Finally, new Sony rumors

[lacymarie7575]

Originally Posted by Lilly

to each his own, it's actually one of the things I love most about the Sony Readers.!

Exactly!! I tried the Nook out and was sooo disapointed that it was only that tiny little bitty touch screen...I couldnt imagine using anything else but my PRS-600!

[SkyDream]

Originally Posted by lacymarie7575

I couldnt imagine using anything else but my PRS-600!

How about PRS-900

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by Harmon

As for touchscreen, it's not "touchscreen." It's "mashscreen." I had a "touchscreen" Sony for a few hours. Took it back the same day. Glare was an issue, but so was the fuzzyness of the font.

A touchscreen done well would be quite nice. Since the one they currently use interferes with the overall quality of the screen, it seems more of a gimick they used to differentiate themselves than a move towards a higher quality reading experience. I figure since I spend the vast majority of my time reading and the most used control is the page turn, which I find is accomplished more easily with a well-placed button, I just couldn't see sacrificing the fundamentals for a touchscreen. I might use it for navigating to a new book or looking up a word. It would be faster than the D-Pad, but I'll take the D-Pad over a fuzzy screen.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by Harmon

They should also more tightly integrate the samples with the buying process. Sort of one-click for ebook buying.

The buying process is one click at the end of the sample. Where they could improve it is letting you jump automatically to that location in the new file. As it is, I just hit the menu button, go into the new book, and enter the location. It takes a few seconds. It's not bad, but letting you just go there seems like it would be easy to implement and would add more polish to the experience.

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by Alisa

It would be faster than the D-Pad, but I'll take the D-Pad over a fuzzy screen.

Exactly. I see no point at all in upgrading from my 300 to a 350 with Pearl if the higher contrast from the Pearl is thrown away behind an extra slab of glass. I'm deeply disappointed in this rumor.

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

Sony is a MUCH larger company than Amazon and has deep, deep experience in content, as well as home electronics. Sony must have started out with a vision to lead the market when it launched, leveraging its ability to partner in diverse markets around the world. The reality is it dropped the ball, sidetracked by the Blu-ray and PS3 divisions, no doubt, who had a larger voice at the table at the time. Those running the ereader division may have been very well-intentioned but they did not get corporate executive mindshare to invest aggressively enough to create the industry.

Amazon did. It has its own views about what makes a customer-centric experience the best possible, and a vision on why connectivity must lie in the very DNA of the product. In an age dominated by the Internet and, at the time (2006), 12 years since the explosion of broadband began, leaving connectivity out of the equation was short-sighted on Sony's part.

It's great to hear something of new models and once more details arrive we can evaluate these better. The units themselves, the distribution model, the value add they bring over the other players in the market, and the ability to add and share quality content -- to say nothing of how they treat their existing base -- will all be crucial to win a second chance to stay in the game.

And, Sony could partner with a variety of players in co-branding or shared ownership or technology or customer base. But Sony's tendency to insist on doing everything inhouse suggests it probably will not.

BTW, Best Buy still sells PRS 505s on its Canadian website for those interested. The fact they are still trying to get rid of a model discontinued a year (or was it two years) ago, speaks volumes.

And yet, despite it's mega-humongo-supra-size, Sony routinely gets it wrong. Betamax, rootkits, PRS-500/505... Just goes to show that the smaller, faster, more flexible company does better than the Sonysaurus.

Derek

[Zetmolm]

Originally Posted by porkupan

There is no perfect touchscreen technology. Wacom requires a stylus. People don't want a stylus.

I know someone who does prefer a stylus: me.

I had a Sony PRS600 for a couple of weeks. Whenever I tried a remove a speck of dust from the screen (I hate those things) I ended up on another page than I was reading. Then I got my Onyx Boox with Wacom screen. What a relief! I could remove specks of dust, remain on the same page, and also use a touchscreen!

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by porkupan

The 505 in BestBuy Canada is probably just a fluke, like that recent sell-out of 505's on BaM. Perhaps a few units were found at some warehouse somewhere and put on sale. Already sold out.

No, not in Canada. The 505 has consistently been in the catalgoue, in stock all year. I check on a regular basis.

Originally Posted by porkupan

IMDB would be a great partner for someone who wants to be in business or renting or selling movies and TV programs - it owns ratings and reviews, the content more valuable than "The Content" itself.

Interesting observation. IMDB is, of course, an Amazon company.

