bookpublishing

For days I’ve been seeing search entries like “Sony Reader rumors” without having any idea what my blog viewers were looking for. But today, ask and you shall receive!

Sony releases its brand new Sony Reader to begin shipping in November. It still doesn’t have wireless but it does have a touch screen that let’s you digitally “flip” the pages–now without the paper cuts!

Publisher’s Weekly reports:

At a New York press conference Thursday evening, Sony introduced a new version of its e-book reader. The Sony Reader PRS 700 will begin shipping in November and will be priced at $399. Among the most significant upgrades is a new touch screen that allows readers to select their reading choice by touching an icon on the screen and also lets readers turn pages by swiping their fingers across the screen. The 700 also has an advanced search function and new note-taking capabilities, and a reading light has been added. With additional storage capacity, the 700 can accommodate up to 350 e-books and will also play DRM-free music and spokenword audio.

Steve Haber, president of the Digital Reading business division, asserts that a wireless version is in the works.

Despite Sony’s best efforts, I doubt the touch screen with digital page-flipping and internal booklight will do much to attract the hard-core paperback readers. Baby steps right?