Sony PRS-T1 E-Reader: Images, Specs, and Pricing Leaked
We’ve been eagerly waiting for the unveiling of the Sony PRS-T1 for a few weeks now, as it’s set to succeed the excellent Sony PRS-650. However, before Sony’s official announcement, the website bol.com had already pre-empted it by listing the Sony PRS-T1 in their catalog!
Since the reader hasn’t been officially unveiled yet, we should take the following information with a grain of caution, though it’s likely accurate.
The Sony PRS-T1 will feature a 6-inch display with a resolution of 800×600 pixels. It will also have a dual-touch touchscreen, enabling the well-known pinch-to-zoom gesture to adjust the size of texts and images (unlike the PRS-650, it lacks a zoom button below the display). As anticipated, the PRS-T1 will also have Wi-Fi and consequently a web browser (like the PRS-950).
The exact dimensions of the reader are still unknown, but its appearance suggests that it might be somewhat smaller than the Sony PRS-650. Weighing only 168 grams, it’s remarkably lightweight for a 6-inch eBook reader. The weight reduction has been achieved by switching entirely to a plastic casing. The previous Sony readers still included aluminum trim. Let’s just hope that the plastic doesn’t become a fingerprint magnet as the product image suggests.
The back and menu buttons located to the right below the display are primarily seen on Android phones and tablets. It’s possible, therefore, that Sony is opting for the increasingly popular smartphone and tablet operating system. Barnes & Noble already uses Android in its own eBook reader, the Nook Touch.
The description text on the homepage doesn’t offer much detail about text customization options – it only mentions adjusting text size and font. Besides the ability to take notes, the PRS-T1 will include 12 dictionaries. A 3.5mm headphone jack is also included again. Instead of the SD and Sony Memory Stick slots, the reader will have a microSD card slot. Also new will be the capability to use Wikipedia and Google for search queries.
The price of the Sony PRS-T1 is listed on bol.com at 165 euros, making the new reader significantly cheaper than its predecessor, though still slightly more expensive than the Amazon Kindle.
As product images and device specifications have evidently been sent to retailers and partners, the official unveiling of the reader is likely to follow soon. We’ll keep you updated.
*UPDATE* As suspected, the listing on the bol website was an error. The Sony PRS-T1 has therefore been removed from the online catalog.
*UPDATE2* After further research and a photo comparison with the PRS-650, we’ve been able to approximate the dimensions of the PRS-T1. They are likely around 172 x 110 x 9 mm. This means the PRS-T1 would be slightly taller than the PRS-650 but less wide and deep.
