Sony lowers price on PRS-T1 to $99.99, and offers trade in credit

[Kumabjorn]

Interesting. When in Japan a while ago I bought the Japanese version of PRS-350 because I wanted access to Japanese books, something Amazon doesn't offer.

Que in; Disappointment.

The Sony E-book store was a huge let down. Few titles and hardly any books from known Japanese authors. Not even out-of-print books that should have a revival in digital format. For some reason they don't understand that hardware is driven by applications, not the other way around.

[Asawi]

But why feel any tie to the Sony store? EPubs from anywhere can be read on the Sony readers, and, contrary to other big brands, all books are treated "equal", no matter where they are bought.

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by Asawi

But why feel any tie to the Sony store? EPubs from anywhere can be read on the Sony readers, and, contrary to other big brands, all books are treated "equal", no matter where they are bought.

Because in my case I wanted access to Japanese books that should have been available in a decent e-book store. Because of Sony as a brand name I thought they would provide a decent supply. They didn't.

[cfrizz]

Or maybe they are simply trying to sell more readers! Good grief people, Sony has finally seen the light and dropped the price of their reader down to be competitive with the competition & you jump to the conclusion that they are getting out of the ereader business???

They are doing a bang up job, I heard the guy who took care of me that I was his 5th trade in that week! I'd say a whole lot of us were simply waiting for the right deal to come along & it finally did.

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

So that is basically $50 for their latest reader? Fantastic bargain. At the same time it makes me wonder why they are so eager to get rid of them. Are they departing the e-reader business?

[Hellmark]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

So that is basically $50 for their latest reader? Fantastic bargain. At the same time it makes me wonder why they are so eager to get rid of them. Are they departing the e-reader business?

The $50 off trade in credit started before the drop to $99. Recently they dropped the price to $129, and had the $50 trade in credit launch for the month of December. By doing that, they could have the price be $79.99, the same price as the new Kindle. Also by doing it that way, they'd get a functioning ereader that they could refurbish and sell, or recycle and sell the components on, and generate profit. Basically a way to look eco friendly, appear to price match the competition, and profit.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

Or maybe they are simply trying to sell more readers! Good grief people, Sony has finally seen the light and dropped the price of their reader down to be competitive with the competition & you jump to the conclusion that they are getting out of the ereader business???

You gotta admit that it's quite unusual for Sony to suddenly be price conscious after all these years of premium pricing.

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

You gotta admit that it's quite unusual for Sony to suddenly be price conscious after all these years of premium pricing.

That is exactly why I was surprised. I have never known Sony to try to compete with pricing, not eve home in Japan, where the competition of me-too products is a lot stiffer.

[David58117]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

You gotta admit that it's quite unusual for Sony to suddenly be price conscious after all these years of premium pricing.

Not at all.

Weren't the previous readers made out of metal rather than the plastic of the comparable readers?

I agree they finally got smart and made something out of comparable material to their competitors - which they can finally price comparably without worrying about losing too much money.

I don't see anything unusual about it...different products all together..

[cfrizz]

I really don't care why they did it, I'm just happy to have a new reader, at a great price, not stuck with one that I would no longer use, and the trade in value basically got me a lighted cover for FREE! I got every thing I needed in one fell swoop in less than 10 minutes.

Originally Posted by Hellmark

The $50 off trade in credit started before the drop to $99. Recently they dropped the price to $129, and had the $50 trade in credit launch for the month of December. By doing that, they could have the price be $79.99, the same price as the new Kindle. Also by doing it that way, they'd get a functioning ereader that they could refurbish and sell, or recycle and sell the components on, and generate profit. Basically a way to look eco friendly, appear to price match the competition, and profit.

[Toxaris]

Why of why has Sony raised the price in Europe to €179? To compensate?

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

Or maybe they are simply trying to sell more readers! Good grief people, Sony has finally seen the light and dropped the price of their reader down to be competitive with the competition & you jump to the conclusion that they are getting out of the ereader business???

They are doing a bang up job, I heard the guy who took care of me that I was his 5th trade in that week! I'd say a whole lot of us were simply waiting for the right deal to come along & it finally did.

I had the same cynical view when I saw the mad sales rush. I thought, gee they are trying to dump their old stuff because they'll likely come out with something newer and more wonderful in 2012!

I tried to resist, but wound up getting one, anyway, because I knew I wanted one.

I asked the store what their return policy was if I didn't like it, and they said 30 days with receipt, full refund. So I've had this now for 2 days, and have been using it daily and explore all it does. I told my husband that if I wasn't satisfied after the 30 day period I would return it. So the two of us seem happy with the policy.

Edited to add, I did not buy via the trade in - I just bought it at a local store's sale price.

[emilikins]

I'm annoyed Kobos aren't a trade-in option. :-( Otherwise, I totally would've upgraded.

[spindlegirl]

I gave my Kobo Touch to my husband thus making it "affordable" for us to give each other e-readers for Christmas. He knew I was desperate for a T1. It's a whole different e-reading world. I get to be the boss of my library, which is amazing.

[Hellmark]

Originally Posted by emilikins

I'm annoyed Kobos aren't a trade-in option. :-( Otherwise, I totally would've upgraded.

The Kobo Touch is. You just have to look under "Borders" as the brand, which is screwy considering that Borders was no more the brand for Kobo, as it was for the Sony Readers (another brand that Borders pushed for years).

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by emilikins

I'm annoyed Kobos aren't a trade-in option. :-( Otherwise, I totally would've upgraded.

Have you called Sony and asked? I've found their website actually incorrect. It tells you that a PRS-500 is only eligible for a recycle when at Sony Style I have no issue trading it in.