Following sharp cuts in the price of e-readers from both Amazon and Barnes and Noble, Sony is following the pack and doing the same. Although they are late to the show, Sony is making the right move in lowering the sticker numbers on their readers to stay competitive.
You could argue that Sony makes the best electronic reading devices around, but that does not mean that in this cut throat market they want to be at a price disadvantage, right? Surprisingly, Sony seems to answer yes to that question. While they have cut their prices, they are still not in line with what their competition is offering. This is the new Sony line up pricing:
The Pocket Edition matches the price of the WiFi Nook, but is not WiFi enabled. The Touch Edition lacks the 3G capability that the Kindle and the higher priced Nook both offer for just a few ten dollar bills more. The Daily Edition is still far and away overpriced. Sony seems to be unwilling to fight a price war, and that just may sink its e-reader line.
The trend seems to be that eventually e-readers will be akin to a razor, and e-books that razor’s replacement blades. Expect the cost of e-readers to drop even further in the coming months. Sony needs to cut deeper, and soon, to keep up.
I own (though not for much longer) a Touch Edition, and the lack of wifi and 3G capabilities are two of the larger reasons why I’ve decided to move to a different platform, the other big one being the lack of selection in their online store.
LOL @ “does not slash hard enough”
This is definitely a “nice try” scenario for Sony. They cannot seriously expect to compete with a $149 WIFI capable Nook that definitely holds its own. Not to mention the Pocket edition is short on memory as well.
I suspect there could be more to it than this for Sony. They may be preparing something bigger and badder and have decided to make the playing field more even in the meantime. I would not be surprised to see a “Pearl” powered Sony Reader come out in the not so distant future.
Thanks for the post. Linking to this in my post about this news: http://ebookreader-ben.com/sony-cuts-prices-again-just-149-for-pocket-edition/
I think that eReaders will soon be marketed the way they’re now doing it with cellphones: If you sign up for a 2-year subscription and promise to buy a certain number of titles, you’ll be given a reading device free, or at a greatly reduced rate.
They only make money selling you the device once, but make money selling you titles for the long run.
Wow, this makes a lot of sense dude, I really like it.
Lou
http://www.total-anonymity.es.tc