The Sony Reader has always been a capable rival of the Amazon Kindle but it has never quite had the edge on Amazon's device to warrant choosing it as your ebook reader of choice.
This may be set to change, however, and it is not because of the hardware upgrade but because of the software it can link into.
Sony has announced its Reader app for the UK and it is this service that will have those who don't like to be locked down with proprietary files happy.
The Reader store has titles in the ePub format – it supports TXT and PDF as well – and there's 2.5 million available. Like the Kindle store, there's a good many ebooks that are available for free. And now that the Reader is Wi-Fi capable, you can do direct downloads on the go (wireless signal permitting).
Couple this with Sony's great initiative with public libraries to rent titles and there's definitely enough here to make you think that Sony has a decent stab of making some Kindle users turn their heads.
When it does come to the hardware side of things, Sony has created a decent device in the Reader Wi-Fi.
It is now just one size, 6-inches which is a good call from the company – there was no real need for the different sizes before.
It has been made lighter too, with the new model weighing in at around 170 grams, which is a lot less than the Kindle. The device we fondled at the show was in a case, so we couldn't really feel the new weight benefit, but even encased it felt like a light device.
As the Sony Reader of before, the Reader Wi-Fi is touchscreen, which is still a little sluggish but the ability to tap and hold words to bring up a dictionary and not have to navigate the screen by using buttons is a big relief.
There are buttons if you prefer the physical things in life, with the layout the same as the 2010 model.
When it comes to connectivity, there's a microSD card slot, micro USB port, headphone jack and 2GB of memory inside.
Battery life is stated for around 30 days, which is less than last year's model. This is because there is now Wi-Fi on board, which will drain the battery.
The new Sony Reader Wi-Fi is definitely going to give the Kindle a run for its money when it is released in the UK this autumn. Well that is unless everyone goes for the Sony Tablet range, which also has the Reader app pre-installed!
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