Last week thinkeink reported a rumour of a new Sony Reader to be possibly launched in August, just a few weeks away. Well its confirmed by leaks of photographs and product manuals for the new ebook readers. Yes, that’s right. There are two new ebook readers from Sony set to hit the market in just a few weeks time according to postings on Cnet.

Sony will be launching the Sony Reader PRS-300 and the Sony Reader PRS-600. Both models will be available in a range of colours including red,black and silver. Lets look at the smaller one first. The Sony PRS-300 has a 5-inch screen and will boast 4440mb of storage inside. No slots for extra memory, no audio output and like the Sony PRS-505 there’s no touch screen. Yes, this new Sony Reader is an ebook reader and no more but thats not a bad thing from what we can see on the blogosphere. Ebook readers are for reading ebooks after all. Why do they need more when we have phones, iPhone touch, and laptops for everything else? David Carnoy at Cnet reckons a $199 US price tag and we reckon if that’s the case it’ll hit the mark with the no-nonsense ebook reader lovers who just want a good quality device with top notch eink screen. We’ve grabbed and saved the Sony PRS-300 User Manual that’s been floating around and you can access it here. Sony-PRS-300-manual

On to to the bigger one….the Sony PRS-600 is a larger 6 inch model with touch screen display, audio output and expansion slots for MS and SD cards. We’re not sure yet about WiFi and back lighting but earlier rumours and blog gossip did suggest this, and to be honest they’d be foolish not to include this with the upcoming Amazon Kindle UK launch later this year. The service manual for the Sony Reader PRS-600 is also avilable to have a look at. Sony-PRS-600-manual

We’re sorry if this artcile is a little light on details but as I said earlier, it’s just rumours and leaks coming together at the moment but you won’t have to wait long for the full review of the new ebook readers from Sony if it’s true that they’ll be launched in August.

Thanks to Sony Insider, Engadget,and CNet for their artviles on the new Sony Readers.

Sony PRS-300 Specifcations

Power source: Built-in rechargeable battery: DC 3.7 V
AC adapter: DC 5.2 V. Battery life (continuous playback)
Maximum Battery:
Approx. 7,500 pages with BBeB Book contents *
Approx. 6,800 pages with EPUB contents*
* Measured using a fully charged battery and counting
consecutive page-turns at approx 1 page per sec. Actual
battery life may vary based on usage patterns and specific
device.
User available capacity: Approx. 440MB
Available storage capacity of the Reader may vary.
Operating temperature: 5 to 35 °C (41 to 95 °F)
Dimensions (w/h/d): Approx. 4 1/4 °— 6 1/4 °— 13/32 inches (107.8 °— 157.5 °— 10.2 mm)
(maximum)
Mass: Approx. 7.76 oz (220 g)
Supplied accessories: USB cable (1), Sleeve (1), Quick Start (1), Flyers

Sony PRS-600 Specifications:

Power source: Built-in rechargeable battery: DC 3.7 V
AC adapter: DC 5.2 V
USB
Battery life (continuous playback)
Maximum Battery: Approx. 7,500 continuous page turns when reading only *
* Measured using a fully charged battery and counting consecutive BBeB
Book and ePub format page-turns at approx 1 page per sec.
Actual battery life may vary based on usage patterns and specific device.
User available capacity: Approx. 380MB
Available memory capacity of the Reader may vary.
Operating temperature: 41 to 95 °F (5 to 35 °C)
Dimensions (w/h/d): Approx. 4 7/8 × 6 7/8 × 12/32 inches (121 × 174.3 × 9.8 mm)
Mass: Approx. 10.1 oz (286 g)