Sony Reader WiFi: Want!

I've been trying to postpone my e-reader's inevitable demise, mostly because I'm a Sony fangirl but also because I'm not really head over heels for any of the other competition out there. Either it doesn't have a memory slot (something that probably isn't necessary but a feature I enjoy), it's backlit (hurts my eyes), and/or it's so expensive that I just can't bring myself to really get it (looking at you, iPad).

So in any case, I just discovered the newest Sony reader: the Sony Reader WiFi.

As you can see in the picture, it's a touch screen. I'm not entirely fond of touch screens (mostly because of fingerprints), but it is a pretty nice looking device. It also has a micro SD slot and you don't even have to rip off the back of the unit to insert it like you do in the Nook readers! It's also WiFi, which means that I'd be able to download books from the Sony storefront AND go through their library service, which seems like it'd make it way easier to get books from the library. (It looks to be a storefront for libraries, for lack of a better definition.) It seems like right now Sony has the easiest way to get library books, so if you know that you'll be doing a lot of e-reading through libraries, this is definitely an e-reader to check out.

Engadget has a really great and in-depth review (click here to see it) that has a ton of pictures, and it looks like the size of this unit is comparable to both the Kobos reader as well as to one of the Kindles. That's where I read about the library feature as well as a feature where you can draw/scribble/write/doodle in your e-reader.

What's really great about this is that I noticed that the price point is only $99. This makes it more expensive than the Kindle with ads, but close enough to where the leap up wouldn't be that much of a hardship- ESPECIALLY with the easy library option. I know that people have said that the ads aren't that intrusive on the Kindle, but I have a pretty big problem with spending $80+ on an e-reader that contains ads (there's more than one model with this feature). If I'm going to have ads popping up for as long as I own the product, shouldn't the selling price be lower? After all, Amazon is going to be making some major moolah from selling the ad space to various companies, especially when considering that even after they make $80 from your sale they'll be continuously getting new offers from companies interested in advertising on your reader. (A multi-million dollar advertising feature at the very least should make the most basic reader $50 to make it really worthwhile.)

I have to say, I'm leaning towards staying with Sony after reading about this. I was a bit worried that Sony was being too much of a stick in the mud about e-readers and not being competitive enough, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.