Sony Reader - Library Link
Today Sony released details regarding their upcoming digital reader products.
One of the big features hardware-wise is a wireless 3G connection, much like Amazon's Kindle. On the software side, Sony announced that the reader will be able to be synchronized with a user's local library (if they support such a thing). The combination of these two features has me pretty excited.
From ArsTechnica,
I think this might have a big impact for students or anyone else who wants/needs access to many books. Imagine going to college and pairing your reader with your school's library. Suddenly, buying textbooks becomes a thing of the past. Need to look something up, but don't have the book? No problem: search the library's catalog and pull in the book over the 3G connection.
This scenario might be wishful thinking for a little longer, but I think Sony's announcement today goes a long way toward making it reality.
One of the big features hardware-wise is a wireless 3G connection, much like Amazon's Kindle. On the software side, Sony announced that the reader will be able to be synchronized with a user's local library (if they support such a thing). The combination of these two features has me pretty excited.
From ArsTechnica,
According to Sony's Haber, the new version of its online book store will allow users to enter their ZIP code, and determine whether the local library offers electronic versions of its books. These books can be downloaded, at which point they'll have a 21-day expiration date—no late fees, as Haber was happy to point out. The New York Public Library's representative announced that his organization would be taking part in the service. That's a rather significant announcement, given that he said that the NYPL's website was the second-most visited online library, behind only the Library of Congress.
I think this might have a big impact for students or anyone else who wants/needs access to many books. Imagine going to college and pairing your reader with your school's library. Suddenly, buying textbooks becomes a thing of the past. Need to look something up, but don't have the book? No problem: search the library's catalog and pull in the book over the 3G connection.
This scenario might be wishful thinking for a little longer, but I think Sony's announcement today goes a long way toward making it reality.
