You Can Take it With You -- Digitally

Yesterday Sony unveiled the new version of its Reader, which at $300 stores up to 160 books as well as pdfs and Word documents. Available in sleek silver or dark blue, the redesigned e-library weighs just nine ounces (without a cover), sports a six-inch high-res display using "E-ink" technology which looks like paper and is readable even in bright sunshine. The text can be enlarged or reduced, the page view can be set to portrait (pictured) or landscape, and it promises a 180-degree viewing angle.

The Reader's battery life has also improved, promising 7500 page views per battery charge.

And if 160 books isn't enough for you, there's a memory slot so you can add even more by logging on to Sony's own Connect ebookstore, which has over 16,000 titles available. And you can get your classics for free from

And the company is offering buyers a certificate for 100 free ebooks from Connect, mostly classics.

Imagine that, no more lugging paperbacks on vacation. No more tattered covers, broken spines or dusty old editions...wahhhh! But seriously folks, anything that makes reading easier, more enjoyable and accessible does it for me. Just in time for that letter to Santa, too...