Sony was an early and instrumental force in the world of ereading. But facing stiff competition from the likes of Amazon, it’s decided to bow out of the world of digital reading for good.
The German site Lesen reports that Sony’s PRS-T3 ereader will be it’s last, and will only exist as long as supplies remain in Europe. Speaking the BBC, Sony explained that “we do not have plans to develop a successor Reader model at this time”. Users of Sony reading devices are being directed to Kobo stores to purchase books.
What did for Sony’s ereading successes? In a word, Amazon. While other companies have given the sector a great crack, Amazon dominate the world of digital reading with Kindle. Even Barnes & Noble, whose Nook ereader once seemed to be the company’s best shot at survival, has faced trouble.
For the most part, Sony’s e-reader were admirable, although recently it really struggled to keep up with the pace of the Kindle range — adding forntilighting late, and even then charging more than its competitors. Ah well, not all technology can live forever. [BBC]