Back in September Sony released a tablet-specific Sony Reader app for Android. At the time it was only compatible with the Sony Tablet S, but they said it would be updated to support other tablets in early December.

I happened to remember this fact yesterday so decided to check the Android Market to see if Sony had updated the Reader for Tablet app. And they have. It now works with any tablet running Android 3.0 and up.

Filed under: Android, Sony | Tags: apps, sony reader | No Comments »

Sony recently released a new tablet-specific Reader app for Android, and it comes just in time for the new Sony Tablet S, which just happens to be getting released tomorrow.

This new Reader for Android Tablet app will only work on the Sony Tablet S, in fact. But worry not Android tablet owners. According to Sony, the Reader Tablet app will be available for all other Android tablets in early December.

Filed under: Android, Sony | Tags: apps, sony reader | No Comments »

Not only did Sony just start taking pre-orders for their new Reader Wi-Fi, but they also just put out brand new desktop software for PC and Mac computers.

The new Reader software has completely been revamped, and even installs separately from the old Reader Library software. This is good news for all the people that have had problems with Sony’s notoriously crummy Reader software, or is it…

Filed under: Sony | Tags: apps, sony reader | 1 Comment »

With the recent disappearance of the Sony Reader PRS-650 and PRS-950 on Sony’s website and most retailers, it is apparent that Sony is getting set to launch a new line of ebook readers, as they tend to do in the third quarter of recent years.

Today Bloomberg posted an article that says the new Sony Readers will be out in August, according to Phil Lubell, vice president of digital reading for Sony.

Filed under: New eBook Readers, Sony | Tags: sony reader | 4 Comments »

It’s time for another comparison review. This one between the new Nook and the Sony Readers.

The review includes a video comparing the Nook with the Sony PRS-350 and a list of the similarities and advantages for each, including the PRS-650 and PRS-950.

I’m not sure how long this review will be valid because Sony usually introduces new ereaders in the fall. Also the PRS-950 has disappeared from most websites, and the 950 and 650 are currently listed as out of stock on Sony’s website, but that’s nothing new.

Filed under: Nook, Reviews, Sony | Tags: nook touch, sony reader | 13 Comments »

In regards to an earlier post this week about 130 Free eBooks from Kaplan, Amazon is now offering those same 130+ free ebooks for the Kindle and Kindle apps. And the promotion has been extended to January 17th.

Expanding on another post from earlier in the week about post holiday ereader sales, more sales have cropped up during the week.

Filed under: Amazon Kindle, Free eBooks, Sales and Discounts | Tags: free kindle ebooks, sony reader | No Comments »

Editor’s Note: This post is a guest post from a reader about limitations with the dictionary and word log features of the new Sony Readers.

I’ve haven’t used the Word Log feature much myself, but since the new Sony Readers come with 10 translation dictionaries, I can see how many people would, especially when studying foreign languages. Thanks for the review, Alex!

Filed under: Reviews, Sony | Tags: sony reader | 14 Comments »

There’s a post at MobileRead that points out an interesting promotion Sony US is offering all the way up until January 1st, 2011.

You can trade-in any brand of ereader for a credit on the purchase of any of the three new Sony Readers.

Here’s the link to the form that determines the value of your trade-in. I experimented with a few different choices and no matter what I put in, the trade-in value toward a new ereader always came up $75, even by answering no to all the questions—meaning it doesn’t even have to work or hold a charge, apparently.

Here are some of the important points to consider from the FAQ about the trade-in promotion:

Filed under: Sales and Discounts, Sony | Tags: sony reader | 1 Comment »

This post will explain how to add different fonts to any Sony Reader and how to override the CSS file in a DRM-free ebook to display those fonts. For DRM encrypted ebooks you have to strip the DRM for this method to work.

It only takes a few minutes to get this up and going if you already have Calibre installed on your computer. If not, you’ll need to start with this post: getting started with Calibre.

This Sony font hack comes via this PDF from the good folks at the MobileRead forums. Download the PDF if you’re having trouble getting this to work or want more detailed instructions. I wanted this post to be as simple as possible so I removed some of the technical stuff that may be needed in some circumstances, such as defining specific tags. But in most cases the method below works just fine.

Filed under: How To, Sony | Tags: font hack, hacks, sony reader | 48 Comments »

Details of Sony’s new line of ebook readers are starting to roll in. Sony unveiled 3 new ereaders on September 1st, all upgrades of the current Sony Touch, Pocket, and Daily Editions.

The big news about these new Sony Readers is that they all have touchscreens and all use the new Pearl displays from E Ink that have much better contrast.

The touchscreens don’t have an added layer over the top of the display, so these new models won’t have the shiny, glare-prone screen that the previous models had. They work with both fingers and a stylus.

The disappointing news is that the new Sony Touch and Pocket Editions don’t have any wireless connectivity, only the Daily Edition will have WiFi and 3G, along with a basic web browser.

The price point for these new readers really hasn’t changed from the previous models. The new Sony Pocket sells for $179, the Touch for $229, and the Daily Edition for $299. They are now listed on the Sony Style website.

The new Sony Touch and Pocket are available starting today, and the new Daily Edition will be released in November.

Sony PRS-350 (Pocket Edition)

• Display: 5-inch E Ink Pearl touchscreen with 800 x 600 resolution and 16 levels of gray scale.
• Battery Life: 10,000 pages.
• Dimensions: 5 3/4 x 4 1/8 x 11/32.
• Weight: 5.47 oz.
• Memory: 2GB internal.
• Formats: Adobe ePub and PDF, BBeB, TXT, RTF, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP
• Comes in Silver and Pink.
• 2 English dictionaries, 10 translation dictionaries.
• 6 font sizes.
• Note-taking capabilities.
• Sells for $179 from Sony.

Sony PRS-650 (Touch Edition)

• Display: 6-inch E Ink Pearl touchscreen with 800 x 600 resolution and 16 levels of gray scale.
• Battery Life: 14 days.
• Dimensions: 6 5/8 x 4 3/4 x 13/32.
• Weight: 7.58 oz.
• Memory: 2GB, plus SD card slot and Pro Duo card slot.
• Formats: Adobe ePub and PDF, BBeB, TXT, RTF, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, MP3, AAC.
• Built-in audio player, headphone jack.
• Comes in Black and Red.
• 2 English dictionaries, 10 translation dictionaries.
• 6 font sizes.
• Note-taking capabilities.
• Sells for $229 from Sony.

Sony PRS-950 (Daily Edition)

• Display: 7-inch E Ink Pearl touchscreen with 16 levels of gray scale.
• Battery Life: 14 days with wireless on, 27 with it off.
• Dimensions: ?.
• Weight: 8.99 ounces.
• Memory: 2GB, plus SD card slot and Pro Duo card slot.
• Built-in WiFi and free 3G.
• New web browser (WiFI only).
• Formats: Adobe ePub and PDF, BBeB, TXT, RTF, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, MP3, AAC.
• Built-in audio player, headphone jack.
• Comes in Silver.
• Note-taking capabilities.
• Releases in November for $299.

Source: Sony

Filed under: News, Sony | Tags: sony pocket, sony reader, sony touch | 6 Comments »