THE (EXTRA! EXTRA!) GIZMO: SONY'S READER DAILY EDITION.

The cost to acquire an electronic book (aka e-book) reading device is $200 to $400. But might you bite if you could download lots of free stuff to its tablet-sized screen, even best-sellers, as well as paid content?

If answering in the affirmative, start saving for a Sony Reader, ideally the newly announced, top-of-the-line ($399) Daily Edition model that's coming in December for gifting and getting.

Sony has been into the electronic- book biz longer than most - including Amazon with its much touted Kindle. But the Daily Edition is the first Sony-made device that comes with 3G wireless (via AT&T) connectivity for downloading books, newspapers, magazines and more through the airwaves, previously the special marvel of the Kindle.

With a wireless linkup, you can order a book on the device, press a button and literally a minute later it's loaded and readable on the screen.

In redrawing the lines of competition, much has also been made over the Reader Daily Edition providing a bigger "page" in roughly the same-sized tablet as the Kindle. The Sony will offer a 7-inch, touch-sensitive screen that can be rotated to show two, side-by-side columns, like a book. With the standard-grade, now $299 Kindle, you get a 6-inch screen with separate hard-button keyboard located below. Amazon folks argue that touch-screen technology softens the clarity of the text and graphics. We'll see.

THE STUFF THAT BINDS: By my book (sorry), the real breakthrough here is the "open standard" software that Sony has decided to use in all Readers, also including the smaller, more affordable ($199) 5-inch Pocket Edition model now in stores.

Developed by Adobe and called ePub, this open software enables devices to accept downloads from a variety of sources, not just the Sony eBook store. (Kindle only loads paid content from Amazon.com.)

And a lot of this ePub stuff will be free. For starters, think about the millions of public-domain and out-of-print books that Google is digitizing. And for more contemporary tastes, imagine the thousands of free e-book titles that public libraries across the country - including the huge New York City and Chicago systems - are making available to library cardholders and e-reader devices through a distribution service called OverDrive.

The Free Library of Philadelphia offers book downloads, too, though not from a source participating with Sony on this project.

CHECKING OUT, E-BOOK STYLE: In the OverDrive program (check out their library locator at www.overdrive.com), a library buys and then "checks out" licenses to electronic "copies" of a title. The book is downloaded to a cardholder's PC, then, if you wish, gets transferred to a compatible portable device like a Sony Reader. (The Daily Edition's wireless-transfer system won't work with this content.)

Just as with a tome taken home from the local branch, an e-book loaner is good for 14 to 29 days. But at the end, you don't have to worry about returns or late fees. The copy just vanishes from your portable device or computer screen!.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE: I'm guessing some people will view this whole scenario as elitist. True, you've gotta buy a pricey device (or at least have a computer), to gain access to this "free" reader's club. Plus, you're not making an appearance at the library, not having interaction with real people - reasons to keep the buildings open and staffed.

On the other side of the coin, the e-book loaner system is a blessing for shut-ins, boondocks dwellers and busy bees. Electronic copies don't suffer damage. There won't be any hanky-panky over sought-for titles. If all licensed copies are checked out, a computer system will conduct the recirculation in orderly fashion. And Sony is doubtless hoping that impatient types will simply download the book from them for $9.99.

Perhaps most important to long-term survival, the lending library gets its hands on the names and e-mail addresses of grateful readers who can then be hit up for regular donations.

HERE COMES THE WAVE: About 20 e-book readers will be available by year's end - up from just five in 2007. The Consumer Electronics Association predicts 2009 U.S. sales will double to more than a million units, then double again in 2010. Other sources are throwing out far bigger, more optimistic numbers.

"E-paper displays are taking off with consumers due to their low power consumption and ease of reading, especially in sunlight," said DisplaySearch's Jennifer Colegrove. "In addition, e-paper displays are 'green' because they reduce paper consumption."

Today's monochrome e-ink screens do make readers feel as if they're gazing at print on paper (albeit with letters that can grow with the "enlarge" button).

Still, some consumers are holding out for color screens. DisplaySearch believes that technical obstacles (including power consumption) and high prices will limit color's availability until 2011.

That's also looking like the breakthrough year when e-readers will add video display capability. That improvement will enable electronic newspapers and magazines to get zingy with moving image news clips and ads, predicts C.T. Liu of Taiwanese screen maker AU Optronics and e-ink developer SiPix.

Send e-mail to takiffj@phillynews.com.