Sony Launches Another eBook Platform

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://news.sel.sony.com/pressrelease/6394">http://news.sel.sony.com/pressrelease/6394</a><br /><br />From the people that brought you the Sony Rootkit for your PC comes another piece of hardware that will no doubt give new life to DRM frustrations. I have no doubt the new "paper-like" screen will make it one of the better ebook solutions available, despite the fact that no ebooks exist for it yet as it surely will have a new Sony format. :roll: <br /><br /><i>"In recent years millions of people have become comfortable downloading and enjoying digital media, including eBooks. But until now, there has not been a good device on which to read," said Ron Hawkins, senior vice president of Personal Reader Systems marketing at Sony Electronics. "Our research has shown that people are looking for a device designed exclusively for immersive reading. The Sony Reader with its electronic paper display, thin format and extraordinary battery life fits the bill."</i><br /><br />I couldn't possibly disagree with that statement more. Dedicated ebook platforms, no matter how much extra stuff is put on them, will never be a big success. People just aren't willing to spend hundreds of dollars for a shell that they then have to go out and buy content for. This isn't music. People expect to have a player of some sort for their $15 CD, be it a portable CD player or an MP3 player to hold all of their songs, but you can go out and buy a $7 book and that is all you need. Why buy a device and then spend $7 for the book? I am not sure what the right model is. Pocket PCs are getting too small to comfortably read ebooks. My K-Jam, as impressive as the screen is, is just too tiny to comfortably hold for hours, unlike my larger iPAQ 3900. What do you think? Will Sony be successful with this, or can anyone in the foreseeable future be successful with a device that is for ebooks first and foremost?

[peterjam28]

I probably would get this on 2 conditions: -
1 - it was not ridiculously expensive for device or content
2 - The pages were formatted properly

I find ebooks that i've tried unreadable because the lines are wrapped in the wrong place.
I do a lot of travelling and would like to take a few books away with me without the luggage space being taken up.

[alabij]

Here is the test. If you can read a whole book on your PC or laptop then you'll definiteley be comfortable carrying an ebook reader.
I don't really think the price is the problem, the main problem is form factor and comfortability to the eyes.

[miterb]

I have read a large number of books on my pocket pc's over the last 5 years. I have pretty much given up on the Microsoft Reader but find the EReader to be excellent and with a good number of books available at their store. Wordwrap is wordwrap and their program functions very well with quick pagination.

The Sony looks to be too large for one-handed reading, and that is what I want in an ereader. I do much of my reading in bed with the lights out so as not to disturb my mate.

Brad

[PPCRules]

senior vice president of Personal Reader Systems marketing at Sony Electronics.

I think this gives some insight into Sony's problems. A Senior Vice President of marketing for a product with no current market to speak of?

[Underwater Mike]

I am loath to buy into yet another of Sony's proprietary formats.


senior vice president of Personal Reader Systems marketing at Sony Electronics.

I think this gives some insight into Sony's problems. A Senior Vice President of marketing for a product with no current market to speak of?

No offense, but your comment suggests a lack of understanding of the marketing function. Whether or not guy does his job well is another matter...

[Mythicant]

Grr. Sony may be the most annoying thing ever, and it didn't start with the DRM fiasco. MemorySticks, anybody? They've been sticking it to their customers for ages.

And another thing: "until now, there has not been a good device on which to read"

Further evidence that Sony and its employees live in their own little world where their technology is actually valued and their heavy-handedness is not considered idiocy. My Axim X50v's screen is, IMO, amazing and I adore reading MobiReader eBooks on it. The only thing holding me back is selection, which is constantly improving on FictionWise.com, etc.

Sony's product might be compelling if: A. they had a clue about delivering a product their customers might want; B. it used non-proprietary technology (i.e., not MemoryStick, which won't happen); C. they did not use an invasive DRM scheme that would leave one's computer vulnerable to viruses or similar and D. if the device could read non-proprietary ebooks (which it almost certainly will not).

I foresee a brief life of strife for this device, fraught with frustration from the comsumers, followed by a painful death that Sony will blame on its customers.

[Gerard]

http://www.luthier.ca/other/forum/ubook.png

***image changed to link by moderator JD. please don't embed large images, remember we have mobile users.***

That's uBook. It can look a lot of ways, with pages of user-definable options. On a 4 inch Toshiba screen it looKs great. I'll not be buying a device with a smaller screen.

