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Read all about it: Sony has introduced the Reader Daily Edition, its third new e-book reader but its first to match Amazon.com’s Kindle in offering wireless 3G connectivity. While the different versions of the Kindle operate over the Sprint network, Sony’s Reader Daily Edition can wirelessly access Sony’s eBook Store via the AT&T network.
Sony’s e-book customers also have access to Google’s library of public-domain e-books, which has over 600,000 titles.
“We now have the most affordable devices on the market, the greatest access to free and affordable e-books through the eBook Store from Sony and our affiliated ecosystem, and now round out our Reader offering with a wireless device that lets consumers purchase and download content on the go,” Steve Haber, president of Sony’s Digital Reading Business Division, said in a statement Aug. 25.
The Daily Edition features a 7-inch-wide touch-screen that can be oriented to landscape or portrait mode. In the latter, it offers 30 to 35 lines of text, which is similar to a paperback book page. It offers 16 levels of grayscale contrast and can hold 1,000 standard e-books before its expansion slots are put to use.
Like the Reader Pocket Edition and Reader Touch Edition, which were introduced Aug. 5, the Daily Edition features an E Ink Vizplex electronic paper display, which looks much like ink on paper.
The Pocket Edition is a $199 Reader with a 5-inch screen that’s meant for slipping into back pockets and pocketbooks. The Reader Touch Edition, at $299, has a 6-inch, menu-driven touch-screen that allows users to write notes in the margins and such and then print them out for reference. It also houses an Oxford American English Dictionary, which readers can put to use by tapping on a word.
Unlike the Touch Edition, which stylishly arrives in either red, black or silver, the new Daily Edition shoots for a perhaps more classic look of all aluminum, and additionally has an integrated cover, which Sony said makes it more durable.
Like its predecessors, the Daily Edition is compatible with both Macs and PCs. It will sell for $399 and be available in time for the December holidays.
On Aug. 25, Sony also introduced its Library Finder application, which works with OverDrive to help readers find local libraries from which they can borrow e-books using a valid library card. At the end of the lending period, the books simply disappear from the Reader, avoiding late fees.
Speaking of fees, there are no monthly fees or transaction charges associated with the AT&T service, and readers can still have the option of loading documents via USB.