New Sony Reader leak shows all-touch line, longer battery
updated 08:50 am EDT, Fri August 20, 2010
Sony Reader 2010 to get much improved touchscreen
Sony's upcoming Reader overhaul has been leaked in a way that reveals a much improved display and a better lifespan. All of Sony's e-readers, including the Pocket Edition, will use touchscreens and, according to the marketing material Engadget obtained, should reduce the visibility problems that often plague touchscreen e-paper. Both the Pocket Edition and Touch Edition will use a new E Ink display which doesn't need an extra layer above the screen for touch, making for a look closer to paper.
The devices should last about a third longer on battery, or about 10,000 page turns. Extra new discoveries point to an intelligent zoom that can properly crop PDFs and other image-like files as well as built-in dictionaries for English and language translation. Faster page turns, quadrupled storage to 2GB and thinner designs are also known to be part of the designs, which bring a five-inch display to the Pocket Edition and a six-inch display to the Touch Edition.
Release windows for the new Readers still aren't known, but the presence of mostly complete marketing info points to a launch in the near future.
