Sony are hoping to clean up with readers in the same way Apple captured the music lovers ears with the iPod. The new “Sony Reader” promises paper-like legibility and room for hundreds of books in a device the size of a paperback.

The 6 inch screen has a wide viewing angle and text scaling features (for people who forget their glasses). The display is 800×600 resolution, and provides 4 levels of greyscale.

The battery life on offer is up to 7,500 continuous page turns with a single full charge on internal rechargeable battery.

The Sony Reader holds up to 80 average-size books, and if that isn’t enough for you; an optional MemoryStick storage media or SD card gives you room for hundreds more.

What will really help this new e-book system is the software on the PC. Like Apple’s iTunes, Sony is offeirng an eBook shop called “Connect” (which only works in Internet Explorer. Bad bad). Providing a broad range of titles in fiction, non-fiction, business, self-help and more, you’ll be able to browse the books, sample the first chapter and read author bios and reviews before making a book purchase. Most titles cost less than their print versions.

Bored of reading books? As an added bonus the Sony Reader also displays Adobe PDF documents, personal documents, newsfeeds, and JPEGs. It even plays audio files!