Of course a dedicated ebook-only device is unlikely to succeed. People who think they will are plainly out of touch with actually using mobile devices, or actual books for that matter. Integration into one's life is an important component of reading. There are those for whom a paper book is the only way to go. For others, a lighter load is desirable, hence the success of ebook reader programs for the PPC. uBook is one of the best. My only complaint is with PPC screens being too bright at their lowest settings for really comfortable lights-out reading. I'd want something more like Indiglo brightness or perhaps a little brighter, just enough to read by without lighting up the ceiling, or my wife's face while she's trying to sleep. Otherwise I've zero complaints. uBook offers a better reading experience for me than any paper book ever did, and my library of ZIP archived HTML formatted books are all accessible within seconds, a few taps, whenever I get the urge to read something different.

Cory Doctorow's words on DRM are important ones. His finger on the pulse is somewhat more reliable than Sony's or any other DRM queen's, as he has to earn a living from his writing, knows his readers and their predilictions. He knows that a locked format is a dead format, something consumers won't want to pay for, and so he gives his stuff away free, trusting readers to keep his larder stocked by the goodness of their hearts. So far it's working out rather nicely for him.

[capo]

I'm much more of a traditional paper and ink or audiobook guy. Besides, the rootkit fiasco was the last straw with me as far as Sony is concerned. I've begun buying other brand equipment to replace my Sony gear as it dies. I'd like to avoid putting money in their pockets if there's a reasonable alternative.

[Brad Adrian]

Just wait... The next generation of these devices that Sony pushes will have an MP3 player, then a couple of word games, then a couple of PIM utilities, then... ;)

[JD Silver]

I've been very happy reading ebooks on my PPC for years. I love the ability to tailor the font size to whatever I please, or change the orientation. I always have a library with me, on my converged device. Mobipocket is my fav, MS Reader is just too slow.

For those of you who feel that an ebook is not a good choice, compare the printed size of a novel to the screen size...they are often about the same. There is the argument that you do not like reading off of a screen, but then again, surely you must do a lot of reading on the 'net?

[shindullin]

"Just wait... The next generation of these devices that Sony pushes will have an MP3 player, then a couple of word games, then a couple of PIM utilities, then... "
I actually don't think this idea is far off the mark. Sony already has a smallish portable device with a nice screen and expandable memory. The PSP. Sony make great gear but they are clearly "lost" in they clearly don't know how to maximize what they already have. Their bunker mentality only allows them to retard their potentially expansive products.

This is typified by how they keep making devices and then "breaking" them to limit their functionality. This is clearly in the hopes of protecting or boosting sales in other hardware, software, or media content sections of their business. But the net effect is that they ultimately lose market share because of customer dissatisfaction with incompatibilities and artificial limitations on the gear.

If they just decided to make a great product with no artificial limitations they would rule the electronics world again. For example, the PSP has a great screen and it's pretty big. Why make a product just for ebooks when they could sell ebook reading software FOR the PSP. They wouldn't have to fiddle with DRM's (and gain ever more "haters") and still make money by selling the software to read the ebooks. If they were really smart, they would have put a hard disk in the PSP instead of an Unuseable Mini Disk drive and have sold content online like Apple is doing, starting with all those movies and TV shows they already own in their archives, then they could license other people's media and make even more money. They could sell PIM software separately, and enable a wireless keyboard or a hardware attachment for a keyboard, for those people who want to turn their device into a workhorse. Instead of Balkanizing their products, they need to encourage imaginative expansion and welcome 3rd party development of new attachments and software, again like Apple does with its IPODs. More people would buy PSP's, Sony would make more money, less people would hate them, and I would finally have a reason to buy Sony stuff again instead of thinking, "high quality but crappy integration makes for more headaches than they're worth." Sigh, I still have Sony speakers from the 1980's. I still get great sound quality. I have a Sony controller, 2 Sony CD players, 2 Sony tape recorders, a Sony camcorder, used to have a Sony TV. But I haven't bought a Sony product in over four years now and I don't think that I will in the near future.
End of sad/angry wailing.

[Tierran]

Here is the test. If you can read a whole book on your PC or laptop then you'll definiteley be comfortable carrying an ebook reader.
I don't really think the price is the problem, the main problem is form factor and comfortability to the eyes.

That's a lousy test. I can't lay in bed with my desktop or relax on the couch. Or lay outside by the pool. Or take it to the beach. Or on a plane. Or a car. Or pretty much anywhere that I'd want to read. I wouldn't want to read a paper book at my desk so why would I want to read it on a computer?

[KTamas]

This is a joke indeed.
But until now, there has not been a good device on which to read
Geeez. As someone mentioned before, we got Pocket PCs and uBook, something I never forget to install to my PPC because it is simply the best ebook reader out there. eBooks and PPC FTW. We don't need another device.

[BogdanK]

PPC with 5 inch screen
and I'll be a happy camper

[Underwater Mike]

PPC with 5 inch screen
and I'll be a happy camper

Ditto! 0X

[Gerard]

Put me down for 2 of those 5" screen models, especially if they have CF + SD slots.

