EBooks

So Sony unveiled its Reader at the Consumer Electronics Show — a slightly-larger-than-a-paperback device that displays electronic books using a much better display technology than, say, a typical PDA. The $300-$400 device can hold about 80 books, and one charge will let you read about 7500 pages.

This is a very cool thing. I’ve said for a long time that the right display technology could finally get e-books, -magazines, -manuals, and other media to take off. My money is (was?) on electronic ink, but organic LEDs might do the trick.

But here’s my prediction: This Sony product will flop. It’ll use proprietary technology and/or a proprietary format — something Sony always does. The market will, instead, go to the companies that support a common, open format, perhaps PDF or a derivative. You heard it here first.