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This story about Sony supposedly having market research showing that consumers are not interested in built-in light is old news. Steve Haber (president of Sony DRBD) was making this statement a couple of years ago, and it must be a "talking point" for now. I doubt Sony would be investing in its own front-lighting tech, as PRS-700 was a disaster, but if such technology is offered by E Ink, Sony might buy it.
Otherwise, I am not sure where the dedicated ebook reader development is taking us. Neither B&N nor Amazon is coming up with a flood of semi-annual or quarterly upgrades. Could it be that eInk technology has hit a dead end? I don't think there is any Android-based reader with an eInk-HD screen. Perhaps those are not supported by Android distributions and drivers offered by FreeScale, and neither Sony nor B&N has the know-how to make its own?
For Sony front-light seems like a logical step forward. A generation upgrade that's big enough to justify some new purchasing from existing fans. I wouldn't be expecting any FCC action until July, and official announcement until end of August.
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