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The UK e-book market hasn't matured enough to justify the launch of a wireless reading device on these shores, Sony has said.
This week Sony announced a 3G wireless e-book reader for the United States, on the same day that it launched a pocket and touch screen reader for the UK market. Amazon is expected to announce the launch of its wireless-enabled Kindle reader in Europe imminently. But Richard Palk, general manager for content and services development at Sony, told The Bookseller that the Sony wireless device would come to the UK, but the time wasn't yet right for launch.
He said: "As with any consumer electronic product, it's fairly normal for us to launch a proposition at different times in different markets. The digital reading market is considerably more advanced [in the United States] than in Europe. We would want to bring that product out at the right time."
He said that the pocket and touch screen devices were launched with a view to develop a "mass market" of e-book devotees. He refused to put a timescale on the wireless device's UK release date. He said: "We need everything to be in place. We need a wealth of books and periodicals, good connectivity and awareness about the technology. The stars have to be aligned."
The news comes amid industry rumours that Amazon will launch the Kindle, also with Wi-fi and 3G connectivity, in Europe next week, pre-empting the Sony release.