Sony Readies E-book Reader for Launch

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By: Sony plans to offer an e-book reader with the ability to wirelessly download books. That adopts a key feature of the Kindle from Amazon.com and enhances the competition in a small but fast-growing market.

The $399 Reader Daily Edition will be on the market by December, Sony executives said Tuesday at an event at the New York Public Library. The device, which has a 7-inch touch screen, will be able to get books, daily newspapers and other reading material over AT&T Inc.'s cellular network.

Sony has produced e-book reading devices with "electronic ink" displays for the U.S. market since 2006, but has seen most of the attention stolen by Amazon.com Inc., which launched the Kindle in 2007. The latest version of the Kindle -- which is not controlled by touching the screen -- costs $299 and uses Sprint Nextel Corp.'s wireless network for downloads.

Sony recently announced a "Pocket Edition" e-book reader that retails for $199, but it doesn't have wireless capabilities. It has to be connected to a computer to acquire books.

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