The company that was once one of the kings of the e-reader market has officially given it up. Sony announced earlier this week that it has officially given up on selling e-readers and will stop making successors to the line that now ends with the PRS-T3 model. This appears to be the final step towards Sony completely removing itself from the e-reader market. Earlier this year, the company announced it would no longer be selling e-books and directed those who were using Sony e-readers to look to Kobo for new content.
United States customers for the Sony e-book store have been told that they should be looking for other alternatives since February, and European customers have been getting the same notice since May. Only users in Japan are able to get the books on the Sony bookstore at this point.
This particular announcement seems to be proof that Amazon and Barnes and Noble have taken the e-reader market almost entirely. Amazon in particular is known as the king of the e-book reader thanks in large part to its Kindle and the things it has managed to bring to that device. Its newest invention is the book rental program it is still trying to get off the ground. If Amazon can get publishers on board with this program it could be the way Amazon wins the e-book reader contest once and for all. Even a company with the deep pockets of Barnes & Noble won’t be able to compete at that point.
While Kobo won’t be able to compete directly with the Kindle it can draw plenty of customers among those who are looking to get themselves an e-reader but aren’t looking to spend as much money as what the Kindle commands. While the market for e-readers is starting to slow down, it is predicted to pass printed books by 2018. Now, Sony won’t be one of the companies getting the benefit of that success.
Edited by Maurice Nagle
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