(photo courtesy of Mobile Read)

Sony is proving they are taking their ebook reading customers very seriously. If you bought a PRS-500 (the first Sony Reader I believe), you can choose to send it in for a firmware upgrade or trade it in to save some money on the price of a newer model.

The firmware upgrade allows PRS-500 users to read ePUB books, the Adobe eBook standard that is being adopted by the Sony eBookstore in December 2009. In addition to being able to read Sony books in ePUB, any ePUB formatted books with Adobe DRM (called ADE) will also be readable on your device. Apparently it’s a fairly complex upgrade, which is why Sony has arranged for the upgrades to be done by them instead of by the user.

If you think this represents a sign you should upgrade your reader, Sony is offering $50.00 off the Pocket Edition and $75 off the Touch Edition. This brings their prices down to $150  and $225, respectively.

While you have to mail your reader in to get the firmware upgrade, trade-ins can be done at Sony Style locations. Now you can get instant gratification, and Sony has a justification for gracing every outlet mall in America with their stores!

Sony has a full page of information on your options here.

Via Mobile Read