Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
I do think that the situation is different in Europe. Here, as you say, we have no Kindle, and hence no perception that anybody is "dominating" the market. Sony are the manufacturer that we are most "exposed" to - the Sony Reader is on sale at Sony stores (and in other places too) in several European countries - currently the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, and Austria, and is about to be launched in several other countries too. The smaller brands are definitely more wide-spread here, though, and Bookeen are probably the best-known of the smaller manufacturers.
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Sony has neglected the European market for too long. Seems that by now they have realized that they're leaving the palyfield to smaller companies and suddenly started to erupt into a frenzy of activities. Within a couple of months they struck deals with major book chains in the countries HarryT mentioned and there they sell their devices along with a coupon for several Euros worth of books (last I've seen it was 50 Euros in books). A strategy which instantly made them known to a majority of the populace (was reported a lot in the press) but must have cost them quite a bundle...