More E-Book Readers Available in Toronto, but the Best Ones are MIA
Sony introduced the latest models in their line of Readers this week at the ROM, as part of the company's push to maintain their status as a major player in what's still a tiny but potentially massive part of the consumer electronics market. Sony Canada's showcase of their refreshed e-reader line came a day after a similar Sony event in New York, and gearheads who follow tech news couldn't help but note that the big news at the Toronto event wasn't what Sony was showing off, but what was missing.
The ROM event focused on two new Sony Readers - the PRS-600 Touch Edition, and the PRS-300 Pocket Edition, both of which replace earlier models, and which will be available for sale at a wider range of retailers, like Best Buy. (Earlier Sony Readers could generally be had only from the company's website or its Sony stores.)
Puneet Jain, director of marketing for Sony's e-book division, also announced Mac compatibility for the Reader, a two dollar drop in the Canadian price of the e-book version of New York Times bestsellers on their e-book store, and a few new content partnerships, introducing Jane Pyper, City Librarian for the Toronto Public Library, to detail the Reader's compatibility with their e-book lending program, and a rep from publishing house Harper Collins to talk up their e-book catalogue. Additionally, Sony announced that they were (finally) moving away from proprietary formats to the ePub standard, which looks like it might end up doing for books what the mp3 did for music.
What was missing was the Daily Edition, also known as the PRS-2121, which made its debut at Sony's event at the New York Public Library the previous day, and caused waves of online buzz across the tech blogs. Built to compete with Amazon's Kindle DX, the Daily has 3G wireless (courtesy AT&T) to enable computer-free access Sony's bookstore. Like the DX, it's big (with a 7" touchscreen) and expensive ($399 in the US,) and meant for digitally-inclined commuters and tech freaks intent on going paper-free with a vengeance, right down to their magazines and morning paper.
The Daily Edition will be unavailable in Canada for the foreseeable future; in fact, it's entirely likely that, by the time the company can forge partnerships with service and content providers to make the thing viable here, Sony will have moved on to an entirely new model. According to Puneet Jain, Sony Canada is more concerned around building a market for basic e-readers before they start competing in what, even in the US, is still a specialized niche.
On the same day that Sony held their ROM event, a similar launch was happening in Montreal, pushing the French versions of the Pocket and Touch editions, and partnerships with French book retailers. The company is obviously intent on capturing the high ground of the e-book battleground here, which will be far easier as long as the Kindle remains available only on Amazon's US website, and competing devices (Hanlin's EZ Reader, Bookeen's Cybook Opus, Samsung's Papyrus) are, as far as Canada is concerned, mere internet rumours.
It's an article of faith, even among publishing industry die-hards, that print will eventually cross the same digital Rubicon that music and video did years ago. The wonder is that it hasn't done so sooner, as most document files are generally smaller than the average mp3, and a tiny fraction of even the most compressed video, though the impediments to print's migration from paper to bits are clearly more cultural and logistical than technological.)
The presence of Pyper and the Harper Collins rep at the ROM event was meant to underline the acceptance of e-books by the publishing industry, and signal their eagerness to be active in the creation of a digital book market and not (one hopes) litigious and truculent enemies, like the TV and movie business and - especially and disastrously - the record industry. Which is nice, but it's probably daily news consumers that'll end up making e-readers as ubiquitous as personal music or gaming devices, and since that market is being developed in the US first, Canadians will end up as spectators until a critical mass of demand surges over the border and overcomes the logistical barriers, at least.
Whatever happens, Toronto will probably be at the heart of it, as the country's densest population centre, and therefore the place where we'll start seeing e-books in public. (I have personally only spotted a Reader in use twice, both times in the hands of what I'd have to describe as a prosperous older gentleman apparently employed in the financial sector. Among the e-books many atypical characteristics is that it seems to be a technology adopted by older consumers first.)
A Daily Edition-type device that could download newspapers and magazines through wifi would only succeed if a) cell service providers supported it or b) a public wifi network was in place - preferably both. I'm sure that Sony is feverishly trying to get the former in place, but the latter, either based around transit networks like GO's trains or the TTC's subways, or concentrated around broad range hot spots radiating out from the downtown, remains a pipe dream.
