It's a good move for Sony, who is taking the populist approach here. Not only have they lowered the price on devices that use the easy-on-the-eyes but notoriously expensive E-Ink display, but they are also dropping the price of bestsellers and new-release books from $12 to $10 a pop, to get in line with Amazon.

Beyond that, they recently got Google to chip in 1 million public-domain books to their bookstore, available to you for the lovely price of $0.00, and continue to stress that you can sideload all kinds of stuff to a Sony Reader that you can't just copy over to most Kindles, such as PDFs and Word docs, not to mention "check out" digital books from libraries via OverDrive.

To top it all off, Sony is adding a Mac client, so that owners can load up purchased content via either computer platform. The new Readers themselves will load up either software automatically when connected to the computer—no pesky CD-ROM required. (Owners of the PRS-505 and the PRS-700 will be able to download the Mac client and a firmware update at the time of launch, late this month.)

Am I excited? Yes, for a couple of reasons. Not only does the openness, uncharacteristic of Sony in general, show good will, it ensures that the Sony Reader won't just go down in history as one of Sony's great but all-too-proprietary ideas. Forget even the Mac software and the free books—real proof of openness is that in addition to Memory Sticks, these Readers take SD cards!

The Pocket Edition (PRS-300) will come in pink, silver and blue, and have toggle buttons on the side. Five inches is kinda small for a screen, but presumably it's good for fans of pulp fiction.

The Touch Edition (PRS-600), is a bigger deal on many levels. You may recall I pretty much loathed the PRS-700, because its touchscreen was plagued with glare, and overly layered. I haven't seen the new touch model, but I am ensured that this was a chief concern during the development of the PRS-600, and that it's far easier to read than the PRS-700. The side lighting has been stripped out, so you still need a separate light source, but the side light was such a bad idea, I am happy to hear about this fix.

And as for wireless, I am glad Sony is up front about working on something that would truly rival the Kindle. It will be interesting to see how Sony rolls out a PC-free ebook platform. The word from Sony to us today: "As announced earlier, we will be bringing a wireless product to market. The particulars of 'when' and 'how much' will come later. Wireless is important and wireless is coming from Sony."

This isn't a review—we still need to check out the hardware, and some who have seen the touchscreen PRS-600 mention it's sluggish and "underwhelming." Presumably, the software kinks are still being worked out. We'll let you know the deal when we see final product. [Sony eBooks]

Seriously, this thing has a fatal design flaw. The translucent layer that adds both the touchscreen and sidelight functions picks up so much ambient light from every angle, it's impossible to read with even the most lowly of night-stand lamps turned on. I noticed it first in the bathroom, where there's lots of light, and then tried to read in bed, and ended up putting it aside, choosing instead the Kindle which, like the older Sony PRS-505, has minimal glare.

You can see it here, demonstrating the cover page of my test book, Why We Suck, by Dr. Denis Leary. The book was chosen arbitrarily (I wanted to read it), but somehow the title has become all too appropriate in the case of the 700:Even when I tried to minimize glare for a nice side-by-side shot, you can see how the limited light that does get through gives unpredictable texture to the Reader, while leaving the Kindle more or less unblemished:A year ago almost to the day, I showed you the Amazon Kindle and the Sony 500-series Reader in a face off that left a lot of readers caught in the middle. The Kindle had usability benefits—download direct to device; nice button array—that the Reader did not. Meanwhile, the Sony had a friendliness to third-party files that Amazon did not share. Clearly, in devising the 700, Sony believed it was adding in some killer advantages that could upset the $360 Kindle's popularity.

The new features are neat-ish, I will hand that to Sony. I particularly enjoyed flicking pages by running my finger to the right or left. It was intuitive enough that I simply guessed at the feature. The sidelight, too, can come in handy if you sleep with someone who's particularly photosensitive. I am fortunate enough to have a wife who doesn't mind me turning my light on after she's gone to sleep, but I can see how the sidelight could be huge for those in more oppressive domestic situations. The button array, too, makes a lot more sense. In addition to intuitive touch commands, you have the forward and back page turn buttons, plus the Back, Home, Search, Zoom and Option keys, all which come with more-or-less clear intentions. (I say "more or less" because the 700's zoom is the same as the Kindle's font sizer—that is, however you set it stays that way until you change it, rather than being some temporary state of magnification.)

Sony didn't make much improvement to the eBook Library app that you need to run, on PCs only, to load DRM books onto the Reader, but to be honest, it doesn't need a lot. Books aren't like music—you're not managing thousands of them all at once, so a simple interface is the best. I still prefer buying books right there on the Kindle, but again given the slow-moving nature of books, I am not certain that's a make-or-break attribute. (For additional interface-comparison issues, much of last year's report is still relevant.)

So props, I guess, to Sony for rethinking the physical interface and for charging into the new territories of sidelighting and touchscreen. But seriously—seriously—did anyone bother to try to read a book on this thing before you started manufacturing them by the thousands? If you like Sony, buy the $300 PRS-505. As for the PRS-700, to use Dr. Peter Venkman's clinical terminology, that chick is toast. [Sony Readers (good and bad)]

And though Sony claims the screen has a higher contrast and faster refresh rate, no exact specs were given. Other new features include a doubling of the internal memory to hold 160 eBooks instead of 80, and a new USB mass storage mode. Old features: battery life still lasts for 7,500 page turns and the Reader also displays PDF, RTF, TXT and JPEG formats like before. SD and Memory Stick slots are also provided for memory expansion.

