The UK’s e-book lovers are panting with anticipation that Sony’s 3G-connected Reader Daily Edition will arrive here by Christmas, following the firm’s creation of a pre-order page for the gagdet in North America.

But Sony isn’t making any promises that the Reader Daily Edition – which provides free access to the firm’s eBook Store over a mobile broadband connection - will arrive in the US before 25 December, because the pre-order page warns that the gadget will be shipped out at some point between 18 December and 8 January.

Sony's Reader Daily Edition: will hit the US between December and January

Sony has priced the Reader Daily Edition up at $400 (£237/€267).

The Reader Daily Edition was first seen back in August and has a 7.1in screen, 600 x 1024 resolution and can display 16 levels of grey. Several e-book formats are supported, including ePub, and data can be stored onto SD and Memory Stick Duo cards.

A UK pre-order page for the Reader Daily Edition has yet to appear, so you’ll have to make do with the saucy Mills & Boon Reader Pocket Edition launched yesterday by Sony. ®