Sony's New Digital Paper Is a Perfect Fit for Legal Research

Collaboration with William S. Hein & Co., Inc. combines world's largest image-based legal research collection with Digital Paper electronic document device

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Sony Electronics

Jul 11, 2014, 06:06 ET

SAN ANTONIO, July 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Law school libraries, known for voluminous catalogs and stacks of papers and files, can get an electronic upgrade through a collaboration with Sony Electronics' Digital Paper and William S. Hein & Co. Inc. Sony and Hein will showcase the combination of Digital Paper and Hein products at this week's American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) annual meeting in San Antonio.

William S. Hein & Co., Inc. is a digital legal publishing company of original legal publications including legal dictionaries, reference works, legislative histories, classroom texts, and various other publications. Hein's online product, HeinOnline, is a subscription-based database that provides access to more than 100 million pages of legal history available in a fully-searchable, image-based format. HeinOnline provides exact full-page images of documents in the PDF format, allowing viewers to see all charts, graphs, tables, pictures, handwritten notes, photographs, and footnotes exactly as they originally appeared in print.

This capability complements Sony's Digital Paper, which has a 13.3-inch display that shows full-screen views of letter-sized forms and documents as PDFs, eliminating the need to zoom or scroll when reading a page. The Digital Paper device retains the context of an entire page by displaying sharp, easy-to-read text and graphics that are nearly identical to printed documents or full-size notepads.

"We're excited to be working with Sony to reveal Digital Paper to the legal research community," said Kevin Marmion, President of William S. Hein & Co., Inc. "We believe the combination of Hein products, especially HeinOnline images, and Sony's Digital Paper will change document management significantly and have a very positive impact on legal research."

Containing more than 2,000 law and law-related periodicals and law journals, HeinOnline also includes the entire run of Congressional Record Bound volumes, complete coverage of the United States Reports back to 1754, famous world trials dating back to the early 1700s, legal classics from the 16th to the 20th centuries, the United Nations and League of Nations Treaty Series, all U.S. treaties, the Federal Register from inception in 1936, and much more.

Users of Hein services include ABA accredited law schools, academic law libraries, corporations, law firms, public, state, and county libraries, and court and government libraries.

"Legal research is still largely a paper-based process, with sources of information that need to be printed in order to be viewed," said Bob Nell, Director of Digital Paper Solutions for Sony Electronics. "HeinOnline has assembled the largest collection of legal documents available as full-page electronic files, and Digital Paper delivers full-page views of electronic documents and easily enables annotation. It's a perfect combination for legal professionals librarians, faculty, administration and students – all those involved in legal research who want to free themselves from the burdens of printing, sharing, and saving paper files."

A New Way to Read, Write, Annotate and Share

Following Sony's announcements at the American Bar Association Tech Show in March, the Hollywood IT Summit in April, and now at AALL, Sony continues to investigate and develop new markets for Digital Paper in collaboration with publishing and technology companies that serve sectors still burdened with paper and are obvious beneficiaries of Digital Paper.

The device's touch panel enables users to operate the menu or turn pages by simply touching the screen. Using the included stylus, individuals can write fluidly and directly on the panel, and also easily highlight and erase text, for a familiar and comfortable writing experience.

Key features and functions of Sony's Digital Paper include:

World's thinnest, lightest body among devices with comparable screen sizes (approximately 9/32" and 12.6 oz.); slightly thicker than 30 sheets of paper
13.3 -inch electronic paper display (screen size measured diagonally)
High contrast display (1200 x 1600 dots), 16-level gray scale, incorporating "E Ink Mobius" technology from E Ink Corporation
No backlight enabling text to be read clearly, even in bright sunlight
Built-in Wi-Fi functionality allowing file sharing over a wireless network
Rechargeable thin lithium-ion battery – up to 3 weeks use on a single charge
AC adapter or USB rechargeable (computer-based charging)
Storage - approximately 2,800 PDF files; internal memory of 4 GB coupled with micro SD card slot for additional storage
Touch panel (IR touch) compatible with electromagnetic induction-type touch pen input
Dimensions - of approximately 9 1/4" width by 12 1/4" height by 9/32" depth (thickness)
Weight of approximately 12.6 ounces

Sony's Digital Paper is currently available, with a suggested list price of $1,100.

For more information, please visit www.sony.com/digitalpaper, or http://heinonline.org.

About William S. Hein & Company

William S. Hein & Co., Inc. is a leading digital publishing company that has been serving the law library community for nearly 90 years. Hein is a highly respected publisher of original legal publications, a major reprinter of legal classics and out-of-print United States Government Printing Office documents, the world's largest distributor of legal periodicals, and an online legal research provider serving the law library community worldwide. Hein is also recognized as a leader in the preservation of retrospective legal materials. Hein's digital images of American State Papers have been used by the United States government, and a major legal research institution is utilizing our expertise to digitally store and reproduce high-quality reprints of legal classics, insuring the availability of these important works for future generations of legal researchers.

About Sony Electronics

Headquartered in San Diego, Sony Electronics is a leading provider of audio/video electronics and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Operations include research and development, design, engineering, sales, marketing, distribution and customer service. Sony is noted for a wide range of consumer audio-visual products, such as BRAVIA® 4K Ultra HD and High Definition televisions, Cyber-shot® digital cameras, Alpha Digital SLR cameras, and Handycam® camcorders. Sony Electronics also develops and manufactures video and audio technologies for a range of professional production applications, including broadcast television and motion picture production, live event production, event videography, ENG/EFP, digital cinematography, digital cinema, videoconferencing, medical, visual imaging, digital signage, remote system diagnostics and monitoring, and IP surveillance and security.

E Ink Mobius is a registered trademark of E Ink Corporation.

SOURCE Sony Electronics