Aside from the Sony Pocket Reader, the Japanese company are also launching the PRS-600 as a replacement to its PRS-700. This 6 inch ebook reader will be touch-screen and have the external memory slots and digital audio capabilities that the PRS-300 Pocket Reader won’t have. However, the built in light of the former PRS-700 does not feature in the newer PRS-600.

Something else to keep the media attention heightened is the lack of wireless capability for on the move download of ebooks. Perhaps Sony have another launch in prepartion for later 2009 so that the Amazon Kindle UK launch doesn’t enjoy all the attention around Christmas time this side of the pond. We do know that Sony are working on it. Another good bit of news is for Mac Users. The new Sony readers will be compatible with Macs for the first time.

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)

Crave, the gadget blog from Cnet, this week reported a rumour of a new Sony Reader to be launched as soon as August (just a couple of weeks away perhaps). With the PRS-700 still relatively new, it’s expected that Sony will be upgrading and replacing the PRS-505 with a similar sized but WiFi enabled device.

These rumours were started over on MobileRead back in June after an active forum member claimed that he had it on good authority from a Sony employee that a new ebook reader would be launched in August. Apparently the same guy did say that the new ereader would have a bigger screen (than the PRS-505 we’re assuming), and bigger memory. It doesn’t sound like the device will be touch-screen, probably to maintain the eye-friendly screen display. With regards to price…”most likely $300″.

We’ll keep an eye out for more info and the expected launch date.

The innovative ereader also had mobile phone capabilities with effortless email, calendar, and contacts functionality as well. To date, eink devices have tended to be ereaders, with some eink watches and laptops being previewed, but the Readius was the first to demonstrate the multi-purpose potential or eink technology through a wide variety of communications and publishing applications.

Initially thought to be launching back in 2007, the Readius has faced numerous problems and long delays which have now built up to see the company close up shop. Based in Southampton, the closure of POlymer Vision sees 50 jobs lost. No news has been reported on the future of the technology behind the Readius but hopefully we’ll see it rising from the flames in the form of another ebook reader and/or eink device in the near future.

Barnes and Noble are hinting at a rapid growth in ebooks available from the store, with the current 700,000 titles to grow to over a million in a year. This will include every eBook from every eBook publisher, rather than a selected few like some other stores. The price of bestsellers and new releases is to be set at around $9.99 USD which is very competitive compared to Amazon.

The ebook store will also accommodate the 500 thousand or so public domain books from Google that will be downloadable for free. This will include the majority of the classics that are already offered for free by many ebook stores and ebook reader providers. However, Barnes and Noble will also make available some of the less well-known titles, weird and wonderful, and forgotten about gems that aren’t so common in the public domain. New users of the ereader will also benefit from free ebooks such as the Merriam-Webster Pocket dictionary and classics such as Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Dracula, Little Women and Last of the Mohicans. The device-neutral eBook application is an upgrade of the Fictionwise application that Barnes and Noble acquired back in q1 2009. This application will support wired and wireless accessibility to the new eBook store. 

The Plastic Logic reader that was previewed here on thinkeink is on track for a release in early 2010. The partnership between the ebook store and the extremely thin 8.5 x 11 inch eReader will mean a comprehensive and holistic ereading experience for the user. Barnes and Noble seem to have opened up the ebook market that one step further with it’s “Every Device” strategy.“Today marks the first phase of our digital strategy, which is rooted in the belief that readers should have access to the books in their digital library from any device, from anywhere, at any time,” said William J. Lynch, President of BN.com. “As America’s #1 bookstore and newsstand, our goal at Barnes & Noble is to build a service that revolves around the customer, enabling them to have access to hundreds of thousands of titles and read on their smartphone, PC, and many other existing and future devices. We want to make eBooks simple, accessible, affordable and convenient for everyone.”

We are still not sure what this announcement will mean for the UK, but with Amazon’s announcement of a Q4 launch of the Amazon Kindle, we’re hoping for only a short delay for a UK launch. 

This news article was written based on a report at Engadget

Mobile, an online mobile phone trade magazine, reported yesterday that Amazon is in the late stage, advanced negotiations with a mobile operator and manufacturer, Qualcomm. WiFi connectivity is thought to have been the biggest hurdle for an earlier UK launch after negotiations with big players such as Vodafone, Orange and 3 all broke down around 6 months ago.

The online retailer is busily working towards a launch in advance of the Christmas shopping period by also securing deals with news and magazine publishers, as well as a range of book publishers. If this launch goes ahead, Amazon will be in a good position to establish and defend against other talked about ebook reader launches plus the traction that the likes of Sony are enjoying. With Google and Apple both currently re-moulding the traditional book market, an Amazon Kindle launch will take publishing and reading on leaps and bounds if the launch is by any way as successful as it has been over the other side of the Atlantic.

Whilst one Amazon spokesman said “we have previously announced that we are looking to release the Kindle with our international cusomter. At the moment, we have no timeline” another sounded more upbeat, saying”there’s no reason we can’t do it. We have a billing arrangement already with customers, and have fantastic relationships with the hardware community”.

