OStatic

Sony appears to have made a shrewd move in adopting the open ePub standard--and focusing exclusively on it--for its Reader line of digital books and eBook devices. The company's Reader devices competes most directly with Amazon's increasingly popular Kindle, and with the iPhone's eBook capabilities, and many of readers of eBooks are getting books from Amazon, where they can only be read on those devices. Sony also has its own online store for eBooks. While copy protection will still apply in Sony's strategy, here's more on how Sony can benefit from embracing a very popular open standard.

As JKOnTheRun notes, Amazon Mobile has landed on the Android platform--further evidence of Android's momentum. The free software provides 40 shopping categories, 1-click purchases, account management, order history and more. And using the camera on an Android device, you can snap a picture of a product barcode, even if you're standing in the middle of a store, after which Amazon will search for the product and others like it, showing them to you. Do you shop a lot? That instant online comparison capability might save you a lot of money. Check out more here.