(Thumbnail Image: Greenzer)
BY JIM FLINK
“SonyCorp has launched three new e-book readers to compete with Apple’s iPad and Amazon’s kindle. Now Sony’s 3 new e-readers will only be available in the United States.” (SmarTrend)
Sony has unveiled not one -- but three new e-readers. An upgrade from its old models, each is also pricier than before. Now some wonder if Sony has hit the mark -- or missed the market altogether.
We’re analyzing coverage from SmarTrend, Paid Content, Ars Technica, PC World and Forbes.
SmarTrend gives us a snapshot of each new Sony reader, what it has -- and what it doesn’t have.
“The Pocket edition is equipped with a five-inch screen with a display much like the Kindle and is priced at $179.99. The Touch edition is a six-inch screen. A higher display and memory card slots and is priced at $229.99. The Daily Edition allows users to download books via Wi-Fi and the A.T.&T. phone network, as reported by The Telegraph. The Daily Edition also posts a slimmer frame, upped batter life and more storage at a price of $299.99.”
Sony is upping price -- when the industry is lowering it. It’s also indifferent to connectivity in its lower-priced models. Sony’s Steve Haber tells Paid Content, Sony is rethinking all assumptions about e-readers -- including mandatory mobility.
“The majority of the time people use the devices, they’re at home. The thinking was that people would want e-readers for travel. We were assuming that. But we learned from it.” (Paid Content)
ARS Technica says, while the base models don’t have WiFi or 3G -- they do have other things that make them desirable...notably -- touch.
“Sony has decided to market its devices as touchscreens, and has extended that functionality across all three new readers. While this might seem superfluous in an e-reader, it does allow easier navigation of menu options and doesn't require button clicks to turn pages.”
But without connectivity in those base models, PC World questions Sony’s larger strategy.
“....the company has shown no interest in bringing its Reader Library software to smartphones and the iPad. Sony misses the point that the Nook, Kindle, and Kobo hardware are more attractive because of their outreach with software.”
And Forbes magazine wonders if Sony has gone too niche.
“As Apple’s iPad grabs more high-end buyers and the Kindle shifts its hold to the low end of the market, Sony may not have many remaining strategic options. A ChangeWave survey in March showed that in the next three months, 40% of respondents planned to buy an iPad, 28% would buy a Kindle, and just 1% planned to buy a Sony Reader.”
So what do you think of Sony’s strategy: Groundbreaking -- or backbreaking?