The anxiously unknowable X factor, of course, is the potential consumer, and since you're already happily shifting your reading habits online, that would probably be you, the blogTO reader. What I - and Sony, and Amazon, and everyone else with some sort of interest, financial or otherwise, in the digital reader - would like to know is if and when you'd make a gizmo like the Sony Reader part of your commuting baggage.
Comments (16)
Gah. I am so conflicted on this topic. On the one hand, I love the portability factor with e-books, love that you can pack a jillion books when you go on holiday without actually having to find the space or strength to haul all that paper. But damn! I do love the way real physical books look and feel and smell and I kind of feel like taking those sensory experiences out of the reading equation impoverishes the whole experience of reading.
Thanks for posting this! It's the sort of information every Canadian interested in ebooks needs to know!
I am a long time (5+ years) ebook reader fanatic, and currently am using an older hardware reader called REB1200 and manufactured by RCA for the now defunct Gemstar ebook division.
I too rarely encounter ebook readers "out of the home" environment and due to the ever-present curisoity seekers, I usually avoid lugging my ebook reader into the public forum. The last thing I want to do is attract attention carrying an invaluable high-tech gadget...
I hope this trend will wane, since the newer ebook readers are gaining market acceptance and are more adept at handling bright sunlight/glare issues, are lighter and more easily portable.
BTW, I've referred to your blog post on THE ebook authority, www.mobileread.com, to give it a more international audience.
Absolutely! There are very few gadgets I would spend money on, simply because most of the cool stuff is trendy and therefore quickly outdated. (Early Palm devices for example). However, there are a few treasured tech toys that have staying power. A DVR for example, is just something I could not do without. And an e-reader that has wireless support is another. I've been examining all options - including purchasing a Kindle on ebay - with the intent of one day buying one, simply because I read so many books and hate having to lug them all around. I'd rather lug an e-reader around.
They're expensive though. So you want your money's worth when you finally commit to buy - hence the wait for a wireless edition that will allow downloading of newspapers as well.
I don't know that I can be sold on an e-reader. While the extreme portability factor coupled with a nearly instantaneous e-reader-dedicated software platform make for strong selling points, it's not really enough for me.
Being the owner of a 10.1" netbook (the term used for smaller laptops), I have no qualms over pulling it out to read an e-book, watch a movie, or chat with friends. With phones being made powerful enough to handle a rich online experience, I see e-readers as being stuck somewhere in the middle of the useability scale. They have a single function, and while e-ink displays make for very comfortable reading, I'm one who will likely 'tough it out' and continue reading on my slightly larger netbook, knowing what I'm holding is capable of so many other things for (slightly)less money than a $400 e-reader.
Again, I can't knock the idea of a device specifically designed to make it a tête-à-tête between you and your book, but until the price-point comes down to reflect its niche application(or Sony at least makes a reader without a pointless glossy touchscreen display that means a trip to smudge city)... I ain't gettin' one.
I have the SONY PRS-505 e-reader. The reason I got it was that I spend 2-3 months in Greece every year, and it is difficult to buy English books there, even in Athens. And the books that are sold are twice the price in Canada. Also I don't need to bring 30 pounds of books with me.
However, I find I am using it all the time at home in Ottawa too because 1) e-books are (slightly) cheaper than print; 2) I have well over 1 million titles to choose from; 3) I don't need to drive down to the local bookstore to buy the books (and some of the e-books are free). The only disadvantage is that I can't pass a good book to a friend because none of my friends has an e-book reader (yet).
I'm still using my Palm T|I, for the portability and convenience of always having a book available no matter where I find myself having to wait or for travel. It may be old and tiny, but I can still read the many eReader.com and Mobipocket books which the proprietary devices won't handle. Paper books are great, but an e-reader is a really useful complement. I'll buy the first moderately-priced e-reader that lets me keep using the books I already have, doesn't restrict me to only certain sites, and delivers the kind of booklike display that Sony or Kindle apparently does. 3G would be nice, but not essential. Until then, the Palm will do very well.
