Sony E-Reader Lineup Increases Competition

The recent addition of two e-books by Sony to its PRS e-reader lineup has made room for a vast range of free and paid-for e-book content to its users, according to research firm In-Stat. The two new e-books, PRS-300 and PRS-600, are priced at $199 and $299, respectively.

 

Earlier, Sony had announced that it was doing away with the proprietary software on its e-reader and converting its e-book store to an industry standard format.

 

This move, In-Stat claims, is Sony’s way of trying to compete with Amazon and its Kindle lineup.

 

With the help of the Sprint (News - Alert) EVDO network, Amazon and cellular operator, Sprint, have allowed all Kindle users to wirelessly access digital e-book content without needing to pay any fees or a PC to read the books as content is downloaded directly to the Kindle.

 

Recently, Amazon updated its Kindle lineup and now, with the expansion of Sony’s offering, the e-reader market promises cut throat competition.  

 

According to In-Stat (News - Alert), global e-reader shipments are expected to reach 28.6 million units in 2013, up from 924,000 in 2008. New entrants to the market, international expansion of e-book availability, anticipated price declines, and the electronic distribution of newspapers are expected to be the new market drivers.

 

“Until Sony announced its wireless e-reader, the company remained at a distinct disadvantage to Amazon,” Stephanie Ethier, In-Stat analyst said. “But now Sony can not only compete with Amazon more directly, but can also address a wider range of consumers than Amazon since it offers more affordable e-reader models to consumers who may not want wireless connectivity.”

 

In-Stat also recently announced findings from another study which showed the mobile market is the highest growth end segment for the semiconductor industry. The study, “Mobile Processor (News - Alert) Review: The Battle for the Next Generation Consumer Devices” found the mobile market for merchant processing solutions is expected to grow at a 22.3 percent compound annual growth rate through 2013 with the estimated value of the processing, graphics/multimedia, and baseband functions to also increase soon.