Sony Launching Ebook Store to Go With New Reader

Posted on October 9, 2006

Reuters reported last week that Sony is launching an ebook store to go with its new ebook reader device.

Sony Corp. said Tuesday it will launch an electronic book store on the Internet and start selling a device that displays e-books purchased from the store October 1, after missing an earlier unveiling in the Spring due to technical reasons.

The Sony Connect book store will carry about 10,000 books from the top six publishers, including News Corp.'s HarperCollins and CBS Corp.'s Simon & Schuster.

The launch of the store coincides with the official debut of its highly anticipated electronics book reader, which reviewers have said mimic the quality of regular paper.

The "Sony Reader Portable Reader" system will sell for about $350. For a limited period, new Connect customers will receive a $50 credit to buy books from the service.

Reuters reported that a spokesperson for Sony said the ebooks cost about 25% less than regular books. The discount may need to be bigger in order to get large numbers of people interested the idea. The ebook reader itself costs $350. Incidentally, Amazon.com released a patent recently for a bizarre looking ebook reading device called the Kindle, which hopefully is not what the final produce will look like.

---

---

---