Sony Electronics, which has delayed the delivery of its electronic book reader, is hoping a deal with News Corp. will make it worth the wait for consumers. The companies sealed a deal Thursday that will enable Sony Reader users to view content  from The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post. The deal comes after reports that News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch was unhappy with the company's deal with Amazon.com for the Kindle.
Consumers will have to choose between two different subscription models to access the publications' digital content, and News Corp. will reportedly get better control of subscriptions. A monthly digital subscription to the Journal will cost $14.99. The price for MarketWatch news and columns is $10.99, and a monthly subscription to the Post will be set at $9.99, according to Sony.
Publishers Eye Multiple Devices
While Sony believes it has the edge in being one of the first to offer the News Corp. subscriptions, observers say more publishers will align content with multiple devices.
"Bets are being made by the publisher that their brand and content has a stronger tie to the consumer than the device or manufacturer, and the device itself becomes a platform," said Jeff Orr, an ABI Research analyst.
The timing of the Sony/News Corp. deal may be good for both companies. Sony needed an edge against rival Amazon, and News Corp. has found another way to make people pay to read its content.
The deal is expected to result in a bigger cut for News Corp., compared to its deal with Amazon.
Sony and News Corp. are banking on analyst predictions that put sales of e-readers at three million this year, with 30 percent of those sales taking place in November and December, according to Forrester Research.
More Than Words
Current e-reader vendors, including Sony, Amazon and Barnes & Noble, are offering consumers an experience limited to black-and-white content without tables, charts or illustrations.
The market is expected to broaden with newcomers, including Plastic Logic, iRex and ASUS. These newcomers are expected to bring other options to the table, including graphics.
"Those devices offer a digital reading experience, but they lack anything beyond the written word," Orr said. "The next piece (that vendors will need to work on) will be more magazine format, and the technology will have to catch up. If I'm reading a National Geographic magazine, it's not just about the words; it's about the pictures as well."
The market will see a number of new devices in January at events such as the Consumer Electronics Show. One newcomer has plans to show a two-screen e-reader. One screen uses E Ink technology and the other uses an LCD display.
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