Sony Reader
The Sony Reader was a line of e-book readers manufactured by Sony. The first model was the PRS-500 released in September 2006 and was related to the earlier Sony Librie, the first commercial E Ink e-reader in 2004 using an electronic paper display developed by E Ink Corporation. The last model was the PRS-T3, after which Sony announced it would no longer release a new consumer e-reader.
Sony sold e-books for the Reader from the Sony eBook Library in the US, UK, Japan, Germany, Austria, Canada, France, Italy, and Spain. The Reader also could display Adobe PDFs, ePub format, RSS newsfeeds, JPEGs, and Sony's proprietary BBeB format. Some Readers could play MP3 and unencrypted AAC audio files. Compatibility with Adobe digital rights management protected PDF and ePub files allowed Sony Reader owners to borrow ebooks from lending libraries in many countries. The DRM rules of the Reader allowed any purchased e-book to be read on up to six devices, at least one of which must be a personal computer running Windows or Mac OS X. Although the owner could not share purchased eBooks on others' devices and accounts, the ability to register five Readers to a single account and share books accordingly was a possible workaround.
Models and availability
Ten models were produced. The PRS-500 was made available in the United States in September 2006. On 1 November 2006, Readers went on display and for sale at Borders bookstores throughout the US. Borders had an exclusive contract for the Reader until the end of 2006. From April 2007, Sony Reader has been sold in the US by multiple merchants, including Fry's Electronics, Costco, Borders and Best Buy. The eBook Store from Sony is only available to US or Canadian residents or to customers who purchased a US-model reader with bundled eBook Store credit.On July 24, 2007, Sony announced that the PRS-505 Reader would be available in the UK with a launch date of September 3, 2008. Waterstone's is the official retail partner and the Reader is available at selected stores such as Argos, Sony Centres and Dixons; while a red edition is available exclusively from John Lewis.
On October 2, 2008, the PRS-700, with touch screen and built-in lighting was announced.
On August 5, 2009, Sony announced two new readers, the budget PRS-300 Pocket Edition and the more advanced PRS-600 Touch Edition.
On August 25, 2009, Sony announced the Reader PRS-900 "Daily Edition." This features a 7" diagonal screen to compete with the Amazon Kindle DX. It was also the first to feature free 3G wireless through AT&T to access the Sony eBookstore without the need of a computer, and to increase the grayscale level, from 8 to 16.
On September 1, 2010, Sony introduced the PRS-350 Pocket Edition, PRS-650 Touch Edition, PRS-950 "Daily Edition" as replacements for the PRS-300, PRS-600 and PRS-900, with both new models featuring 16-level grey scale touch screens. The launch of the new models also represented the introduction of the Sony Reader into the Australian and New Zealand markets for the first time.
On August 31, 2011, Sony announced a new reader replacing all of their previous models, the PRS-T1, featuring a 6" screen.
On August 16, 2012, Sony announced the PRS-T1 successor, the PRS-T2.
On September 4, 2013, Sony announced the PRS-T2 successor, the PRS-T3. Unlike previous Sony reader models, the T3 is not sold in the US, and Sony has abandoned the North American market due to competition from Amazon, B&N and Kobo.
On February 6, 2014, Sony announced that it was closing its North American, Europe, and Australia Reader Stores in late March, migrating all its customers to the Kobo Reader Store.
On August 1, 2014, Sony announced that it would not release another ereader but would keep selling its remaining stock. In late 2014, Sony released the Sony Digital Paper DPTS1 - which only views PDFs and has a stylus for making notes - aimed at professional business users.
2013 Model (Discontinued in August 2014)
Reader Wi-Fi PRS-T3S
The PRS-T3S is the latest 6", Wi-Fi only model.Announced in October 2013 in Japan, it is a PRS-T3 without a cover that costs $99 and was sold in Japan, the UK, Canada and Germany.
Reader Wi-Fi PRS-T3
The PRS-T3 is a 6", Wi-Fi only model with a snap cover.Specifications
- Size: 160 × 109 × 11.3 mm
- Weight: 200 grams including snap cover
- Display:
- * size: 15.2 cm diagonal.
- * resolution: 16-level gray scale
- * 6" Pearl HD E Ink screen 1024 x 758 pixel resolution
- Memory: 2 GiB of internal storage plus microSD expansion of up to 32 GB
- Battery Life: 6–8 weeks, assuming 30 minutes reading per day
- Connectivity: Micro-USB
- PC interface: USB port
- Supported e-book formats: EPUB, PDF, FB2, TXT
- Supported picture formats: BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG
- Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g, n, simple Web browser
- Colors: Black, Red and White
2012 Model (Discontinued late 2013)
Reader Wi-Fi PRS-T2
The PRS-T2 is a 6" Wi-Fi only model. Its touchscreen supports zoom in and out, dictionary and adding notes, including export to Evernote. The device has two English languages and four translation dictionaries built-in.PRS-T2 specifications.
