Sony's New Reader Seeks Premium Pricing (SNE, T, AMZN)

Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) must be betting that it can retake the lead and it must be betting hard that the economic recession’s effects of creating high price-sensitivity are soon to end.  In the war to capture the e-book market, where it was effectively the first real entrant, the company has unveiled its “Reader Daily Edition” coming in at a price of $400.00.  AT&T (NYSE: T) will provide Wi-Fi access for the reader.  The first details were  in the WSJ Digits blog, and the formal pricing appears to be $399 as its wireless e-reader.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) has its popular Kindle reader priced at $299.00 and it has been wireless and is integrated right into the media section for Amazon.com.  It is clearly the more popular device today despite the notion that Sony has had an e-book on the market for much of this decade.

There are no reviews yet to determine how functional this really is, but the premium pricing is probably going to be an issue here.  If a price-conscious consumer can buy the already-cool gadget for $100 less, what are the odds of scoring a major gain?  Sony does already have a Pocket Edition of the e-reader at $199.99, and the Touch edition is $299.99.

The full details of the new reader are here from Sony.

Jon C. Ogg
August 25, 2009