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Originally Posted by SensualPoet
Sorry, you're quite right: I was thinking the 950 was the debut edition of that device. We can agree to disagree on whether these were incremental or not; I am not suggesting the move to e-ink and an improved touch technology was minor -- but it was necessary for Sony to stay in the game another year. The fact that both Nook and Kobo embraced these two features in June underscores Sony made the right moves.
However, I stand by my observations that, while Sony has a 950 model, you can't actually buy it any longer as a practical matter. And the 650 is in similar scarcity in the US market leaving essentially a 5" non-wifi model as the only device easily obtainable there ... and offered at a distinct premium price to arguably more capable devices.
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Uhm, move to eInk? Sony has been using eInk for years. They were one of the first to have eInk devices, long before the Kindle, nook, Kobo, etc. They were actually the first to make an eink reader, back in 2004, and have only made eInk readers. The 350 added touch support to the 5" sony line, and the 650 and 950 merely upgraded to a better type of touch interface (Dropping the resistive touch layer for an IR sensor array. Both are still single point touch interfaces, only one doesn't add glare). As far as the Sony devices being hard to find, well, I've not really found that to be the case. I've seen the 950s and 650s in several stores lately, as recently as last night.
Also, You say that Kobo and nook embraced these two features in June, but the two features you mentioned, only one of them was new to those brands. Kobo readers have been eInk since day one, and the original nook was eink as well.