SONY officially introduces the new line "Reader WIFI" @ $149 asking price

[Pinecone]

Originally Posted by Barty

Umm, they would if their cars drove more or less the same as a Toyota, and they only differentiate themselves on things like styling, fancy sound system, etc.

But the Sony doesn't drive like a Kindle either.

[Pinecone]

The funny thing is, most of the people who seem to think that Sony needs to compete on price, don't own a Sony.

So is this that they REALLY want a Sony, but don't want to pay the price? Probably also want a higher line car also, but can't afford or don't want to pay the price. And many other items also.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Pinecone

The funny thing is, most of the people who seem to think that Sony needs to compete on price, don't own a Sony.

So is this that they REALLY want a Sony, but don't want to pay the price? Probably also want a higher line car also, but can't afford or don't want to pay the price. And many other items also.

Had a 350 and it was nothing special compared to my KSO. They both read books. In the end, the Kindle is actually the better of the two devices, because it can play audiobooks and the Sony can't.

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Had a 350 and it was nothing special compared to my KSO. They both read books. In the end, the Kindle is actually the better of the two devices, because it can play audiobooks and the Sony can't.

Sonys can play mp3 files, can't they? Or do you mean something else?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

Sonys can play mp3 files, can't they? Or do you mean something else?

The 350 doesn't have an audio player. The other two do (650 & 950).

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

The 350 doesn't have an audio player. The other two do (650 & 950).

Ah, I see. I only have a 650 myself and wasn't aware the 350 didn't have the audio player.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

The 350 doesn't have an audio player. The other two do (650 & 950).

505 does.

It's still my favorite for outdoor reading. (indoor is my Xoom).

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by kennyc

505 does.

It's still my favorite for outdoor reading. (indoor is my Xoom).

I want a touch screen with an audio player, so the T1 is on my short list. In no hurry, so I'm waiting to see what Amazon does.

[fjtorres]

z

Originally Posted by Pinecone

So is this that they REALLY want a Sony, but don't want to pay the price?

Or maybe they are simply weighing the Sony value proposition dispasionately and finding it wanting? Maybe they notice that other brands now have comparable readers, with better ebookstores, and outsell Sony's metal case "quality" at ratios like 4 to 1 and even 10 to 1.

Now, maybe Sony is happy with a 4% global market share. But if they are, they shouldn't expect to be taken as seriously as other products that people actually buy in volume. The thing about competitive marketplaces is that chest-thumping and grandiose proclamations only matter to the extent that they are backed up with sales. Apple hype can be annoying, but love'em or hate'em, their stuff sells. Sony in recent times has the hype but not the sales needed to back up the posturing. And it's not just ebook readers, the entire company has been bleeding to the tune of US$3B per year for several years.

One more time: whatever we may think round these parts doesn't matter; what matters is what Sony does and the results they get. Last year they said they wouldn't compete on price and backed it up by shipping products that were priced 33% and more above the competiton. The result was 25% less sales worldwide.

This year, they dropped the entire "quality" line and are now shipping a product much like their epub competitors', priced much like theirs. That is not up for debate. Same size, same screen, same touch sensor tech, same drm...
Compared to last year's "quality" line, the biggest most notable positive change is the price drop.
*Some* might say that is the very definition of competing on price, but at this point it's all just semantics.

And the issue at stake isn't semantics, but sales.
If the T1 sells in volume, which it should, then Sony will still matter; they'll be a player.
If, for some reason, it still doesn't....

Well, that's a whole other topic.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

Ah, I see. I only have a 650 myself and wasn't aware the 350 didn't have the audio player.

It's a shame, because the 350 is a good reader. I was disappointed that B&N removed the audio player from the Nook.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

It's a shame, because the 350 is a good reader. I was disappointed that B&N removed the audio player from the Nook.

I was disappointed too that B&N eliminated audio on the Nook Touch. I am glad that Sony kept it with the T1 model.

[bibahbuzemann]

Originally Posted by bibahbuzemann

Sorry that's €149 including all taxes and delivery.

Originally Posted by Hellmark

For the T1. The Kindle 3, which was also mentioned in the post I quoted, is €139.

Regardless of T1 or K3, you're still paying 19% VAT that is already figured into that price, where as the US price DOES NOT include tax. In the US, advertised prices generally never include tax, since it can vary so much depending on where you buy it. The reason for this is individual towns, counties, and states can have their own additional taxes. For instance, say I buy a case for my reader from Walmart for $20 plus tax in Chesterfield, Missouri, and my girlfriend buys the same one from a Walmart in O'Fallon, Missouri that is about 10 miles away in another county. We'll probably be paying two different amounts of tax, O'Fallon and Chesterfield have different tax rates, plus the counties have different tax rates as well. The final price could be a couple dollars different, due to the tax rates.

I meant, sorry, 149 'cause of a possible typo.

And, yah, you used to be able to cross the border to New Hampshire to avoid paying sales tax. I remember THAT about US sales tax, but what I'd LIKE to know:

Is it still possible to purchase a product online at an out-of-state retailer at the listed price, thus avoiding paying sales tax at all. There are plenty of stores offering free shipping.

I'm a bit vague about this, but there are efforts to bar this loophole. I seem to remember a so called "Amazon bill" introduced into California legislature.

[CommonReader]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

z

Or maybe they are simply weighing the Sony value proposition dispasionately and finding it wanting? Maybe they notice that other brands now have comparable readers, with better ebookstores, and outsell Sony's metal case "quality" at ratios like 4 to 1 and even 10 to 1.

Now, maybe Sony is happy with a 4% global market share.

A conspicuous case of US navel gazing here, perhaps? Many of these supposedly fabulous competing brands simply do not exist beyond US borders. To make wild assumptions about the global market based on the US alone seems a tad misleading.

[faithbw]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Had a 350 and it was nothing special compared to my KSO. They both read books. In the end, the Kindle is actually the better of the two devices, because it can play audiobooks and the Sony can't.

I guess it's a matter of taste. When I had a my nook classic (which I know is different from the Kindle in terms of just about everything), I still wanted a Sony but didn't get one because of the price. I think the x50 really is a class above other e-readers because of the design and the intuitiveness of the device.

Now could my classic nook do most things that my 350 can? Yep. It can read e-books from the library and ePub stores. It has a dictionary function. It has a note taking function. However, I just think these things are done so much better on the Sony.

Plus, I really love the metal case of the Sony.

I guess it's like comparing a Toyota and a Cadillac. Having driven both, I can say that they both perform the same function (getting you from point A to point B more quickly than walking or riding a bike) but driving the Cadillac is just a different experience. It rides more smoothly and more easily than a Toyota.

Now for some people (like my husband), he doesn't really care in the end because a car is just a car (like an e-reader is just an e-reader). The quality of the Cadillac wouldn't really justify the price difference. However, for others the difference in quality means a lot.

I actually think Sony is a sacrificing the quality of their e-readers to make them more competitive against the nook and the Kindle and I don't think that's a good thing.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by faithbw

I guess it's a matter of taste. When I had a my nook classic (which I know is different from the Kindle in terms of just about everything), I still wanted a Sony but didn't get one because of the price. I think the x50 really is a class above other e-readers because of the design and the intuitiveness of the device.

It's definitely a matter of taste.

For me, the killer feature of the new Sony is wireless library lending. Couple that with an audio player and a reasonable price, and this reader is the first one to make my short list for a touch screen reader. The only other possible candidate would be an entry from Amazon.