Target stores to sell Sony PRS-505

[Mitchll]

Sony's press release today:

This weekend, the Reader Digital Book by Sony will be available in Target stores nationwide. Beginning September 14, the PRS-505 model will be featured in the "Discovery Hub" endcap in the electronics section of all 1,634 Target stores. With the purchase of a Reader, consumers will also receive a coupon code to download a free copy of The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory from the eBook Store by Sony. The Other Queen is slated for release on September 16.

Alongside the device, the endcap will display Reader accessories including: eBook Store prepaid cards, Cover with Light Accessory, AC Charger and a Crocodile pattern cover with pouch for AC charger and USB cable.

[daffy4u]

I told ya they were serious!

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by Mitchll

Alongside the device, the endcap will display Reader accessories including: eBook Store prepaid cards, Cover with Light Accessory, AC Charger and a Crocodile pattern cover with pouch for AC charger and USB cable.

I looked on the Target website, and they've got the Reader and regular covers listed, along with the optional AC charger. I didn't see the Light Accessory cover listed, nor prepaid cards. I'll have to stop at the store on the way home, just to see if it's all there.

What I thought was funny, though, is that Target has some unique "tags" assigned to its products. For example, you can search electronics by "all the blue or purple" items. The Sony Reader was listed under "Retirement" (gift ideas for retirees)!

[MarciaCat]

Originally Posted by Mitchll

Alongside the device, the endcap will display Reader accessories including: eBook Store prepaid cards, Cover with Light Accessory, AC Charger and a Crocodile pattern cover with pouch for AC charger and USB cable.

I'm interested to see what the crocodile pattern cover with pouch looks like and what the price is. I didn't see it on their website.

[Elsi]

I stopped at one of the largest Super Target stores in the area. They don't have the endcap and the manager in the electronics department had no information on the Sony PRS 505. He even looked up the devices in his system and found no reference to it.

Well, it isn't the 14th yet, so I guess I'll just have to go back on Sunday to see what they have.

[FizzyWater]

I checked in the Target near my work on the way home tonight. The Sony Reader display was up, but...

About half the item slots were empty and had little silver circle stickers on them. I had noticed those at Target before and thought they meant an item was being discontinued!

I stopped one of the clerks in the electronics area to ask what was up, and he said the silver circles just meant that an item was "out of stock". When I asked how an item that was only supposed to be displayed beginning today could already be out of stock, he said that "lots of times they don't send us everything to go on an end-cap, but we have to set it up anyway because 'they' paid for it" (I assume the second 'they' means Sony paid for the benefit of an end-cap display).

So, they had Readers, gift cards, memory sticks, and three different (expensive) headphone sets. No "croc bags", no book covers (lighted or otherwise), no AC adapters. Interestingly, however, the book cover with light tag listed a $64.99 price, rather than the $69.99 price on SonyStyle. Everything else seemed to be listed at normal Sony prices.

[MerLock]

Now I really what Sony has up its sleeve for their Oct. 2nd announcement. It seems like it would be odd for them to release a new model just when they seem to make a real push at selling the 505 in the states as well as in Europe.

[duckeedoug]

I hope that Target will actually have a working display. Once the customer actually see the screen I believe this a huge selling point for the reader. If the customer can't touch and see a working unit they equate it to LCD technology with the thought of why buy this product to read with when I can just use my laptop, cellphone, PDA, etc, Sony need to have a FAQ next to the display with the advantages and differences for the E-ink technology. Spelling out battery life, contrast, etc. The spelling out of the advantages would be a no brainer, and I'm sure that Sony's marketing dept has it all under control as it relates to the Target store displays.

[dhbailey]

Originally Posted by duckeedoug

I hope that Target will actually have a working display. Once the customer actually see the screen I believe this a huge selling point for the reader.[snip]

The biggest selling point, sad to say, is that it has to be seen by people who actually read books, and I'm not so sure that the average Target customer is the same as the average B&N or Borders customer. I think that if they were to make a bigger splash about their "romance" books (it seems like the last 6 or 8 "new releases" e-mails have had an inordinate number of romance titles) they would get a larger crowd of potential readers who would like to have a convenient way to keep their back titles with them -- my wife is a huge romance fan and she is constantly going back to her favorite books and re-reading what she calls "the good parts version" where she skips the material she didn't like the first time and reads the parts she liked.

