Sony Corp., Japan’s largest exporter of consumer electronics, plans to introduce a line of upgraded digital book readers in the U.S. by as early as next month to challenge Kindle-maker Amazon.com Inc.

The Sony Reader, priced from $180 to $300, will probably be offered with hardware and software improvements in August, Phil Lubell, vice president of digital reading at Sony Electronics, said Wednesday in an interview in San Francisco.

The Tokyo-based company, whose readers trail behind the Kindle and Barnes & Noble Inc.’s Nook, plans to continue its push to sell dedicated digital readers because they are cheaper than tablet computers, Lubell said. Apple Inc.’s cheapest iPad is 67 percent more expensive than Sony’s high-end reader. 

(Bloomberg)