Sony's Wireless 3G Reader Hits Stores in December

Sony yesterday announced the Reader Daily Edition, a wireless digital reader with 3G connectivity. The Daily Edition joins Sony's new line of Readers, the Reader Pocket Edition and the Reader Touch Edition which were announced earlier this month. The Reader Pocket Edition and the Reader Touch Edition are available now, with the Reader Daily Edition being available in December.

The Reader Pocket Edition features a five-inch electronic paper display and is available in a variety of colors, including navy blue, rose and silver. Priced at $199, it is the most affordable dedicated reading device on the market.

The Reader Touch Edition has a responsive six-inch touch screen panel that lets you quickly turn pages, highlight text and take notes by simply swiping your finger. The included stylus pen can be used as well. It comes in red, black or silver and retails for about $299.

The big news is the new Reader Daily Edition with wireless access via AT&T's 3G mobile broadband network. You can access Sony's eBook store from just about anywhere in the U.S. Browse and download books, newspapers and magazines with no monthly fees or transaction charges for basic wireless connectivity. You also have the option to side load your own documents or content from other compatible sites via USB.

The seven-inch wide, touch screen display can be used to view reading material in portrait or landscape mode. In portrait mode, you can see about 30-35 lines of text, similar to a paperback book. It has enough internal memory to hold about one thousand standard eBooks, but if you need more memory, the Reader has expansion slots for memory cards. It will sell for about $399.

All three models include Sony's eBook Library software 3.0, to transfer and read Adobe PDF (with reflow capability), EPUB, Microsoft Word, BBeB files, or other text file formats on the Reader.

The Reader Pocket and Touch Editions are available now at SonyStyle.com and SonyStyle stores. Interested in trying out a Reader in person? Head on over to Best Buy, Staples, Target and other authorized retailers.