Sony plans to bring a new series of upgraded ebook readers in a bid to challenge Amazon’s Kindle. The product may be introduced within a month and could be priced within $180 (about Rs 8,000) and $300 (about Rs 13,300), reports Bloomberg.
The company plans to continue with its ebook reader segment because these are cheaper than tablets. Tablets cost about $500 whereas ebook reader users are more comfortable paying $100 to $200 for their reading devices.
Sony’s ebook readers business is not expanding as quickly as the company had hoped, and continues to lag behind the more popular Kindle from Amazon and Nook Color from Barnes and Noble.
So far Sony ebook readers have not been visible because most shipments were directed within Japan itself, since Sony tied up with local content providers such as newspapers and magazines to cater to the local audience in its own language and the strategy worked well. It is, however, still not clear what kind of screen or Processor will be used by Sony in its ebook readers.