Brown said that students would soon be able to carry all their books with them and ensure that they always had the most up-to-date edition. Eventually, he thought, the lower costs of publishing e-books would encourage publishers to take risks on lesser¹ known authors. "The effect of this is that there will be more books in print and more choice for readers," he said.

The Reader is expected to go on sale in America in April at between $300 and $400. It should arrive in Britain soon afterwards.

Owners will be able to buy books from Sony's online store, download them to a computer and transfer them to their Reader. They will also be able to download free any books that are out of copyright.

The gadget² is designed to be held in one hand and the pages are "turned" at the press of a button. It can also display drawings and pictures and the text can be enlarged up to 200 per cent to make it easier for readers with poor sight.

Sony says the rechargeable battery will power 7,500 page turns between charges.

The page is made from millions of tiny capsules, suspended in a transparent³ liquid coating a plastic film.

The capsules contain positively⁴ charged white particles and negatively charged black ones. Depending on what type of charge is applied⁵ to the page, the white or black particles move to the surface of the capsule, forming images.

The first version can display text and pictures in black and white only, but a colour model is likely to follow.

Ron Hawkins, a marketing⁶ executive at Sony, said: "In recent years, millions of people have become comfortable downloading and enjoying digital media, including e-books, but until now there has not been a good device on which to read.

"Our research has shown that people are looking for a device designed exclusively for immersive reading. The Sony Reader, with its electronic paper display, thin format⁷ and extraordinary battery life, fits the bill."  ( finished)

　　参考译文：

　　（续）Reader预计将于今年4月份在美国上市，价格约在300美元至400美元之间。用户可以在索尼在线商店中购买书籍，下载至电脑后传输到他们的阅读器上。 

　　Reader的屏幕还可显示图画和照片，甚至可为视力不好的读者放大200％。阅读器配备的充电电池可支持7500页的“翻页”显示能量。第一版本的阅读器只可显示黑白画面和内容，不过接下来可能将推出彩色的版本。 

　　索尼市场开发主管罗恩-霍金斯说：“近几年来，世界有上百万人开始习惯下载和享受数字媒体的乐趣，其中就包括电子书籍，但是直到现在都没有出现一个适合阅读的好工具。我们的调查显示，很多人都在寻找这么一种工具，它应该是专门设计用来进行大量阅读的。配有电子纸张显示屏的索尼Reader，拥有小巧的机身和非凡的电池寿命，它是最合适的。” 

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