End of Sony consumer readers confirmed

[fjtorres]

Comes third hand via the Digital Reader Blog via lesen.net:
http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/0.../#.U9zeEo7D_MJ

Sony has confirmed today that they will not be making another ebook reader – not even for their sole remaining market in Japan.

There will be no PRS-T4, and lesen.net reports that the remaining stock of the Sony Reader PRS-T3 will be sold until it runs out. That device was was launched last fall in Europe but never shipped in the US, so I’m not sure how many people actually have one.

TBH, this comes as no surprise. After Sony first pulled out of the North American ebook market, and then a short while later abandoned Europe and Australia, there was little reason for Sony to develop a new model

Expected but still...

Hindsight being 20-20; they did have an amazing knack of zigging when the market was zagging.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Hindsight being 20-20; they did have an amazing knack of zigging when the market was zagging.

Yes, specifically in terms of producing frontlit readers. They had the disastrously awful PRS-700, and that seemed to scare them off the idea of frontlights, even when the technology had matured. I wouldn't buy a non-illuminated reader these days - it's just too useful a feature.

[tubemonkey]

The first ereader I ever used was a Sony 300. This is no big deal for me, because I prefer Kindle.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

The first ereader I ever used was a Sony 300. This is no big deal for me, because I prefer Kindle.

That is funny, I still have my first ereader in the closet, also a prs-300. It would be nice if Amazon made a small formfactor 5" frontlit eink Kindle. That is not going to happen once the 6" became the one size fits all.

The PRS-300 is almost as big as 6" readers now, only with a smaller display.

[LovesMacs]

This news gives me some nostalgia even though I've never owned a Sony e-reader. The very first e-ink e-reader I ever saw in person was one of their early Pocket editions, at a freestanding Sony kiosk in some mall. I liked the concept but balked at the price. Times and technology were different then.

[ManDay]

So, that's it for the 13" reader as well, then?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ManDay

So, that's it for the 13" reader as well, then?

No, that is why the headline said "End of Sony consumer readers confirmed". The 13.3" device is not a consumer device - it's marketed only to businesses.

[Pomtroll]

I loved my Sony readers ( the 350 & TS1), but I did not like the store. The Kindle is
so much easier to work with.

[NNolan]

I still have a 350, a 950 and a T1. The T1 has been my go-to reader for long sessions at the hair dresser, and whenever I turn it on I'm amazed at how much lighter it is and how much better the display is than on any of the ereaders (Nook/Kindles/Kobos) I've purchased in the last two years. From now on I will be more careful with it.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by Pomtroll

I loved my Sony readers ( the 350 & TS1), but I did not like the store. The Kindle is
so much easier to work with.

+1. My first dedicated ereader was the sony PRS-500 that I got when it came out. I have a PRS-T2 that I use when I go backpacking (great battery life and very light). Typical Sony, great hardware, terrible software. The original store was an app that felt like it had been written as a senior project by some intern. Sony did have a few books that never made it to the Amazon store, but Amazon had a much, much better ebook selection.

[Josieb1]

I loved all the Sony's I had (505, 600 and 650) but for me the cost of the kindle keyboard lured me away and the lighted Paperwhite is now my main ereader. Sony could have done so much but they lost the will.

[the_callant]

Sad day. My first dedicated ereader was a sony 505, then a 600 and finally a T1. Then I got a Kindle PW after the T1 cracked and the T2 was on the way. I can't do without a reader and saw the PW as a stop gap. I never did get the T2, and I'm still using the PW.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Expected but still...

Hindsight being 20-20; they did have an amazing knack of zigging when the market was zagging.

I'm sorry to hear it, but it's definitely not a surprise -- Sony is backing out of a lot of markets. The first eReaders I saw in the stores were Sonys and I was impressed with their build from the start. (Of course I'm impressed with the build of the Nooks and Kindles as well.)

I'm happy I bought my PRS-T2. Hope it lasts for a while.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

I loved all the Sony's I had (550, 600 and 650) but for me the cost of the kindle keyboard lured me away and the lighted Paperwhite is now my main ereader. Sony could have done so much but they lost the will.

For what they did do, Sony did have good programmers. The firmware worked well. To be able to shoehorn ePub into the 500 was probably not an easy task.

But I kind of figured Sony would exit the eBook market when they decided not to sell the T1 in the US. What Sony needed was proper leadership which they didn't have. If they had, they could have been bigger then Kobo.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

For what they did do, Sony did have good programmers. The firmware worked well. To be able to shoehorn ePub into the 500 was probably not an easy task.

But I kind of figured Sony would exit the eBook market when they decided not to sell the T1 in the US. What Sony needed was proper leadership which they didn't have. If they had, they could have been bigger then Kobo.

They had all the pieces (but one) to be boss, including a big head start on Amazon, and threw it all away. Instead of improving their ebookstore, they killed their walled garden and had to start over from scratch, wasting over a year at a time Kindle was figuring out what worked and what didn't and surging ahead.

They never caught up after that.