Sony Reader available Late Summer 2006

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_BrowseCatalog-Start?CategoryName=pa_pdr&Dept=audio

And before that it said Spring 2006... they enjoy torturing us.

And before that it said Spring 2006... they enjoy torturing us.
They would've left it as it was if they did. Torturing us, that is. :D

Gee, let's start another countdown so that we can all watch Sony do a second "IRex"! :rolleyes5 Then when Setpember 23rd arrives we will have another thread like this!

As I have said on another thread, all Sony has done here is turn a bunch of book sales for the summer over to the paper book sellers. It sure is true in my case - I have a list of over 30 books that I started when I heard about the IRex and the Reader. I had planned to buy most or all in ebook format.

Well, I guess they will now be bought in "Gutenberg format". <g>

I am currently in the US for a week, kept my luggage at a minimum hoping to snatch a Sony Reader. And now this. Very frustrating indeed.

You know, all these makes me marvel at the fact that Origamis are actually delivered. ;)

And on reflection, each release of Windows come shipped with *tons* of drivers tested and ready to go, and compatibility with thousands of software tested as well. Seeing how iLiad and Sony are pushing back release dates only makes me give MS a bit more leeway in their release dates. :p

MS already failed with TabletPCs.

Engadet Coverage

http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/05/sonys-prs-500-portable-reader-slips-to-summer/

When does this get to Europe...? Here, it will hopefully be competing with the Iliad. Sonys bad reputation for closed firmware and drm vs Irex's misleading statements re:release dates – should make it a fun fall...!

You know, all these makes me marvel at the fact that Origamis are actually delivered.

The Origami is just a hardware platform and really is just a minor evolution up from tablets. With the Iliad, it seems to be software issues holding up the release. With the Sony, if the grapevine is to be believed, it sounds like issues with the Connect store are the problem.

MS already failed with TabletPCs

That is a matter of opinion, and is highly dependant on what you thought 'success' with tablets was going to be. As a mass market consumer item? Sure, no sales records there. For industries where pen-based computing was already working, the tablet is a big step up in terms of functionality. The big limiting factors are still battery life and weight, and those are exactly what will keep the Origami limited until those issues are resolved.

That and the ridiculous price premium.

At this point, I don't see serious market releases of any of these devices until 2007. Before then, it will all just be a trickle, and even once the doors are open the price tag, particularly for the Iliad, is going to be a big problem.

When does this get to Europe...? Here, it will hopefully be competing with the Iliad. Sonys bad reputation for closed firmware and drm vs Irex's misleading statements re:release dates – should make it a fun fall...!

Unfortunately, Sony has no plans for a European release, at least not for the forseeable future.

MS already failed with TabletPCs.

I'm talking about actually delivering / shipping a product. iRex cannot even ship it on time.

Lets give irex folks some wiggle room. They are a startup, a philips startup, but still a startup. Its hard to get all of that going for the first time: manufacturing contracts, storage, distribution channels, etc. Its a pain in the ass. I think the software is a relief to them just on grounds that it more directly under their control.

And we also have ALL next-gen eink devices in very limited quantities. Is that a coincidence?

Your right dugbug.

And Snappy: Sony doesnt deliver on time either ;)

Your right dugbug.

And Snappy: Sony doesnt deliver on time either ;)

PS3: Announced for a Spring 2006 launch. Delayed now until November.

Unfortunately, Sony has no plans for a European release, at least not for the forseeable future.

Bit silly that, as I would guess that Europeans read more books per capita than those in the USA...

Bit silly that, as I would guess that Europeans read more books per capita than those in the USA...


Now now... lets not get ahead of ourselves

Thats pretty dim Jaed, and you guys wonder why we call you elitist.

Thats pretty dim Jaed, and you guys wonder why we call you elitist.

In addition, it is simply not true that Europeans buy more ebooks than us-citizens.

Well... there is an interesting report of reading habits in the European Union in:
http://www.wischenbart.com/Booklab/Buch_artikel/Publishing%20diversity%20Oxford%20Book%20Conferenc e%202005.pdf

In page 25 the graph shows that the book reading per capita is around 37 books/person a year on average.

Anybody has data from USA?

Cheers,

L.

In addition, it is simply not true that Europeans buy more ebooks than us-citizens.

Well... This is why I said "I guess"... And I meant it to mean. "Just because the market may be perceived as smaller and more difficult to reach, it might actually be the same size and as equally attractive as the US"...

Ie, in Europe we have more languages to deal with so the book market is more fragmented but we still want the Sony Reader...

:cool: :D

Well... there is an interesting report of reading habits in the European Union in:
http://www.wischenbart.com/Booklab/Buch_artikel/Publishing%20diversity%20Oxford%20Book%20Conferenc e%202005.pdf

In page 25 the graph shows that the book reading per capita is around 37 books/person a year on average.

Anybody has data from USA?

Cheers,

L.

I believe you misread the data. I found the source study here:

http://www.publishing-watch.org/documents/PMW-o-20040810-06%20European%20Book%20Publishing%20Revised%20Fina l%2010%20August%202004.pdf

On page 75 it has more detailed information on the chart you linked to where it states those numbers on the left of the chart are a percentage of those EU members that read 8 books or more per year for reasons other than study or work. A far cry from 37.

I believe you misread the data. I found the source study here:

http://www.publishing-watch.org/documents/PMW-o-20040810-06%20European%20Book%20Publishing%20Revised%20Fina l%2010%20August%202004.pdf

On page 75 it has more detailed information on the chart you linked to where it states those numbers on the left of the chart are a percentage of those EU members that read 8 books or more per year for reasons other than study or work. A far cry from 37.

Mmm...

I see that my Ph.D. supervisor was right when she told me that you have to put the meaning of a graph in its caption!!

Now that you point it, 37 books/person a year on average was too much. Even for Europe!! :happy2:

L.

Wow, I'm finally above average on something! Well, above European average, whatever that means to anybody. :)

Mmm...

I see that my Ph.D. supervisor was right when she told me that you have to put the meaning of a graph in its caption!!

Now that you point it, 37 books/person a year on average was too much. Even for Europe!! :happy2:

L.


Heh. I was trying to find where it stated what the numbers on the left column represented, which is what made me check the source. I was trying to figure where they found the time to read all those books ;)

Being in Europe I find it disappointing to read the Sony reader will not be available here shortly. Despite Sony s reputation concerning drm I would rather buy their reader than the iRex. The iRex is not only more expensive - I basically read PDF ebooks and I am not interested in the extra features of the iRex - but the product is also made by a Philips owned company. Having lived most of my life in Philips hometown I have seen zillions of innovative products being launched by this company only to be taken off the market shortly afterwards. Either the products had serious defects or the marketing was so horrific that no one bought the thing. Sony just seems to deliver more reliable products. So... where are you, Sony? I would love to read my next 37 books on your Reader.

I basically read PDF ebooks and I am not interested in the extra features of the iRex.
One fairly good reason for going Reader would be that Adobe does the PDF implementation. Within the PDF profile, neither you nor the ebook producers are likely to get any surprises.

Haven't seen any information for the iLiad so far on the PDF implementation.

But note that Bill McCoy (http://blogs.adobe.com/billmccoy/2006/01/more_on_sony_re.html) seems to say that PDFs have to be specially formatted for the Reader -- no support of reflow. I'm not sure I got that right, though -- Adobe Reader for Pocket PC does reflow, so why not Acrobat Reader for Reader?