Relaxing on the couch and browsing through a weighty tome - for many, that sounds like paradise. Trying to drag that book along in your pocket to be read on the train or bus is less fun, though. Digital alternatives to printed books or e-books have been available for a while. But until now they've only enjoyed a niche existence. That might be about to change.

Sony is heating up the battle by unveiling a competitor for Amazon Kindle.

The new device, Sony Reader Digital Book PRS-700, has a touch screen, an innovation that will put it ahead Amazon Kindle and, probably, in the pockets of the e-books fans.

The device uses the same E-Ink technology as its predecessor, Sony PRS-505, which means that the text and graphics are highly readable, even in bright sunlight.

But Sony PRS-700 also offers a built-in LED reading light, for the moments when ambient light is not available.

Thanks to touch screen, the readers will be able to turn the pages as they do with a real book and Sony says that the battery life is enough to view and read 7500 pages.

The internal memory of Sony Reader Digital Book PRS-700 can hold up to 350 e-books, but for those who wish to carry the whole library in their pocket the device offers a SD card slot

In case, one intends to take notes while enjoying his favorite e-book, Sony has included an on-screen electronic keyboard and the ability to search terms.

However, the device has some certain shortcomings. For example, unlike Amazon Kindle, it doesn’t offer a wireless connection, which means that the e-books should be downloaded first on PC and then transferred to the device.

In addition, the device isn’t exactly cheap, and according the company, Sony Reader Digital Book PRS-700 will be priced at $399. this is $100 over the price of PRS-505 and $40 over the price of its competitor, Amazon Kindle.

Also, there are certain rumors and even leaked photos, which are indicating that Amazon is already working on its next version of Kindle.