[sonyreaderfan]

Sony, not so much. It took Sony a couple of years to develop an app for Mac OS, which you need to buy books from Sony. What's that all about? Can't they build a web storefront like everybody else? Don't they want to be able to sell books to owners of other devices? Apparently not, and that's why their iOS reading app was rejected, they still have no 'multiscreen' strategy, and they don't sell a lot of books and have to make their profit on the hardware.

Sony does have a web storefront, http://ebookstore.sony.com/. Is this something you're referring to?

The reason their iOS app is pulled is not because they don't "want to be able to sell books to other devices," but because, as explained by Engadget, "The reasons given to Sony were that Apple will not no longer accept applications that permit in-app purchases of content that don't go through Apple itself, and, moreover, will not tolerate apps that access material purchased through external content stores." In other words, to buy ebooks in Sony Reader app, the transaction has to be handled by Apple. The reader app didn't allow that capability so it was pulled.

Sony is not the only company to get its reader app because of Apple's new rule -- Dark Horse Comics also got their app pulled.

As for multiscreen device strategy, there is a Sony Reader app for Android, just not for iOS.

But if they aren't going to make a go of their own storefront, why not at least update the RMSDK firmware so you can read B&N ebooks on the device (as most other RMSDK-enabled systems will at this point), and then sell in B&N as well as Borders?

And for Sony selling ebooks to other devices, you can load ebooks from Sony ebookstore onto Nooks and Kobo readers. As for being able to get ebooks from BN onto Sony Readers and selling Sony in BN, I doubt it's in either companies' interest to make it happen. For sure BN will not carry any other ereaders except their own. (Border sells Kobo and Sony because it has no ebook strategy of its own -- one reason why it's bankrupted.)Each company has the economic imperative to build their own lock-in ecosystem, like iTunes and Amazon. (In Sony's case, semi-locked in -- you can load Kobo books onto Sony Readers.) Sony has a slow start compare to Amazon but it has pieces in place with their own music and movie properties, and ebooks, and the storefronts, Qriocity and Sony Ebookstore. BN is slowing building its ecosystem with its special DRMed ebooks and Android apps. You can't load BN books onto Kobo readers either. Only Kobo has declared itself to be device agnostic.

To further its ecosystem, Sony is coming out with two Android tablets (S1 and S2) and you can bet they'll be tied to the Qriocity store and be bundled with the Sony Reader app. To build its ecosystem, Amazon has the power to commoditize the Kindle but Sony doesn't. So Sony's strategy is to be niche player. In a Wired review of the Pocket Edition Reader (http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/...creen-ereaders):

"The bottom line is we didn’t want to compete on price,” said Steve Haber, president of Sony’s digital reading business division. “We wanted to build quality and overall experience. We want to give consumers the feel of buying an e-reader, not a toy.”

As Poppaea says, Sony needs to sell their hardware and make money on it.