- Size: 173 × 110 × 9.1 mm
- Weight: 164 g
- Display:
- * size: 15.2 cm diagonal
- * resolution: 16-level gray scale E Ink Pearl display
- * portrait: 90.6 × 122.4 mm, 600 × 800 pixels | effective 115.4 × 88.2 mm, 754 × 584 pixels
- * minimum font size: 6 pt legible, 7 pt recommended
- Memory: 2 GB of internal storage plus microSD expansion of up to 32 GB
- Battery Life: Up to 2 months with Wi-Fi off
- Lithium-ion battery: up to two months battery life, with wireless off.
- Connectivity: Micro-USB
- PC interface: USB port
- Supported e-book formats: EPUB, PDF, TXT, BBeB*, Rtf*, Doc*
- Supported picture formats: Jpg, Gif, Png, Bmp.
- Wireless: Wi-Fi, simple web browser.
- Colors: Black, Red and White.
2011 Model (Discontinued late 2012)
Reader Wi-Fi PRS-T1
The PRS-T1 is a 6", Wi-Fi only model. Its touchscreen supports zoom in and out, look up in dictionary and adding notes. Up to 16 different languages are supported.PRS-T1 specifications
- Size: 173 x 110 x 8.9 mm
- Weight: 168 g
- Display:
- * size: 15.5 cm diagonal
- * resolution: 16-level gray scale E Ink Pearl display
- * portrait: 90.6 x 122.4 mm, 600 x 800 pixels | effective 88.2 x 115.4 mm, 584 x 754 pixels
- * minimum font size: 6 pt legible, 7 pt recommended
- Memory: 2 GB of internal storage plus microSD expansion of up to 32 GB.
- Lithium-ion battery, up to one month per charge.
- PC interface: USB port
- Supported e-book formats: EPUB, PDF, TXT.
- Supported audio formats: MP3, AAC.
- Wireless: Wi-Fi, simple web browser.
- Colors: Black, Red and White.
2010 Models (Discontinued late 2011)
Pocket Edition PRS-350
The PRS-350 was launched in August 2010 and it is also known as the "Pocket Edition". The PRS-350 was announced at the same time as the touch-screen PRS-650. It is Sony's smallest ereader as well as its entry-level device replacing the PRS-300 and it is priced at US$179. It has a touch screen, and two GB of Memory but lacks an SD Card Slot and does not support MP3 playback.PRS-350 specifications
- Size: 145 × 104.3 × 8.5mm
- Weight: 155 g
- Display: 5 inch. E Ink Pearl, touch-screen, grey scale 16-levels
- Resolution 600 × 800 pixels
- Document Search Capability
- Built in flash memory: 2 GB
- Font Size: 6 sizes
- Supported e-book formats: EPUB, PDF, Microsoft Word, TXT, RTF, BBeB
- Hi-speed micro USB
- Color: Pink, Silver, Blue, Red, Black
Touch Edition PRS-650
PRS-650 specifications
- Size: 168 × 118.8 × 9.6mm
- Weight: 215 g
- Display: 6 inch. E Ink Pearl, touch-screen, grey scale 16-levels
- Resolution 600 × 800 pixels
- Document Search Capability
- Built in flash memory: 2 GB
- SD card slot
- Memory Stick PRO Duo slot
- Font Size: 6 sizes
- Supported e-book formats: EPUB, PDF, Microsoft Word, TXT, RTF, BBeB
- Supported audio formats: MP3, AAC
- Available case colors:
- * PRS-650BC: Black
- * PRS-650SC: Silver
- * PRS-650RC: Red
Daily Edition PRS-950
PRS-950 specifications
- Size: 199.9 × 128 × 9.6mm
- Weight: 272 g
- Display: 7 inch. E Ink Pearl, touch-screen, grey scale 16-levels
- Resolution 600 × 1024 pixels
- Document Search Capability
- Built in flash memory: 2 GB
- SD card slot
- Memory Stick PRO Duo slot
- Font Size: 6 sizes
- Supported e-book formats: EPUB, PDF, Microsoft Word, TXT, RTF, BBeB
- Supported audio formats: MP3, AAC
- Color: Silver only
- Wireless: 3G, Wi-Fi, Web Browser
2009 Models (Discontinued late 2010)
Pocket Edition PRS-300
The PRS-300 was launched in August 2009 and it is also known as the "Pocket Edition". The PRS-300 was announced at the same time as the touch-screen PRS-600. It is Sony's smallest ever ereader as well as its entry-level device, priced at US$199. It has a smaller screen than the PRS-600, no touch interface, no MP3 audio or expandable memory. It has a similar interface to the PRS-500 and PRS-505.Specifications
- Display: 5 inch.
- Resolution: 600 × 800 pixels
- Dimensions LxWxD : 6 × 4 × 13/32 inches
- Weight : 220 g
- Gray scale: 8-levels gray scale
- Internal Memory: 512MiB, 440MiB accessible
- Font Size: 3 adjustable font sizes
- Battery: Sealed internal, up to two weeks of reading on a single charge
- MSRP: US$150
- Available case colors:
- * PRS-300BC: Navy Blue
- * PRS-300RC: Rose Pink
- * PRS-300SC: Silver
- * PRS-300JPPI.YG: Midnight Blue