According to
Businessweek Online, at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on January 4, 2006, Sony will take a second swing at e-books by announcing a new e-book reader and online download service aimed at the U.S.
Sony (SNE), which would provide few details about the e-reader, also has agreements with at least three major publishers to sell digital book downloads on its Sony Connect online store -- much the way Apple (AAPL) sells music and video at its iTunes Music Store.Back in 2000, a bunch of e-book readers hit the market, only to tank because the technology didn't adequately duplicate the book-reading experience.
BusinessWeek also reports that the device will be similar to the
Librie, retail for $300-$500 USD, and will utilized
E Ink technology. This time around, Sony has partnered with Random House, Simon & Schuster, and HarperCollins to sell e-books through Sony's online e-book portal.
With the Hanlin and iRex Iliad also debuting soon, it looks like 2006 might be the year e-books and e-readers are reinvented and exposed to a much larger audience.
Read the full article
here.
Related: iRex next-gen e-book reader based on e Ink, A Librie for the rest of us