Original URL: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/07/23/sony_uk_prs_505/
OK, call us Luddites, but we'd rather settle down with a old fashioned paperback than one of these electronic readers. But Sony believes enough UK punters want one when it brings it to the UK in September.
The gadget in question is the PRS-505 Reader, the UK incarnation of the second-gen E Ink screen-equipped unit that's been on sale in the States since autumn 2007. Its screen is a hi-res greyscale job that doesn't require power to retain an image.
The upshot: Sony claims a Reader's battery charge is good for "7500 page turns".
Sony's PRS-505: brought to book
The new model has room for 160 eBooks, but you can expand the 260g Reader's capacity with Sony Memory Stick Duo or SD memory cards.
In addition to eBooks, the Reader will display JPEG, GIF, PNG graphics files; PDFs; and Word and TXT files. It'll play MP3 and AAC music too.
Content can be purchased from Sony's UK eBook partner, High Street bookseller Waterstone's, which will have some 25,000 eBooks available to buy online come September.
Apparently, it's "invented for book lovers", but we reckon real book lovers wouldn't touch it with a bargepole. You can't beat the feel and smell of real paper, we say, though we'll admit that the Sony product does look safe to lend to those w**kers who can't read a paperback without breaking its spine.
And we've never had the battery die on a real book yet...
Mens mag debuts e-ink cover (8 September 2008)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/09/08/esquire_eink/
Sony unveils EPUB eBook support (28 July 2008)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/07/28/sony_firmware_epub/
Journey's latest hit: an MP3 player (25 July 2008)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/07/25/journey_mp3/
Phone with foldable e-paper display to get summer roll-out (23 January 2008)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/23/readius_polymer_vision/
Kindle, Eee PC top Amazon.com 'most wanted' list (22 November 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/11/22/eee_pc_americas_most_wanted/
Sony e-book Reader turns over new leaf (2 October 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/10/02/sony_prs-505/
E Ink reprints electronic paper for all handheld gadgets (10 May 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/05/10/e_ink_revamps_e_paper/
Borders finds shelf space for Sony electronic book (3 April 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/04/03/sony_e-book_via_borders/
Sony launches true electronic book (5 January 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/01/05/sony_prs-500/