New Sony Reader PRS-T3 Leaks, Has HD E-ink Screen and Might Have a Frontlight
Sony might not be interested in making a cutting edge ereader any more but one thing they’ve always managed to do is leak their new gadget right before they announce it.
Two years ago the PRS-T1 leaked on a Dutch retail website, last year the T2 leaked on a US website, and today the PRS-T3 leaked on a Swiss website.
A reader tipped me to the news that the Swiss retailers BuchHaus.ch and OnlineBuchladen.ch (and Spanish and Canadian retailer) may have jumped the gun (Thanks!). They’re now showing incomplete product listings for the PRS-T3 which don’t have nearly as much info on this ereader as we had on the T2 last year, but I can tell you a few details. For example, the model number is PRST3BC.CE7.
Next, the thumbnail at right is the largest image I could find on either website, so here is a photo from the leaked FCC paperwork to refresh your memory:
This ereader has a 6″ HD E-ink screen (1024×758 resolution), IR touchscreen, Wifi, and it might possibly have a frontlight:
Leichter E-Book Reader inkl. Cover mit automatischer Start/Sleep-Funktion, mit IR Touchscreen, W-LAN (802.11b/g/n), Systemvoraussetzung: 6" Bildschirmdiagonale (152.4mm), E Ink Pearls HD Touchscreen (1024 x 758, 212 dpi), 16 Graustufen-Display. Aufladbar
This is an incomplete product description but Google Translate says that "Leichter E-Book Reader" means "light ebook reader". That might indicate that this ereader has a frontlight, though it is far from clear.
Update: Several commenters have already chimed in and told me I am wrong. They say that this would better be translated as "lightweight ereader". That doesn’t really make any sense given the other technical details but they are probably right.
One detail that is clear is that this ereader ships a smart cover. It’s described as having an automatic start/sleep function. The listing also said that this ereader weighs 200g, or about 40g more than the PRS-T2.
Update: This ereader is also going to have a cover with a built in light. Chalid uncovered this detail on BuchHaus.ch, and you can see it at right.
And that’s about all I can glean from the listings.
The Swiss retail price is going to be 179 Swiss Francs, or about $194 USD. BuchHaus.ch is expecting to ship this ereader in October.
There’s no indication of when this ereader will be announced, but in past years Sony has announced their new ereader in August so we are probably only a week or two away from the debut.
I haven’t been briefed on the new device, and I would like to thank Sony for excluding me again. If I had been briefed then I would be under an NDA and would not be able to write about this leak.
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