Sony introduces a new version of it's digital book

Sony has announced a new version of it's digital book the PRS-505, this looks to be a minor update, but has some significant improvements.

First on the list is memory expansion through SD card in addition to the Memory Stick that was already supported. Also, according to the press release, the book will move to a USB-based mass storage interface. I'm hoping that this means Sony is ditching it's proprietary protocol to upload books, and instead going with a simpler approach of making the book appear as a drive on most computers. This should also give it some level of Mac compatibility.

The controls have been redesigned, but from the pictures it looks to me like it is still a dedicated right-handed interface. As a leftie I'd prefer a universal interface that is comfortable for use in either hand. Finally the new reader will be about $300 when it ships this month.

[via engadget]