Sony ups the ante vs. Amazon's Kindle

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If you're into e-books then most likely you love them and hate them at the same time. Not the books themselves mind you, but they way that it's been restricted for you to read them in certain mediums. Amazon is one of the well-known proponents of this as their e-books can only be read through their uber expensive Kindle or the iPhone. It's good news then that Sony seems to be thinking in the opposite way.

We reported on Sony's e-readers a few days ago, the Pocket and the Touch, and we were rather surprised at what the company will sacrifice to ensure they get one over Amazon in this market. First, they decided to make two e-readers--both priced way lower than the Kindle. Second, they slashed the e-book Bestsellers from $11.99 to $9.99. Now, they've totally gone way overboard with the latest news that they will be releasing books on the ePub format!

What's ePub? It's a format that will allow you to read your e-book on a plethora of e-reading devices! Imagine buying a book through Sony and then reading it in the Plastic Logic eReader or the iPhone through Lexcycle Stanza! This is totally the opposite of how Kindle is handling their e-books.

“There is going to be a proliferation of different reading devices, with different features and capabilities and prices for a different set of consumer requirements,” said Steve Haber, president of Sony’s digital reading unit. “If people are going to this e-book shopping mall, they are going to want to shop at all the stores, and not just be required to shop at one store.”

Somehow the gadget book geeks will be taking a second and even third look at Sony's Touch or Pocket as a better and cheaper alternative to Kindle. We know we will!

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