One could say that e-book readers have been tried before and that the Sony Reader will meet a similar fate. Yet, there were mp3 players before the iPod set the mp3 player market on fire. Sony have improved on both the reader technology and the after purchase content availability (think iTunes as an analogy). Time and market forces will determine if Sony’s Reader becomes a similar revolutionary device for mobile literature.

The Device

The Sony Reader weighs less than 9 ounces, has a 6 inch display and is ½ and inch thick – comparable to the size of a paperback. The anti-glare treated display has a resolution of 170 pixels per inch with a 4 level gray scale. The display is e-paper technology by E Ink. Unlike an LCD screen it does not require a backlight as the text reflects ambient light. This makes the display visible in bright light. The displays viewing angle is near 180 degrees.

The text (pixels) remains static (drawing no power) except for during page changes. The page changing takes a nominal one second. On a single battery charge the Sony Reader can turn up to 7,500 pages. Charging the rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery takes 4 hours from an AC adapter and 6 hours from a USB connection.

Sony’s Reader has 64MB built-in memory and a removable memory card slot. It will hold up to 80 electronic books in internal memory alone.

With a display page change taking about one second the E-Ink technology display cannot refresh fast enough to show video however, it can play audio files. The Reader has an audio player application and supports functionalities such as playlists. Playing audio files drains the battery far faster than reading though. A convenient feature for sight-impaired readers is text magnification – something you can’t do with a paperback.

Content Availability

The iTunes software and its ability to search and download a wide range of audio content from iTunes stores added much to the success of the iPod.

Sony’s Reader supports a wide range of media formats including BBeB Book (Sony’s proprietary “BroadBand eBook” format), Adobe PDF, TXT, RTF, Microsoft Word (conversion required), MP3 and AAC7, JPEG, GIF, PNG, and BMP. Sony’s CONNECT Reader PC Software enables searching and browsing of Sonys online Sony Connect store.

Digital Rights Management

The Sony Reader’s digital rights management rules allow an eBook to be read on up to six devices. Sony have indicated that they have no plans to introduce time-expiration books in the U.S.

Outlook

It won’t be the hardware alone which makes or breaks the Sony Reader. If the purchase and use of content becomes regarded as simple and straightforward, the chances of success will be far higher.

It could be argued that e-books can be read on a PDA but it is a more difficult activity with display software to configure and file transfers to manage. PDAs and other similar devices also don’t have the advantages of the E Ink technology e-paper display. Until rollable displays are launched on the market, a device of the size of the Sony Reader is necessary.

Further Reading

For another opinion on the future of electonic paper displays and the Sony Reader have a look at the Lightening Labels Blog.