In other major European countries, the big mobile operators have gone ahead with their own ebook readers. Vodafone has launched one in Germany whilst France will soon see Orange launch a digital book reader soon. Details of Amazon’s mobile connectivity plans are still unknown but we’ll keep a close eye out and report as and when we know.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO, has revolutionised the publishing world already with some reports claiming that 26% of book sales in North America, since November 2007, were of the ebook kind.

One things for sure. This launch is exciting for the whole of the UK ebook reader market. Whether Amazon Kindle will clean up, or simply be the spark plug for the whole ebook world, it is a good thing. How the other manufacturers will repond, especially Sony, will be interesting to witness. Thinkeink has featured some of the new generation ebook readers from Samsung and Fujitsu, to name a few. We’d like to see these gearing up quicker for UK launches sometime in the nearer future now. Fingers crossed and get ready for an exciting 2010 in the ebook reader world.

Murdoch continued, “we’re looking and talking to a lot of laboratories and big companies around the world, like Sony and Samsung. We’re all working on wireless readers for books or newspapers or for magazines.  I think they’re a year or two away being marketed in a mass way, high quality ones, and we’ll be absolutely neutral. We’re happy to have our products distributed over any device provided it’s only going to subscribers paying for it.” 

The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and London Times amongst others, are now selling subscriptions through the popular Amazon Kindle in the US. However, Murdoch has spoken out about his disapproval of Amazon’s model. The media mogal does recognise that the newspaper industry is heading towards a era where the decline of paper based, advertising centric offering will be displaced by a rapid uptake of subscription based digital media technology. Whilst it’s clear that NewsCorp are planning on getting their content onto a range of e-reading devices in the near future, there are other plans afoot that “they’re not ready to disclose yet”.

It’s expected that the Papyrus will be available in an exciting range of colours. So far, black, teal and even pink have been spotted at the trade events. Looks like they might be battling it out with the Cool-er reader for those colour loving gadget fans. Pictures and videos have shown a sleek design and what seems to be a very sturdy build. It’s around A5 in size and will feature a digital stylus for working your way around the menus and screen options. There is no SD card slot but a built in 512mb storage capacity. Other features, over and above the reading capabilities of the Samsung Papyrus, include a notetaker and memo taker, diary, world clock, and contacts application. So far, there’s  no sign of 3G wireless connectivity though.

We still aren’t sure of what price point it could launching with in the UK, but if the Korean launch is anything to go by we’re looking at around $US299, putting it in the same ball park as the Sony Reader and Amazon Kindle (if it ever launches)

No specifications for the Samsung Papyrus are available yet, and not even a firm commitment of a UK launch but here are some images and a video to wet the appetite.

Fujitsu Frontech and Fujitsu Laboratories announced the launch of the proprietary ‘color e-paper’ back in 2007 after trailing it out in the field with a selection of corporate  participants. Since then, the FLEPia has been modified and improved with 1.5 times higher contrast and brightness, Bluetooth to accompany the high-speed wireless capability, and a quicker re-draw speed.

The Fujitsu FLEPia is the first ever mobile ereading device to feature a electronic paper with colour. Aside from the colour, undoubtedly the biggest shift forward in ebook reader devices, the FLEPia is a amazing looking device. Lightweight and thin at just 385 grams and 12.5 mm thick, the device has a large 8 inch diagonal display screen that can show up to an impressive 260,000 colours in high-def. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled, the FLEPia power from full charge can last 40 hours and, like e-ink technology. It doesn’t need power to display a static page. The screen is touch screen and comes with a stylus that enables easy navigation and control along with the 6 fucniton buttons and scroll key.

Fujitsu FLEPia Specifications:

Weight and dimensions:158mm (Width) × 240mm (Height) × 12.5mm (Depth. Thinnest section: 11.3mm) , Weight: 385g

Screen Size:8 inch. 123.6mm x 164.8mm

Colours: Currently avilable in White or Black

Resolution: 768 x 1024 (XGA)

Displayable colours: 260,000 (3 scans), 4,096 (2 scans), 64 colours (1 scan)

Re-draw speed: 1.8 seconds (1scan), 5 seconds (2scans), 8 seconds (3scans)

Wireless LAN (embedded): IEEE802.11b/g (11/54mbps)

Bluetooth: Bluetooth Ver2.0+EDR

Memory: SD card (max up to 4gb)

USB connection: USB 2.0 (480mbs) miniB connector

Audio: Stereo speakers embedded plus headphone connector.

Power: Lithium polymer embedded battery, AC adaptor.

Power duration: 40 continuous hours (display of 2,400 pages@ 1 per minute per page at 64 colours.

Storage: 5000 books (average 300 pages long / 600kb per book)

Security: 128 bit AES

Software: FLEPia application. Currently Japanese version of MS windows CE5.0, Japanese ebook readers: Bunkviewer (XMDF) and T-TIme (.book)

CPU: X-scale RISC CPU embedded

Environmental operating conditions: Operation- Temperature range: 5 to 35 degrees Celsius, Humidity – 20 to 80% RH,
Storage – Temperature range: – 10 to 50 degrees Celsius, Humidity – 20 to 80% RH