UNITED KINGDOM: Japanese electronics company Sony gets help from Britain's biggest book chain Waterstones for UK launch of its electronic book "The Sony Reader"

Record ID: 451639

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Japanese electronics company Sony gets help from Britain's biggest book chain Waterstones for UK launch of its electronic book "The Sony Reader"
  • Date: 8th September 2008
  • Summary: WOMAN LOOKING AT A HARDBACK BOOK (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) KAREN BROWNING, SHOPPER, SAYING: "I just feel that the art of taking a book and folding the page back, turning the pages, you just don't get the same feel. You're just looking at a screen seeing the words, you just don't get the same words, feeling you know."
  • Embargoed: 23rd September 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Science / Technology
  • Reuters ID: LVA13GF4PXH93SQJXYC7KAX5ZCKW
  • Story Text: After many false starts, ebooks finally appear to be gaining traction with consumers in the U.S. Now Sony is hoping to replicate that success with launch of its Reader product in the UK.
    The Sony ebook is a new way to enjoy reading books. It's slim, it's sleek but what's it doing in a bookstore? It's official name is The Sony Reader and it's just launched in the UK.
    Thanks to a partnership with Britain's biggest book chain Waterstones, it's receiving a fairly significant push.
    Adrian Northover-Smith, head of product services and development at Sony UK says: "It stores 160 books out of the box with the eternal memory that it has on board but also it's got 2 memory card slots so that you can upgrade pretty much endlessly and store thousands of books on the drives."
    The e-book weighs less than a hardback and uses power only when the readers turn a page.
    It has a batter life equivalent to 6,800 continuos page turns, enough to read War and Peace five times on a single charge, according to Sony. They say sales have been going well.
    "Already that we've seen that the pre-orders from Waterstones and Sony style and Sony centres has already pretty much exceeded our expectations.
    We're really pleased with how the launch has gone," Northover-Smith told Reuters.
    The special "E Ink" used to display text enables the screen to be read in direct sunlight.But the technology is not for everyone.
    "I just feel that the art of taking a book and folding the page back, turning the pages, you just don't get the same feel. You're just looking at a screen seeing the words, you just don't get the same words, feeling you know," said Karen Browning, shopper.
    As well as the ability to hold a stack of books, the reader can also handle other documents such as PDF's and MS Word.
    Waterstone's spokeswoman Deborah Tilley says U.S. consumers have already proved that attitudes towards the eBook are changing and says early evidence suggests the trend will continue in Europe.
    "It feels like exactly the right time for this to be happening.
    The reader launched in the States about 18 months ago and it's been doing fantastically well over there and of course we're Waterstones, we love books, I love books, I love the feel of books. And we're not trying to replace the book. It's just a different way of reading."
    And it looks like you're never too old to enter the digital age according to Gordon Hazzard.
    "One can't possibly ignore this as an advance, can one, when you can carry so many books altogether," he said.
    Currently the Sony Reader can also play music but not video. An auto sync feature allows users to set up folders and documents that can be automatically synchronized when the device
    is connected to a PC.
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