will receive a voucher for a
free download of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone when it becomes available.
