This is ridiculously overpriced, if it's anywhere close to the previous model. They can't possibly sell many of these. You could buy a full featured tablet for that money, with way more functionality. I'm sure the paperwhite display is nice, but I'd rather buy a Surface Pro and put an anti-glare screen protector on it. There's no way this thing should sell for over $500, and that's generous.

As a college student, I love the idea, but with most of my books going to digital formats I hate looking at a screen to read so I want to go to an e-ink reader like this. But at $1000? Is the dollar that weak right now? I guess Im stuck using prinout of the pdf until the price of ink leaves me bankrupt.
RL

This was literally my senior project back in 2008, we built the whole thing for around $200. Technology has improved since then but not $800 improved.

I've yet to see a single person using a writing tablet since they were put on the consumer market. Never... not once. Not even one in hand, or even being put away. Yet every 6 months they come out with new designs and features. Who is buying these things? This is like a modern day mystery to me. I see maybe one or two on display in the stores gathering dust. Seriously, who on this planet is buying all these "writing tablets". I think it's just one person buying them all and stashing them in cave or maybe putting them in the trunks of junk cars about to get crushed and That is why I've yet to see a single person actually using one... other than the ads of course. I bet that's what going on with these things... or something similar.

chase, by writing tablet, do you mean paperwhite devices like this Sony one? If you're referring to full tablets with active stylus, I actually use one every day. One of the earlier ones, a Note 10.1, now 4 yrs old. I don't know many others that do, but I use it for all of my work notes, sketches, etc. Far and above a standard tablet. I may go Surface Pro (or clone) next, as this one's a "little long in the tooth"

This tablet would be useful for keeping notes and sketches for the mechanical system design work I do, but US$1000 (CDN$1340) is way too costly. Too bad for me, and Sony.

The first thing that comes to my mind here is the price-demand curve, a really elementary lesson in basic economics. For a non-essential, and therefore highly elastic product like this, driving the price through the roof like Sony does here will minimize revenue; so few units will be sold, that it is possible that even R&D costs will be barely recouped. On the other hand, if they priced the unit realistically and competitively, they would have a fair shot of pulling the market out from under the technically inferior Kindle. But who am I to teach Sony basic economics?

For all those commentators here who 'don't get it', you *did* notice the *weight* of this device, didn't you? * ONE OUNCE *! Nothing else even comes vaguely close with the same size and clarity of screen. Oh, and it lasts, oh, only about *1000 times* longer to a charge than anything else, too. Sure it's niche - most people want to use their tablets for mutimedia and that just wouldn't work on this thing. But for what it is good for there is simply nothing anywhere near as good.
The good news is that this new device should make the price of the old version a lot less than the $600 or so they are currently selling for.

Fail #1 Too expensive. $500 Max Fail #2 PDF ONLY! No EPub??? What were they thinking?
Sony fix Fail #1 and #2 and you have at least one customer.

Yes, this device is somewhat expensive, but for people who read/annotate a lot of PDFs like academics the price is reasonable because the device is a godsend!
The fact that Sony is the only major manufacturer making this type of device means that of course the price is going to be higher. Also, I'd rather have Sony make the best device it can than try to price this for mass adoption right now. This is a new category of device and its more important to get the form/function right than price it right.
Many of us who use Sony's Digital Paper are incredibly grateful that Sony is continuing to advance this product line. The DPT-RP1 what looks like an absolutely fantastically specd upgrade to the original DPT-S1, which still works pretty well. Bravo Sony!