Toshiba's Mono, a mano

Another one enjoys the fray. Toshiba has just launched their second ereader, the Bookplace Mono, so their experience so far must be a good one. The Mono has a 6″ HD E-ink screen (1024×758), with Wifi, touchscreen, 4GB of storage, a microSD card slot, speaker, and a headphone jack. The Mono will be first available in Japan, and will most readily offer Japanese books. It debuts April 16 at about $145. Wow, how many signs do we need that this device -- the ereader -- has global legs. Of course Toshiba will have to go mano a mano with some very big players, already in the business, such as Amazon. But let's remember that Japan's rich cultural heritage may very well dictate the need for its very own ereader.