Just as the iPod killed the CD, so the eBook and Amazon's electronic reader, the Kindle, threaten to do away with the paperback.The Kindle was Amazon's best-selling product this year, shifting an estimated eight million in the US and Britain.
The appeal of the iPod was the idea that it could capture and carry around an entire jukebox of music, thousands of tracks, within a tiny package.Many people doubted the same could be done with a book, where half the enjoyment is leafing through the pages, feeling its weight in your hands, even its smell.However, the Kindle and rival devices have tapped into a desire for convenience and speed.Sony has also enjoyed success with its own eReader, while Apple's new iPad also offers electronic book applications and downloads. Though the iPad seems to have fallen out of favour as an eBook reader because of screen glare, it doesn't use eInk you see, and is now marketed as more of a general purpose device.
The latest design Kindle 3, which cost £149, can carry around an entire library of up to 3,500 books in a slim package that weighs just 247g, which is less than a paperback.
With an internet connection via either wi-fi or the 3G mobile phone network, it is a simple matter of downloading a book within 60 seconds.
Amazon says that its Kindle 3 ebook reader has become the site's best-selling product ever.
The Kindle's sales will have been helped by an endorsement from Which?, which identified it as one of the 'must-have' gadgets of the year.
One of the concerns about electronic book readers has been the idea that the bright light of the screen can tire the eyes, making reading a chore.
However, the Kindle includes breakthrough technology featuring E Ink, which produces clear text and sharp images. The firm claim is it reads like real paper, with no glare, and can even be used in bright sunlight.
Traditionalists will rightly argue that a real book has the advantage that it never runs out of battery.
Amazon says the Kindle 3 can run for up to one month on a single charge with the wireless turned off, while it comes down to ten days with wireless on constantly.Half the fun of going on holiday is rifling through the books in the airport shops to find a trashy read or murder mystery for the beach.
One of the concerns about electronic book readers has been the idea that the bright light of the screen can tire the eyes, making reading a chore.
However, the Kindle includes breakthrough technology featuring E Ink, which produces clear text and sharp images. The firm claim is it reads like real paper, with no glare, and can even be used in bright sunlight.
Traditionalists will rightly argue that a real book has the advantage that it never runs out of battery.
Amazon says the Kindle 3 can run for up to one month on a single charge with the wireless turned off, while it comes down to ten days with wireless on constantly.Half the fun of going on holiday is rifling through the books in the airport shops to find a trashy read or murder mystery for the beach.
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