Would I go to the e-readers? Not a chance. I am using an ASUS 696 and have over 1000 books on it. I use it almost everywhere I go and it fits in my shirt pocket, does wifi, media files and much more than just a dedicated e-reader. These are too pricey, too locked in to a single format and too big.
and then somebody will figure out how to put linux on it and a whole new world of possibilities will open up. Thats when they will start to catch on....
I would love an e-book reader, but I am unwilling to give-up my freedoms. With an e-book you lose right of first sale, the right to transfer your book to another reader, the right to loan your book to a friend. Some titles that were available on the original Kindle can not be transferred to a newer Kindle. You only have the rights the publisher choices to grant. In fact recently many Kindle users had books they purchased erased, including "1984". And while I haven't heard such horror stories about Sony e-book readers, Sony is the same company that put root kits on their music CD. So are you really going to trust them with your books, or anything that connects to your computer?
Obviously, if you need to be able to transfer your ebooks to others, maybe this isn't for you. My needs are simpler: I need to read books without having to lug them around. That's pretty much it. As an added bonus: with the Toronto Public Library now jumping into the ebook thing, I don't need to traipse all over town trying to find that elusive book, or have to put a hold on one, only to jump quickly when the library says it's finally there.
I recall that incident where Kindle erased a bunch of their users' books. Don't think it happened before or since then, so it's likely a one-off. If not, I fully expect these companies to look after their customers.
Er. Unless you live in the States, most of your comment doesn't apply here. I have a Sony reader and I generally only get books through their online bookstore when they are free or on sale for $2. If I want to buy a book I go to another store and get a pdf. I can read the file on whatever I want (though I admit it doesn't always look pretty if I bump up the text size) and I have emailed one to a friend with a note that said, "I'm lending this to you - delete when done and don't pass it on!" Quite frankly if it's someone I trust enough to return a real book I'm lending, it's someone I can trust to not take advantage of the eformat.
On another note, I am finding these library/Sony announcements semi-annoying. They all make it seem like being able to get library books for free on your ereader is a new thing. Nope. Just a new file format and software to put it on your reader. Though it will be nice if Toronto Public Library actually starts adding ebooks to their Overdrive subscription now. I've been checking the fiction books since last November and they've only recently added more titles - but the bulk of it was romance, Harlequin and erotica. Not much variety...
I'm not sure if an e-book reader will be necessary in the future considering how tablets could eventually advance to the point where readers will become obsolete...especially after price wars and economy of scale. Also...do I really need to lug around another piece of technology in my bag? At least I don't mind as much when my book gets wet because of the rain...can you imagine what will happen to such a (comparably) expensive piece of technology?
I agree with most comments on here: I would love an ebook reader if it weren't so expensive. Also, now that Marvel is embracing online comic books, I wish ebook readers had colours screens (which would also be great for text books).
Well, this article has been around for a while (2 weeks) and I have to announce that I lied. :) Instead of waiting for a wireless ebook reader to come to market here in Canada, I went out and purchased a Sony PRS 600 touch a couple of days ago.
I like the convenience of it, for starters. I like that I can go online and browse much more easily and quickly than having to go down to one of the bookstores and spend an hour or two there. I like the ease of use, and, as fast as I tend to read (with the font bumped up to medium), turning pages doesn't slow me down. You can store a whole raft of books on it and lug them all around with you with no extra weight involved. :) And, I've already pulled down a book from the Toronto library. Works like a charm.
Other features: you can play music or audio on it; you can write notes. I'll use neither of these features, though.
What I don't like: sorry, but this thing really should have a backlight. That's the one advantage the iPhone and netbooks have going for them. And you can't adjust the contrast, either. This technology has a way to go, I think. Oh, and I really would like to pull down newspapers and the like, and of course colour would be great as well.
I bought this thing much like I bought the iPhone: knowing full well that I'll upgrade as soon as the next generation comes out.
Would I recommend it to others? Too soon to tell. Let me get through about 50 books and maybe I'll let you know. :)
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