[Mark Johnson]

Sony's product might be compelling if...
it used non-proprietary technology (i.e., not MemoryStick, which won't happen)

...they did not use an invasive DRM scheme


I'm one of those "I've been wanting an ebook reader for a long time" guys. I paid close attention when Sony release the Libre a couple of years ago, and it was the total disaster you'd expect: MemoryStick only with Nazi DRM on the books you could purchase and no way to author your own content. The market hated it so much almost no one here has even heard of it.

Sony actually has (apparently) learned from their soudn market drubbing on the Libre. This version (according to the Sony press release:
http://news.sel.sony.com/pressrelease/6394 ) actually WILL support SD Cards and display whatever PDF files you create.

This, in my opinion, is HUGE and may finally usher in the era of practical ebooks. I think the Sony unit will, inevitably, be badly overpriced. But the fact that PDF content will work will make it appealing to any number of people, if only for "business data reference" like salesmen having the entire company product catalog, the CEO having every page of every annual report, etc. handy anywhere, anytime.

All the past devices like RocketBook or Libre which were nothing more than "front ends" to a proprietary "ebookstore" were flops because they were closed. The fact that even SONY has finally come to understand this is really a big deal.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

But the fact that PDF content will work will make it appealing to any number of people, if only for "business data reference" like salesmen having the entire company product catalog, the CEO having every page of every annual report, etc. handy anywhere, anytime.


Hmmm...but then we'd have to deal with Adobe's DRM. Having said that, if you can view your own content, that's a big plus.

@BogdanK &amp; Underwater Mike

I've got one, but it's not a PPC:
http://www.sony.com.my/sonystyle/product/productinfo_vaio.asp?Subcategoryid=156

And yes, it's a much nicer experience reading on this, if you don't mind the cost.

[frogblast]

The Sony Reader device has no backlight, limiting its usefulness as a PDA replacement for in-bed reading. Otherwise, it looks pretty good to me with PDF support. I'll buy one if the price is right, even though the thing is butt ugly. I'll have to convert my .LIT ebooks to PDF, though. Thank goodness for ConvertLIT and Acrobat!

[Mark Johnson]

Update:

Having looked into this a little more, Sony seems to be saying that you can take you PDF's and CONVERT them to some proprietary format then import those to the unit.

I hope I'm wrong, because that would be STUPID. All I'm interested in would be a system that lets me put a DRM-free PDF on an SD card, put it in a slot directly on the reader and open it. I'm NOT going to waste ANY time converting my content.

This reminds me of the laughable strategy Sony had with their first generation "digital music players" (which weren't called MP3 players because they wouldn't play MP3) all your music had to be converted into ATRAC-3. Apple got it right with iTunes/iPod in that they didn't keep you from being able to use your existing unconverted DRM-free content, they just made it really easy to buy DRM content IN ADDITION TO whatever you already had. If Sony does that, they've got a good chance to suceed. (And finally bring an iTunes-for-books to market.) If they stick to a "you gotta move your content into our DRM, then we can expect to watch Sony get spanked yet again the way Apple spanked them with the iPod.

Actually the one advantage that Sony could still have this time is that there are no good DRM-free ebook reader devices they need to compete against...

The real loser in all of this has been E-Ink Incorporated. They apparently committed exclusively to Sony a few years ago with the Libre and Sony's DRM has held back any significant success for their display tech. It looks like they finally got wise and have some other OEM's with products in the pipeline this time around, so we'll see.

[dlinker]

I've been reading eBooks on PocketPCs for several years but still prefer the paper variety. Main reasons are the screen size, it chews through batteries and the backlight hurts your eyes after a while.

Looks like as much as we loved to hate Sony in the past for their DRM and proprietary formats, this time, if the reviews are true, they got something right for several reasons:
1) the battery lasts a LONG time as power is only used when you "turn the page". You get 7500 page turns per charge so it will easily last the longest flight or even a several week camping trip.
2) e-ink means it's a comfortable on the eyes to read as a paper book - no backlight or flickering.
3) it can read files in text format (yes - simple TXT files) and PDF format which means you can read any content on your computer (as there are plenty of freeware PDF writers out there).
4) it takes SD memory and Sony Memorystick.
5) the size of the screen is more suitable for extended reading than today's tiny pocketPC screens.
6) it has an RSS reader - so you can even read PocketPC Thoughts on it.
7) it's about the size of a paperback book.

Only downside is the price which is apparently about US$400

As a long term readaholic, I think I'm going to have to get one.

Check out the specs below:
http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?&amp;ProductSKU=PRS500

[k1darkknight]

...can store hundreds of books in internal memory with the addition of an optional Memory Stick® or Secure Digital (SD) flash memory card. 8O SD?!? Someone skipped a chapter in the Sony™ Handbook for Proprietary Device Designers©. :bangin: