Sony officially announced their latest ebook reader today, the Sony Reader PRS-T2, and it’s now available for order from Sony.com for $129 in three colors, red, black, and white. It’s also available from Sony Canada for $139.
I’d suggest waiting a couple of weeks to buy, however, since it is likely to go on sale for $99 in a few weeks, at least in the Unites States.
The leaked product page at J&R.com last week already revealed the details about the PRS-T2 so there weren’t any surprises in regards to features…unfortunately.
The fact is the PRS-T2 is a marginal upgrade—more of a side-grade—from Sony’s PRS-T1 ebook reader that was released last year. It has the same 6″ E Ink Pearl 800 x 600 resolution screen, the same infrared touchscreen, and basically the same reading features. It lacks audio support though—in that regard it’s a downgrade from the PRS-T1.
The main difference is the PRS-T2 has an updated design with new buttons and a matte finish instead of glossy. Sony is also billing it as one of the lightest ereaders at just under 6 ounces.
The PRS-T2 comes with some new software features too, such as partial refresh, smoother zooming, integration with Evernote for saving web content and notes, and Facebook for sharing your literary adventures.
Like its predecessor, the PRS-T2 has WiFi for downloading ebooks from Sony and a web browser for downloading ebooks from public libraries and other websites. There are seven font types to choose from, on-screen notes and highlights, and a number of other reading features.
As part of the marketing campaign, the PRS-T2 comes with a free copy of the first Harry Potter ebook. But that only appears to come with the black model; neither the red nor white show that as an option on Sony’s website.
I will be buying a Sony PRS-T2 to review so stay tuned for more details.
Sony company lost its way time ago for almost any product line in market.
Sony T2 and features: 🙁
I was hoping J&R got the resolution wrong and it really is 1024×768 🙁
I think I’m going to wait for lighted Onyx i62HD.
But for this one you will get only and old and buggy CoolReader. The only included software worth. Nice hardware specs, bad work, bad firmware, bad software, as in almost all ereaders from too much time ago.
That’s the reason because Sony will continue selling. Sony name, good looking, many selling points… and no more.
Seems like the ereader technology (few) progress stopped and freezed two years ago.
The only can save us is someone, somewhere, releasing a E-Ink-based Android tablet, anyone, anysize (in fact. rooted T1 is like a 6″ tablet).
Regards.
The new PRS-T2 may very well be the best E-ink reader for under $200.00, and its system should be the same one as in the previous model – a modified Android system, which can with some tweeking run Android apps.
I can’t exactly use my “another victim of the price war” argument here. They are selling the PRS-T2 for $130 (this will be more like $146 after taxes and shipping). They are asking for a higher price, more than every other non-glow reader on the market. And they offer absolutely nothing in exchange. This is an entirely pointless side-grade.
The matte finish will be cool. That’s about it. Audio is gone, there is no HD screen. Not even an attempt to advance their font rendering technology. How hard could it be to invest just a little time in improving screen resolution, then adding that tag line to improve your specs?
What a disappointment. As much as I like Sony Readers, I think I am going to leave the PRS-T2 on the shelf.
If they would have just used an HD screen it would have been a lot more popular. I’m not even looking forward to reviewing it because it’s just basically going to be exactly the same as the PRS-T1.
Ehh,why? What is the point of this release?
The might as well just call it Sony PRS-T1S!
One a side note. Do you think it will be possible to load the PRS-T2 firmware into the PRS-T1?
Probably not unless it’s modified slightly.
Kevin C. Tofel at Gigaom wrote one of the most uninformed posts on the new PRS-T2 I have seen. Listen to this:
Sony’s newest e-reader, the Reader PRS-T2, may appeal mainly due to the $129 price tag. But the ability to share passages on Facebook and integration with Evernote make it even better . . . Sony is striking back at Amazon’s Kindle with an updated Reader device . . .
Really? The $129 price tag is something that makes it stand out in a positive way? Does this writer even know what eReaders are priced at these days, and what specs we should be getting for $129? I definitely wouldn’t say Sony is doing much “striking” at all with this hollow release.
The PRS-T2 must have had to sacrifice much to stay cheepish and weigh 5.9 ounces (147 grams). It’s still preferable to the Kobo reader.
It has USB host, something Kobo, Nook and Kindle don’t have. Its strengths must be its USB and whatever firmware can be sideloaded.
The Onyx i62HD may be a better device. It does cost more, how much more depends on the exchange rate of the Euro, since it’s being sold by a German website. It weighs more, 10 ounces (250 grams), but that’s not much. It does have audio, and it may come with the most versatile firmware.
Please
Could you look at the Evernote Clearly app
How does it work?
Can you download all clips for offline reading?
Can you upload hand notes?
…
J