Sony have announced a Press Conference on Monday, August 24th in New York.
MobileRead broke the news and have tons of discussion.
What could it be?
Sony Reader 900, Perhaps. Sony’s Answer to Kindle DX
This is pretty likely as Sony had mentioned earlier in the year that they would have a large screen eReader out by Fall 2009.
If it has touch screen and comes in between $399 and $449, it’ll shake up the Kindle DX’s target market.
The features, based on what the Sony 600 has, might be -
- Sony 900 with touch screen and handwriting recognition.
- Support for different fonts and Japanese, Korean and Chinese.
- Worldwide availability.
- Lighter Weight than the Kindle DX.
It might not be the only announcement. Perhaps Sony will also reveal …
Sony Net? Sony’s Answer to WhisperNet
Sony have mentioned, when talking about the Sony Reader 600 and Sony 300, that wireless support is in the works.
- A Sony version of WhisperNet ought to arrive in 2009 itself.
- It probably won’t have free Internet access.
- Sony is pretty incented to add this as it’s been a huge advantage for Kindle all along.
- Already, certain reviews have panned the 600 and 300 for their lack of wireless support.
Given that the new models come out end of August, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that Sony surprises us by releasing SonyNet soon. There’ll probably be other surprises too.
Well, whatever they are, they better be big ones. Because …
Kindle Sales Estimates raised (yet again).
Barron’s notes that Cown analyst Jim Friedland raised his sales estimates to -
- 1.5 million active Kindle units by end 2009.
- 3 million Kindle units by end 2010.
Mr. Friedland thinks there are 4 reasons Kindle will continue to dominate -
Low customer acquisition costs. Amazon offers more titles. Amazon allows wireless download via Sprint. Amazon has more extensive product-related content and reviews.
So Sony Vs Kindle and Sony 900 Vs Kindle DX are shaping up to be exciting battles in the ebook wars.
Filed under: news, sony reader Tagged: | sony reader, sony reader 900, sony reader vs kindle dx
[...] Some of the steps are obvious. A large-screen e-reader would help, and in fact iReaderReview is wondering whether the Sony might announce one shortly. Cellular-style wireless or at least WiFi—ideally both—would help even more, with close [...]
I would also expect a 9.7″/3G/touch/no WiFi product. I would expect the price point to be more in the $499 or higher range given the cost addder of a large touch screen. Weight will probably be within an ounce of the DX’s weight.
While it may make no sense for a bookseller to build a device that works with libraries, it is the logical step for the future of the devices. They just need to come down in price. What I think also needs to happen is a pricing plan for the wireless so those that don’t want it don’t pay for it those that do, either subscibe or pay per use like with phones ($1 a day and time).
My personal rant is that I’m tired of devices linked to products so tightly. When I buy a car its not like I can only gas it up at Shell. Imagine what TV would be like if back then the only way to see NBC was on an RCA set, but you had to have a zenith to get CBS. Madness.
[...] You could also check a kindle dx review here or a short write-up on the Sony Reader daily edition. [...]