The eBook Store from Sony, together with Google, today announced it is providing access to more than 1 million free public domain books – from classics such as Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island to biographies, historical texts, romance novels and hundreds of other genres. At the time of this writing, Amazon’s Kindle Store has only about 300,000 books. Barnes & Noble’s recent announcement of their eBookstore had claimed the world’s largest at 700,000 only a week or so ago. The announcement reinforces Sony’s commitment to providing consumers with the largest, most comprehensive selection of eBooks available – merely months after announcing the availability of 500,000 books back in March. So we’re talking about an increase of 500,000 to 1 million from March to July. What will it be like this Holiday season? These titles, which Google has digitized as part of its Google Books project, are available in EPUB format and are optimized for current models of the Sony Reader Digital Book.
“We are committed to ensuring our customers have the freedom to discover and read content from the widest possible range of sources,” said Chris Smythe, director of the eBook Store from Sony. “We’re proud to offer access to the broadest range of eBooks today – from hot new releases, to New York Times Best Sellers, to classics and hard to find manuscripts such as those available for free from Google.”
From Sony’s eBook Store, Reader owners with a U.S. location can download and transfer any of these titles to their PRS-505 or PRS-700 Reader. New eBook Store users can access available titles after setting up an account and downloading Sony’s free eBook Library software.
“As more and more people discover digital reading, it’s important to build an open platform to help them access and read books online,” said Adam Smith, product management director at Google. “We’re pleased to continue our collaboration with Sony so that more people around the world can discover and enjoy these books.”
The Reader Digital Book’s high-resolution electronic paper display delivers a realistic print look that rivals traditional paper and uses minimal power. A single battery charge provides up to 7,500 pages of continuous reading. The ease of changing font sizes can make every eBook a large print book and enables libraries to improve accessibility for patrons with poor vision. In addition to electronic books, the current Reader models support multiple file formats for personal documents and music. You can easily transfer Adobe PDF documents with reflow capability, Microsoft Word documents, BBeB files and other text file formats to the Reader. The device can store and display EPUB files and work with Adobe Digital Editions software, opening it up to almost a limitless quantity of content. It is widely known that Sony will release a wireless version of the Sony Reader this Fall or early next year.
There are two Reader models available, including the PRS-505 (starting at approximately $280) and the PRS-700 (starting at approximately $350). Each comes complete with a USB cable, and a color-coordinated, protective soft cover. Both models along with their optional accessories can be purchased directly through www.sonystyle.com, SonyStyle stores, and authorized retailers around the world.