Originally Posted by porkupan

As far as online connectivity is concerned, it doesn't matter so much. iPod didn't have it, and it was a major hit.

Music took off for MP3 players partly because of iTunes and partly because ripping CDs was child's play. USENET groups, Kazaa and its ilk, all contributed to free music downloads everywhere. This free environment does not exist for books. Yes, there is a "DarkNet"; but the average consumer does not have a ready made library of digital books (a la CDs) they can copy and share.

Originally Posted by porkupan

It's hard to imagine anyone being able to compete on Amazon's terms now-a-days. Give away the reader, make money on accessories and content. Sony is fine with readers and accessories, but its content delivery system would require a major revamping.

This is cop out. Sony is about four times the size of Amazon and could easily ramp up if it chose to. Nor do you have to giveaway the reader -- just make something attractive at the $99 to $150 price point that's competitive and has a decent sales channel. And "small" competitors enter markets all the time where the established players are "too big". GM and Ford didn't discourage Honda. Tim Horton's didn't give up against Starbucks. In Canada, several new wireless companies are taking on the three leading players and at least one of those has pretensions to being number one.

Let's hope this new announcement means Sony has got its groove back on ....

[darknessangel]

Well... I think this has been said before but I like to re-re-reiterate. God damn it, sony! I don't want more bells and whistles on my readers or red or pink or blue or with touchscreen... I want em bigger! And NOT in just one dimension (evilstares the 900).

GJMS

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

No, not in Canada. The 505 has consistently been in the catalgoue, in stock all year. I check on a regular basis.

Probably just to prove me wrong ... ... the PRS 505s are almost gone; the website shows 1 left ... at $299.99. More intriguing, and again a change since yesterday, Sony Canada is showing the PRS 300 series sold out and the big box stores have (finally) dropped the price to $149. All of which points to a concerted effort to dispose of any and all old stock in anticipation of new models ... and maybe as early as September.

[Wetdogeared]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

Probably just to prove me wrong ... ... the PRS 505s are almost gone; the website shows 1 left ... at $299.99. More intriguing, and again a change since yesterday, Sony Canada is showing the PRS 300 series sold out and the big box stores have (finally) dropped the price to $149. All of which points to a concerted effort to dispose of any and all old stock in anticipation of new models ... and maybe as early as September.

at SonyStyle.ca only the silver PRS-300 are out of stock.
But...the PRS-600 is now only available in red.

[OrcaBlue]

PRS-900 was announced on the release date of 300 and 600, I suspected that they would do the same for PRS-9?? or something similar around the release date of 350 and 650.

Looking at all Sony products' design, I don't see a larger screen ereader fits into the "Sony's aesthetic". Most of their products are usually small and compact. A 9.7" incher would be too clunky for carrying around.

With that said, I do wish that SONY would release a larger screen. 9.7" inch would be sweet without the touch screen problem of course. Almost everyone's number one complaint about the Sony ereader is its glare and reduced image quality.

[OrcaBlue]

Originally Posted by darknessangel

Well... I think this has been said before but I like to re-re-reiterate. God damn it, sony! I don't want more bells and whistles on my readers or red or pink or blue or with touchscreen... I want em bigger! And NOT in just one dimension (evilstares the 900).

GJMS

agree!!!

[J. Strnad]

I think that fjtorres nailed it:

If they really show up in September that means they were designed and spec'ed out *before* the price drops; they were meant to compete with Kindle 2 and Nook at $259 and not Kindle 3 and Nook WiFi. They were intended for a competitive environment that no longer exists.

We've seen other manufacturers drop their ereaders entirely and even abandon the market. I'm afraid that Sony was stuck in the middle, unable to cut bait but now entering the market with products that are likely to be "overpriced" by today's standards.

It doesn't seem to me that there's much to get excited about. But then, they aren't even out yet!

[Boston]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Let's hope they've switched to using a capacitive touch screen (such as the iPad uses) rather than the resistive screen of the current Sony models. Capacitive touch screens have no impact on image quality like resistive screens do.

I have long finger nails and can't use any of the functions on a capacitive touch screen where the real estate for any given function is small.

I was an early adopter of touchscreens but now I can't use an iPhone (or other smartphones including HTC Incredible, Droid X..), a Nook or any of the newer devices.

Unfortunately, I'm in the minority and have to stick with devices with physical keyboards/buttons now. I hate it. (On the upside, it does prevent me from a lot of gadget buying)