Revolutionising reading

Shubhodeep Chakravarty
(Delhi edition)
Pocket a book, and more
With technological advances almost everything is available at the click of a button. Books, were one of the few things, that still needed the human touch. But with eBooks and e-Reader taking the world by storm, this human habit may soon change too. Their ever increasing numbers has opened up a new path for e-readers. Portable and high on storage space, these devices are fast becoming a pocket companion for millions.

Text on the run

E-books are based on two platforms -- e-ink and LCD (TFT). While Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) and i-pods make use of the later, the next gen e-book readers have the `e-ink' technology. The device by itself is as easy to use as an external hard disk -- though if you don't know what an EHD is, you're better off without an e-Reader.

One can just install the software that comes with most of these devices and connect to the PC. Some of the devices like the Sony reader can store thousands of PDF files depending on the size. Others like the Cybook Opus and the Hanlin eReader can support picture files as well as play mp3 files.

Apart from Sony, Samsung and Kindle, Plastic Logic plans to unveil its e-Reader by early 2010. Features like camera, Bluetooth, games and WiFi are also being incorporated.