Window of opportunity
UK vendor Elonex has partnered with book shop Borders to launch the eBook in the UK.
The digital reader market is still in its infancy, but has received a lot of publicity from the release of the Kindle by giant e-tailer Amazon, and California governor Schwarzenegger suggesting they should become standard issue in schools.
To date, however, the Kindle has yet to make an appearance outside the US, so Elonex and Borders UK have decided to capitalise on this opportunity to get a head-start in the UK.
The Elonex eBook weighs 180g, can hold 8000 eBooks with a 4GB expansion card and claims to offer three months of reading between charges.
"The future of eBook is very exciting as the technology, which is already very advanced, becomes increasingly sophisticated." said Elonex marketing manager Sam Goult. "Elonex sees the future of homes, schools and businesses involving eBooks as a way of distributing information, with the ultimate goal of a paperless society which will significantly decrease the nation's carbon footprint."
You can access Borders' 45,000 eBooks here, but it looks like they want you to go into a Borders shop in order to buy the reader. It costs £189 with 100 pre-loaded books thrown in. An accessory pack of leather case and 4GB expansion card costs £29.