Sony announces the third eBook Reader this month

Sony announced the third new model of eBook Reader, this month. This new model has a larger screen, in addition to a built-in 3G modem and seems to be a direct competitor to the larger Kindle DX model.

Sony's products have an distinct advantage over the Kindle in the fact that they directly support Adobe Acrobat PDF files which can be directly loaded through memory cards or a USB connection.

Sony also announced that it will be possible to borrow books from local public libraries in the US, for reading in the eReaders, with the book automatically expiring at the end of a 21-day loan period.

While I still haven't been able to experiment with these devices, Sony's product line and related initiatives seem to indicate that the company is really committed to eBooks.

Random thoughts on Stanza eBook reader

Stanza seems to be a generally well regarded ebook reader for the iPhone and iPod Touch. As it is available for both Windows and OS X, it attracted my attention. First I downloaded it on my MacBook but it is so minimalistic that it just seemed incomplete to me. As if development had been abruptly halted before the product was ready.

As I ran into the snag that Baen sells some pre-release texts only in formats which are incompatible with the eReader software which I regularly used, I decided to give Stanza a chance again. I bought the books from Baen and started reading the first one of them. My opinion hasn't changed much, though. Now, more than before, I have a feeling that the software isn't really ready for mainstream usage, though it seemed promising. I say that it seemed so, in the past tense, because it seems that the company behind the software has been acquired by Amazon, which already has more than one initiative in this area.

In the next days I'm planning on trying out Stanza on my iPod to see if, on that platform, it lives up to my, maybe exaggerated, expectations.

New Sony Reader models are released

Sony has released two new models of its Reader device. One of the new models is smaller with a 5 inch screen and is considered to be pocket model. This smaller model will cost $199, making it one of the cheapest alternatives for reading ebooks.

Perhaps these new models can help Sony gain more traction in the market as it is currently in the shadow of Amazon's Kindle. It would be interesting for Sony to gain more market share before Barnes and Noble starts offering a device of its own, next year.

I hope to be able to see these devices first hand soon, but won't hold my breath waiting for it. Sony doesn't seem to consider Brazil as a potential market for ebook Readers as I've never seen one for offered for sale down here. For now, I'll continue to consider my iPod as the best device for reading ebooks.