Sony unveils new e-readers, adds touchscreen to all its models

Sony, battling Amazon and Apple in the electronic book reader race, unveiled its latest devices yesterday and expanded their availability to Australia, China, Italy, Japan and Spain. Sony have cut the size and weight of all three of its e-readers while expanding the use of touchscreens to all models – allowing users to turn pages with a swipe of the finger like the Apple iPad.

The Japanese electronics giant increased the price of its cheapest e-reader, the Reader Pocket Edition, by $29 dollars while adding a touchscreen.

At $179, the Reader Pocket Edition, which features a five-inch screen, is $40 more than Amazon’s cheapest Kindle e-reader and $30 more than US bookstore chain Barnes & Noble’s device, the Nook.

The cheapest iPad costs $499 but boasts a colour screen and other features while the Sony Reader and the Kindle both use black-and-white e-ink technology.

The new Reader Touch Edition features a six-inch touchscreen and costs $229 while the new Reader Daily Edition has a seven-inch touchscreen and Wi-Fi or 3G connectivity and costs $299. Steve Haber, president of Sony’s Digital Reading Business Division, said the company was also targeting “previously untapped markets.”