Sony: High Demand For E-Readers May Cause Shipment Delays
Early demand for Sony’s latest electronic reader was higher than expected in advance of the holidays and will likely result in shipment delays, Reuters reported.
Sony’s $399 e-book reader, called the Daily Edition and geared to newspaper viewing, will be sold on a first come, first serve basis, according to Kyle Austin, a Sony spokesman.
Austin told Reuters that the number of people that signed up to be notified of the Daily’s availability exceeded their expectations over the last few months and they anticipate high demand now that it’s available.
Pre-orders will ship from December 18 through January 8, with no guarantee of delivery date, according to a notice on www.sonystyle.com.
Sony’s first wireless e-reader, The Daily Edition, launched in August and has become a direct competitor to Amazon.com’s Kindle, which analysts believe holds top market share.
Sony’s smaller $199 Pocket Edition and the $299 Touch Edition do not include wireless.
Amazon’s basic Kindle sells for $259 and customers also have the option of a larger-screen version that is also geared to newspaper and magazine viewing, for $489.
Electronic readers sold by Amazon, Sony and new rivals such as Barnes & Noble and others will be top-selling electronic gadgets for the holidays, according to some industry experts.
However, manufacturers do not release predictions for holiday sales.
Steve Haber, the president of Sony’s digital reading division, said he is optimistic that customers who place their Daily Edition orders will receive shipments by Christmas, but he can’t be sure all of them will.
Haber said the company was not having manufacturing problems; there were just an unusually large number of customers that asked to get notifications when the product could be ordered.
“We just want to set expectations,” he said.
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