But including a new release of a "literary fiction" sort of title isn't going to attract the average Target customer who is walking by. get the guys to pay attention by putting up titles concerning sports or Nascar and get the women to pay attention with romance titles and then they might actually sell a large number.

Most techno-geeks don't shop in Target technology departments (they do have some nice stuff though -- I've shopped there on occasion) and most people who want the latest titles from the NYTimes Bestseller lists don't shop there either.

I do hope that the Target product-placement makes for a huge increase in sales.

[duckeedoug]

Well that partially true or I'm an exception. I was not a advid reader prior to owning the e-reader. Sure I read the occasional magazine, or portions of a technical manual - when needed. But I have not been a consistant reader of novels, etc until after I got my Sony which was back in May.

I am now on my third book (Green Mile), and have also read a lot of bits and pieces on the e-reader as well. I believe the difference is that I saw the value in the hardware. I also believe that some owners of the e-reader in this forum are now reading more then ever. Prior to the e-reader it has probably been 30 years since I last warmed up to a good novel, if not longer. Now that fall and winter are approaching I will be reading even more.

Again if sony can have a display model with mutiple subject matter then the user would see the value in owning such a product.

[Barcey]

I hope they'll be selling them as the upscale designer brand ("Tar-zhay")

[Elsi]

In the Super Target where I looked, the electronics department is adjacent to a very large book department. For that store, judicious placement of the end-cap might just result in catching the eye of readers.

Originally Posted by dhbailey

The biggest selling point, sad to say, is that it has to be seen by people who actually read books, and I'm not so sure that the average Target customer is the same as the average B&N or Borders customer.

True, if one includes all Target customers. But, there are a large number of people who shop for books in Target and Wal-Mart rather than B&N or Borders. My mother-in-law is one of them. She's definitely a *reader*, and last Christmas, I gave her a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble. By February 1, she had given it back to me because she just doesn't shop in B&N. She buys the majority of the books she reads from Wal-Mart. The selection is less, but if you're looking for only current releases in selected genres, then it can be a lot less confusing.

[Lilly]

Same here for my mother-in-law, reads at least a book a day but is addicted to romance novels (the historical kind or some modern ones too); buys all her books at Walmart or Target. She spend at least a $100 a month on books at these 2 places. The only reason she dont have a reader is because e-books dont have a synopsis page and for someone who reads those type of books, it's a real drawback.

[Elsi]

Originally Posted by Lilly

The only reason she dont have a reader is because e-books dont have a synopsis page and for someone who reads those type of books, it's a real drawback.

I presume you mean that once purchased, you can't "pick it up" and read a synopsis. Certainly you can find the synopsis at Amazon.com (for the Kindle), Sony Store (for the Sony), eHarlequin, Books-on-Board, etc.

Here's how I get around that problem. When I purchase a book from Amazon.com for my Kindle, I copy the book description -- which is usually the same as the back cover -- into a text file (copy/paste is so cool!) Sometimes I make one file per book, but most of the time I combine all the book descriptions into a single file. I then transfer this text file to my Kindle. Now, when I want to read a new book, I have the descriptions at hand to help me decide which book it will be. This approach should work as well with the Sony. One advantage with the Kindle is that I can make notes in the text file while it's on the Kindle. I do this, noting the date when the book was read, whether I liked it or not. You can later transfer these notes back to your PC if you want.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Lilly

The only reason she dont have a reader is because e-books dont have a synopsis page and for someone who reads those type of books, it's a real drawback.

Most eBook stores certainly display a synopsis of the book - FictionWise, BooksOnBoard, etc. Where do you buy your eBooks that doesn't have such a thing?