Following the lead of competitors such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble, Sony has employed price cuts on its e-book readers. Among the products in Sony's e-book reader line, The Reader Daily Edition has seen the steepest cut. The reader, which used to go for $350, now sells for $300. The lower-end readers in Sony's product line have also seen price drops. The Pocket Edition now matches the Nook Wi-Fi at $150 (down from $170). The Touch Edition, on the other hand, carries a slight premium at $170 versus its earlier price of $200.

Sony reduced the prices of the readers for two reasons. It wants to remain competitive with the lower prices of the Kindle and Nook. Also, particularly in the case of the Daily Edition, Sony wants to distance its product from the iPad. If not for the now upgraded Kindle DX, the Daily Edition would be the most expensive conventional 3G reader. And because of its price, it faced steep competition against the iPad. At $500, the iPad is much more expensive, however it also has a video-capable display, apps and bigger storage capabilities. Since the iPad's release in April, Apple is believed to have made a dent in the e-reader market.