Free Library Check Outs With SONY E-Reader

To follow up on our previous post, via Engadget, Sony's Reader Daily Edition will launch in December 2009 for $400. It has a seven-inch touchscreen. It enables to pull content wirelessly. The 3G network will be free but limited to accessing the Sony eBook store.

The new feature (said to be a major advantage over Kindle) is

[t]he library finder service, which enables you to check out ebooks and other digital content from your local public library on any of the Readers -- for free.

The New York Public Library is the flashy public launch partner, but there are "thousands more" looped in through a partnership with Overdrive.com -- check out the huge selection of top-tier content you can get through the Chicago Public Library, for example.

The library buys a fixed number of "copies" of each title and "checks out" the licenses, so you're on a time limit -- licenses will revert after 14-29 days depending on your local branch's rules.

Any thoughts?

Sony Unveils New Wireless E-Reader

Via NPR Blog, Sony unveils new wireless e-reader, perhaps a competition to the so popular Kindle?

Amazon's Kindle, the portable electronic reader that can wirelessly download books and newspapers, is about to get some competition from Sony which announced today that it will introduce its own wireless reader in time in December. *** The Sony Reader Daily Edition will have a suggested retail price of $399.

What do you think, does Sony stand a chance? Can Kindle use some competition?