What happened to electronic books?

[DumbStick 13]

Weren't we all supposed to be reading ebooks or whatever they were going to call them by now? (Inbetween our jetpac flights?)

[oo 1]

Dumbstick, look here

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/551440/ref=b_tn_bh_eb/104-7238781-0011149

[its-a-clock 0]

I like the feel and the smell of paper.....

[slimeypete 0]

Check this out dumbstick

 

New e-book reads just like a paperback

Its paper-like screen renders words that are as clear as the printed version

 

TOKYO

 

 

WHILE hand-held electronic books have been around for years, such gadgets have never really taken off.

 

One reason is that their small display screens are simply not as easy to read as an ordinary paperback.

 

Now Sony has an electronic book, the Librie, that it says is just as easy on the eye as the paper version. Sony's electronic reader is about the size and weight of a slim paperback and can store hundreds of novels, texts and reference books.

 

But what sets the device apart is its screen, which was developed by Philips Electronics and looks almost exactly like paper.

 

Covered in a thin film of electronic ink developed by an American company, E Ink, the screen renders letters that appear as sharp and clear as those on a printed page.

 

The screen can be read from almost any angle and it does not fade in bright light.

 

The Librie draws power only when the user presses a button to turn the page, so the four AAA batteries that power the device will last a long time - some 10,000 page turns, the company says.

 

Sony plans to begin selling the reader next month in Japan for about US$380 (about S$650).

 

Users will be able to download electronic books for less than US$5 each from a website set up by Sony and a group of Japanese publishing companies.

 

At least initially, the works will be rented rather than purchased and thus will disappear from the device after 60 days. The idea of renting the books is a concession to publishers who are worried about unauthorised copying.

 

Sony says it will wait to see how well the Librie sells at home before deciding whether to offer it in Europe and the United States. -- New York Times