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Friday, 26th November 2010
In Japan Entertainment News,
Sony re-launches e-reader in Japan
Sony has confirmed it plans to re-launch its e-reader device in Japan in December.
The company opted to withdraw the product from the Japanese market in 2007 due to strong competition from mobile phone books.
However, the growing success of rival devices such as the Amazon Kindle as well as the Apple iPad has created a growing demand from consumers.
Sony will release two models of the e-reader, the Reader Pocket Edition and Reader Touch Edition, from December 10th in time for the festive period. It is expected that they will be sold via 300 outlets across Japan and cost 20,000 yen and 25,000 yen (£152 and £190).
In addition, users will be able to purchase around 20,000 book titles via an online book store.
Sales are forecast to be around 300,000 units in the first 12 months, with the e-reader capturing around 50 per cent of the market share by 2012.
Sony has also confirmed that it is planning to release Sony e-reader apps for iPhones and Android mobiles next month.
Written by Susan Ballion.
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