The printed page is facing its biggest threat with the launch of the first electronic book that people can read for hours without straining their eyes.
Sony's Reader is the size of a slim paperback but can store hundreds of books at a time. When the cover is lifted, books are displayed on a sheet of electronic "paper", one page at a time.
Although electronic books, or e-books, have been around for several years, previous versions, using LCD screens, have never caught on. The biggest complaint is that readers' eyes quickly become tired from the glare and flicker of the conventional computer screen.
However, the Reader displays its text on a page of high resolution electronic paper which is virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. Electronic paper also needs relatively little power, so the life of a battery should not be a problem.
Sony, which launched its Reader at the Consumer Electronics Fair in Las Vegas, believes that the invention could do for reading what the iPod has done for listening to music. It is selling books for the Reader from its online shop Connect.
Dan Brown, the author of The Da Vinci Code, is an enthusiast. "It is not about replacing books," he said. "But e-books offer features that traditional books cannot." For example, rather than carrying several books while travelling, owners of a Reader need take only one on holiday. "If I want a new book, I can download it instantly online even if it is two in the morning," Brown said. It takes only seconds to download a book. ( to be continued )
