Facing competition from Amazon.com, Apple and Barnes & Noble, Sony on Wednesday released updated models of its of e-readers. But Sony is taking a different approach from its rivals with touchscreen technology on all three of its e-readers, wireless connectivity on only the higher-end model, and prices higher than market leader Amazon for two of the readers.

The new models are the five-inch Pocket Edition PRS-350, the six-inch Touch Edition PRS-650, and the seven-inch Daily Edition PRS-950. The 350 will retail for $179.99, the 650 for $229.99, and the 950 for an estimated $299.99.

Infrared Touch Technology

Only the 950 has wireless, both 3G and Wi-Fi, which is raising eyebrows among e-reader watchers. Both Amazon's Kindle and the Barnes & Noble nook have models with built-in Wi-Fi and 3G, or just Wi-Fi. To download new books, the two lower-end Sony e-readers connect to a computer via USB.

In addition, the non-wireless Pocket Edition and Touch Edition cost more than the equivalent Kindle model. This also raises eyebrows, since the conventional wisdom has been that e-reader makers were competing to get the lowest cost, with some user surveys indicating the market would really take off when e-readers are available for under $100. The trade-off is the touch technology, with page turning by a finger swipe and a stylus, which all Sony's e-readers now have and which Amazon's do not. The Touch and Daily Edition models featured touchscreens in their earlier incarnations.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has told news media he is wary of capacitive touch technology because it adds another screen layer and increases glare. Sony is using infrared sensors on the edge to avoid adding another layer.

The Pocket Edition PRS-350, weighing 5.64 ounces, has 2GB of built-in memory, which can store up to 1,200 e-books. A single battery charge can handle two weeks of reading, there's handwritten note-taking, two English and 10 translation dictionaries are on board, and it supports the EPUB standard as well as PDF, Microsoft Word, standard image files, and other formats.

'A Premium Brand'

The Touch Edition PRS-650, weighing 7.93 ounces, adds SD and Memory Stick expansion slots for more memory, handles MP3 and AAC audio files, and sports a headphone jack.

The Daily Edition PRS-950 has battery life that Sony says can last up to 27 days, assuming the wireless connectivity is turned off. That competes with the 30-day battery life of the most recent Kindle from Amazon.

Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for consumer technology at the NPD Group, said that "historically, Sony has been a premium brand," and has not necessarily competed on price.

The new devices, he said, "are very lightweight, particularly the Pocket Edition, which is thinner and lighter than Barnes & Noble's nook or the new Kindle." He said the Pocket Edition is designed, as its name suggests, to fit into a shirt pocket, and Sony will look to compete on the basis of portability and the touch technology.

As for the lack of wireless in the two lower-end models, Rubin said "Sony apparently believes it has had success with the tethered approach."

Like Amazon and Barnes & Noble, Sony isn't placing all its e-reader bets in its hardware basket. The company said it will release a Reader Mobile Edition for iPhone and Android smartphones later in 2010.

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