Dave Farrow has been living (and reading) in the Data Vision store window located on 5th Ave in New York City for the past 30 days. His Sony Reader Revolution is a publicity stunt to draw attention to the Sony eBook Reader as well as call attention to reading. For every page Dave reads, Sony provided an eBook library of 100 eBook classics to a school or educational institution. I don’t know what the first thing Dave will do upon emerging from his 2′9″ x 17′2″ storefront home - but I have a good idea what I’d do… If you hurry (Dave exits the window at 5pm EST) you can catch his final moments and watch him emerge from the window live via the web at the link below.

Dave Farrow Sony Reader Revolution Image via Sony Reader Revolution Facebook Group

Poor Dave Farrow. He’s camped out for 30 days in a New York City storefront window (Datavision - located at 39th and 5th Ave) to spotlight the new Sony PRS-700 Reader. Sony has set up a web cam so you can watch (and listen) to him while inside the store display. There’s also a link that lets you look out on 5th Ave. What’s amusing is to watch a never ending stream of New Yorkers walk by and rap on the window as Dave is trying to sleep. While he’s awake you can also hear him communicate with people outside who stop to read over his shoulder and make all sorts of comments that only those in NYC would dare make.

Sony Storefront Cam - Dave Farrow - 39th and 5th Ave - NYC

While walking through the Sony store on Madison Ave Sunday I spotted the new PRS-700 eBook reader on display. Just like Mike Cane said, there was a Sony representative stationed next to it with a handful of brochures and lots of a little information about the device. These readers aren’t released yet (Release date? according to the store - “hmm - let me check” — “November? December? but we can pre-order” - according to the web site - available 11/14/2008 for $399.99) - and Mike Cane has done a tremendous job of analyzing them in considerable depth. As a Kindle owner, here’s my first impressions

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Last week Mike Cane attended the Sony Reader PRS-700 unveil in New York; while there he saw Dave Farrow, the world renowned speed reader who is also a Guinness World Record holder. Mike had the opportunity to get some face time with a few of the very Sony people he has criticized in his past blog posts.

Before I mention Mike’s impressions of the PRS-700, I have to tell you about one of the brief meetings he had with the Sony execs, because it was epic:

Then someone entered our proximity and was told it was Me. And that person was none other than Steve Haber, He Who Is Now eBooks At Sony:

Haber made it a point to tell me he had read the post in which I called for his firing(!). I stood my ground. He stood his. Malcolm summoned Security to eject me.

I can honestly say that I laughed out loud while reading that. You have to understand that not very many people even know what Mike looks like; he is more secretive than a secret agent! That these Sony guys saw Mike - and lived to tell about it - means he must have liked them - or at least the product they were introducing, which turns out to be exactly what happened.

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Have you ever heard of David Farrow?  Probably not.  Who is he?  Well, let’s start with who he was:  a dyslexic young kid with Attention Deficit Disorder.  What does this have to do with the Sony Reader?  Well, it seems that Farrow has long since overcome these challenges and become a World-renowned speed reader, as well as a Guinness World Record holder for memory.  That is part 1.

Part 2 starts with the designation of October as the Sony Electronics “Reader Revolution.”  This brand new program is designed to, “combat a nationwide decline in reading, particularly among young people.”

In order to raise awareness and help celebrate the Sony Electronics Reader Revolution, Farrow is going to spend 30 days (720 hours) living in this storefront window, reading books on his Sony Reader (and boy am I jealous).  For every page he turns, Sony will give an eBook library of 100 classic titles to a U.S. school.

Read on for more details from the press release.

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Mike Cane spent a little bit of time giving a red Sony Reader a fondle, and I have to say that other than the terrible quality of his “crapcam” (that’s what he calls it, and I agree!), the new Reader is quite pretty…

As Mike says, “Yeah, that’s it. It’s really a rich metallic red color. It’s matte and not shiny. It’s simply and absolutely gorgeous!” He goes on to gush that “Sony’s done a great job here, offering this special color. I prefer it over the Silver — and especially over the light-sucking Dark Blue.”

I agree, the red is gorgeous, and now that you can use the Reader for much more than just loading Sony’s proprietary book shop’s items it looks even more attractive. If you are lusting after this spicy red number and would like to order one, there are plenty to be had.

If you would like to read more of Mike’s impressions and see more “crapcam” pictures, then head on over to Mike’s site.