Gadgets
Sony to Drop New Reader Hardware in October?
Posted by John Mahoney at 11:40 PM on September 9, 2008
If this press event invite is any indication, that's the way things are looking. The date is set for October 2, and it all goes down at the Bookmark Lounge of the Library Hotel here in New York. Hmm, there couldn't be any book connotation to all of that, could there? On this day of press events, it seems like Sony's jumping into the fray as well to update their year-old Reader hardware before Xmas. We'll keep you posted. [Sony Reader]

The mad scientist behind this hack was faced with a problem. His beloved
A firmware update scheduled to drop later this week will allow Sony Readers to use the .epub format, an open standard (with DRM support) that has the backing of several major book publishers. This means you'll be able to get books from sources other than Sony's own Connect store, which currently only has one third the titles of Amazon's Kindle store. The Kindle, however, currently uses the Mobipocket format for its Kindle Store books, and does not yet support .epub. [
The international publisher, Penguin, has decided to hop onto the ebook bandwagon, by promising regular book launches to be held in conjunction with their ebook counterparts. Unfortunately, the prices will not be lowered for the ebook varieties, but Penguin will offer direct downloads from their website.
Sony is offering both the colour pink and absurd romanticism in a special US$299 V-Day Sony Reader Bundle. Coming with a pink "Cross Your Heart" Reader skin and a coupon for 14 Harlequin Special Releases... let's just say that we'd never date anyone who accepted this gift in earnest. For those interested in what a real lady (my wife) thinks about the Sony Reader, hit up
During the past week, many readers have asked us to compare the physical traits of the second-gen Sony Reader and the all-new Amazon Kindle. (If you feel a bit behind, catch up by reading our 