Of course, the PRS-505 works with the Sony Connect store, where there are over 20,000 eBooks available for download. The Sony Reader will hit stores later this month for $300 (cheaper than the initial release of the PRS-500 by $50).

SONY UNVEILS SECOND EDITION OF READER DIGITAL BOOK

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 2, 2007 ⎯ In its version of a literary sequel, Sony Electronics is taking the cover off a new edition of its ground-breaking Reader Digital Book this month.
The new Reader (model PRS-505) features a svelte body design and is available in two colors - silver and dark blue. Re-styled controls more closely mimic paper page turns and allow for quick, intuitive navigation.
A next-generation electronic paper display delivers faster response and a higher contrast ratio for easy reading even in bright sunshine. Eight levels of gray scale provide for crisp and clear text, images, and graphics.
"For people on the go, this device is compelling because it allows them to carry a wide variety of reading materials whether they are on a cross-country flight, in a doctor's office waiting room, or at a beach resort," said Steve Haber, senior vice president of Sony's Digital Imaging and Audio Division. "The Reader can handle a stack of books and other documents that people would rather not carry, yet offers a 'book-like' reading experience unavailable with other electronic devices."
With the capacity to store up to 160 typical eBooks, the Reader can act as a mobile library. Expansion slots for Memory Stick Duo™ media or SD memory cards make the device's library potential practically limitless.
More advanced users will appreciate the new USB-based mass storage capability that allows them to use the device as a portable drive for the direct transfer of documents, images and other files to the Reader. A new auto sync feature also lets users set up folders with books and documents that can be automatically synchronized when the device is connected to a PC.
A Growing Online Store
Since Sony's launch of the CONNECT™ eBooks Store last year, the number of downloadable eBooks offered has expanded to more than 20,000 titles with new ones added weekly.
Grove/Atlantic, Harcourt Trade, Kensington, Pearson Education, The Perseus Books Group, Regnery Publishing, Taylor & Francis and W.W. Norton have joined the ranks of publishers such as Hachette Book Group USA, Harlequin, HarperCollins Publishers, Holtzbrinck Publishers, Hyperion, McGraw Hill, Penguin Group, Random House and Simon & Schuster in their commitment to electronic publishing.
Recent newcomers to the store include Reader's Digest, the first magazine to produce content for the Reader and Dorling Kindersley with titles coming soon. The site also boasts a number of Rough Guide travel titles.
The New International Version Bible by Zondervan® (a unit of HarperCollins Publishers) quickly rose to the top of the eBook store's bestseller list after it was added to the collection last month. And blockbuster authors such as Dean Koontz and Mitch Albom recently debuted electronic versions of their work to an enthusiastic response.
For a limited time, when a Reader is registered on Sony's CONNECT eBooks Store, customers will receive a credit good for the purchase of 100 available CONNECT Classics titles, including the works of William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, H.G. Wells and more.
"Since launching almost a year ago, we've confirmed that Reader owners are avid book readers and great customers of our growing selection of book titles," said Lee Shirani, vice president for eBooks at Sony CONNECT. "Publishers are responding by making more electronic titles available, and, increasingly by making them available at the same time as print versions are released.
"As a result, at any given time, we carry a majority of what's on the New York Times Bestsellers list and our weekly top downloads closely track with the most popular print titles."
The CONNECT store offers a broad selection of fiction and non-fiction, bestsellers, well-known authors, classics and more, with rich descriptive content in the form of author biographies, expert book reviews and reader commentary.
Benefits Remain the Same
The Reader's high-resolution electronic paper display delivers a realistic print look that rivals traditional paper and uses minimal power. A single battery charge provides up to 7,500 pages of continuous reading. The option to magnify the text in three sizes offers a distinct advantage for sight-impaired readers. Switching the Reader to landscape mode offers yet another level of magnification as well as a wider page view.
In addition to electronic books, the Reader can also store and display personal and business documents in Adobe PDF format (best when formatted for the Reader's display), RTF, text and JPEG images.
Pricing and Availability
The new Reader will retail for about $300 and come complete with a USB cable; eBook Library PC companion software; and a color-coordinated, protective soft cover. The Reader and optional accessories such as pink or black leather covers and an AC wall charger will be available this month direct through HYPERLINK "http://www.sonystyle.com" www.sonystyle.com, at SonyStyle® stores nationwide, Borders stores and at authorized retailers across the country. More information about Sony Reader is available online at HYPERLINK "http://www.sony.com/reader" www.sony.com/reader.
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The Sony Reader is one of those quirky products that attracted reviewers originally because it was unique. The E-Ink screen was very easy to read, in spite of a lack of back lighting. And the idea of an iPod/iTunes system for books made sense. Or did it? Books from the Connect store were terribly expensive, and there was too much pressure to own digital titles, rather than rent them out, like a for-pay library model. How does doubling the book capacity help with that?

I'd hate to pronounce the new Reader DOA. (Heck, it might never arrive, since the listing and photos were pulled from the retailer's site after the post went up.) But while it's nice to know Sony is trying to tweak the formula, I'm just not sure the formula itself is worth the chalk. [Wowio via Gadget Lab]