Also fortunate is that the Sony Reader line is a growth market for the future. While they may also face some belt-tightening (who isn't these days?), I doubt that it will change their course drastically. As long as they have the prospect of future successes, I'm pretty sure that they will carry on.
Could it slow down a product release? Don't know, but whenever there is penny pinching, that would seem to be a possibility. However, I do hope that the focus is on growth and brand recognition for the e-book reader market. That long run vision may save them from the full impact of even minor cutbacks. Besides, in the light of the magnitude of Sony's other activities, I have to think that e-book readers are like pocket change in the big picture, so it wouldn't be a burden if they choose to press full steam ahead.
My concern about the economy effecting e-books has more to do with cutbacks on the fundamental research being done on display technologies. But, again, there is lots of money to be made by advances in display technology (and e-books are only a small part of the picture because of phones, laptops, tvs, etc.), so there will surely still be money found for investment. And hopefully, all those screen types can be based on similar technology advancements.
