After everyone assumed that Sony just didn’t care about its Reader devices, it has finally cut prices of all three models to respond to its new competitors and increased pricing pressure.
The pocket version of Sony’s Reader is now $149, in line with the low-end Nook Wi-Fi and Borders Kobo devices. It used to cost $169. The touchscreen Touch Reader went from $199 to $169.
The top-end Reader, the Daily Edition model, is now $299, down from $349.
Sony’s Reader used to have a monopoly on the e-book market, but it was always a niche industry until Amazon came out with its Kindle device. Since then, the Reader has fallen by the wayside.
Instead of aggressively trying to compete against the Kindle, though, Sony seemingly did nothing. Then Barnes & Noble’s Nook and Borders’ Kobo were released. That spurred a price war among the three bookstore devices, but even still Sony just did nothing.
Now it is finally following suit, but it may be too little too late. The Reader does not have a mobile data connection and its e-ink is based on older technology. The Reader has pretty much fallen out of the e-book discussion.
