Sony's Reader Digital Book- the Sony third generation e-book reader.

TORONTO, Nov. 17 - Embracing the benefits of electronic reading, students at Blyth Academy are today beginning the transition from using traditional printed textbooks to digital textbooks read on the Sony Reader Digital Book. Blyth Academy is the first high school in the world to announce that each student will be supplied with an e-Reader in place of printed textbooks.

Dec. 9 - NEW FORMAT - ePUB
As part of Sony's commitment to providing an open format solution to its customers, they will now offer their entire inventory of eBooks in the ePub format. ePub is an open eBook format with a layout that is optimized for the Reader and your computer. Customers will still be able to read, access, and transfer any eBook previously downloaded. However, any new purchases or re-downloads of previously purchased titles will now be available only in ePub.

Sony's New E-Book Reader Gets it Right

As one Sony user said, "If you want a truly book-like experience, then the Sony Reader is the one you want. The screen is amazing. The resolution so fine, I sometimes forget I'm not reading a paper book and reach up to turn the page. You really have to see it, to believe it." High praise indeed from a dedicated e-book reader who has used a variety of reading devices.

Screen resolution has been a stumbling point for some time with e-book reading devices. This problem has been addressed by E Ink, the creators of electronic paper display technology that provides a reading experience comparable to reading printed words on paper, even in bright sunlight.

Sony's new reader has an interactive touch screen display that allows booklovers to flip pages with the slide of a finger. The reader can search for words or phrases within the book or document, highlight text and even create notes with the virtual keyboard. A zoom feature is available by tapping the screen.

About the same size as a slimmed down paperback book, the Reader Digital Book weighs in at a mere 10 ounces yet can carry about 320 average digital books. By using an optional removable Memory Stick Duo media or SD memory cards, the Reader can hold literally thousands of books and documents.

"Readers now have another choice in digital books," said Junior Ali, director of marketing for portable audio products, Sony of Canada Ltd. "This new model has the eye-popping design and intuitive functionality that people have come to expect from Sony."

Great news to report on battery life as well. Because the screen only refreshes when a page is turned, like the PRS-505 model, the new 700 model uses minimal power and can sustain up to 7,500 pages of continuous reading on a single battery charge. It supports multiple file formats for eBooks, personal documents and music. With the included eBook Library 2.0 PC software, 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.

Visit the Sony E-Book Store for thousands of popular titles for your new Sony e-book reader. Content for the Reader Digital Book by Sony just blew wide open. The eBook Store from Sony will provide Canadians access to hundreds of thousands of public domain books from Google, optimized for current models of the Reader. If you don't own a Sony reader, purchase one today.

Here's another great review for the Sony PRS700, thanks to Breakfast Television, Calgary: BT Calgary Blogs

The Sony Reader Digital Book comes in several colors.