Why the new Sony Daily Edition is a Kindle killer: Free book downloads

Yesterday Sony Corp. (SNE) finally introduced a true competitor to Amazon's popular Kindle e-reader. Dubbed the Daily Edition, this model supports wireless data transmission, a key feature that made it possible for Kindle customers to shop for and download new books and magazines anywhere a wireless signal was available. Lack of wireless was a deal-breaker for previous Sony e-readers, because you had to plug into a computer to download e-books.

Now Sony has a beautiful device that I can't wait to get my hands on. And I believe this one is truly a Kindle killer. Why? Part of the service allows public library cardholders for selected cities to choose from tens of thousands of books for electronic lending on their Daily Edition. For free. That's right, for free. They will also be able to download -- again for free -- e-books from Google's massive online library of scanned titles. Jeff Bezos, can you beat that?