Sony Reader, second edition, launched in America

Revamped Reader for bookworms

2 October 2007 8:40 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Sony has revealed the "second edition" of the Sony Reader, the PRS-505, which has been slimmed down and now comes in either silver, or dark blue.

The controls have been restyled to "more closely mimic paper page turns" and allow for quick, intuitive navigation.

A next-generation electronic paper display delivers faster response and a higher contrast ratio for easy reading even in bright sunshine. Eight levels of gray scale provide for crisp and clear text, images, and graphics.

With the capacity to store up to 160 eBooks, Sony are calling the Reader a mobile library. Expansion slots for Memory Stick Duo media or SD memory cards mean even more content can be carried on the go.

The Reader now offers a USB-based mass storage capability so can be used as a portable drive while a new auto sync feature also lets users set up folders that can be automatically synced when the device is connected to a PC.

The Reader’s high-res electronic paper display delivers a realistic print look that rivals traditional paper and uses minimal power.

A single battery charge provides up to 7500 pages of continuous reading. There are option to magnify the text and switching the Reader to landscape mode.

In addition to electronic books, the Reader can also store and display documents in Adobe PDF format, RTF, text and JPEG images.

More than 20,000 titles are now available via the Sony CONNECT eBooks Store from a selection of fiction and non-fiction, bestsellers, well-known authors, classics and more.

The new Reader will cost about $300 and come complete with a USB cable, eBook Library PC companion software and a colour-coordinated, protective soft cover.

It will be available in SonyStyle and Borders stores in the States from this month.