Electronic book could be last word in reading

It is the gadget that could mean the end of the book - or become one of the biggest hi-tech flops in history.

On Thursday Sony and Waterstone's will begin Britain's biggest marketing campaign for electronic books when they launch the £199 Sony Reader.

Roughly the size of an average paperback, it has 200 megabytes of memory - enough to store 160 books of average length.

More capacity can be added by using memory cards, and the device can also store and play back pictures and music files. By connecting it to a home PC, owners will be able to download "ebooks" from the Waterstone's website.

The Reader uses a display technology called electronic ink or "e-ink". This means it only uses power when you turn the page. A single battery life should be enough for 1,680 page turns.

Each one will be sold with a CD containing 100 free books, including Dracula, Great Expectations, Pride And Prejudice and Romeo And Juliet.

Waterstone's has managed to beat Amazon - which has been selling its Kindle device in the US for several months - to the British market. Waterstone's category manager Toby Bourne said: "We are very impressed with the Reader and think our customers will be too. We're working with publishers to develop the best range of ebooks we can - classics and new bestsellers."

However, writers were divided over the invention.

Toby Young, author of How To Lose Friends And Alienate People, said: "The great thing about electronic books is that in the long run they will benefit writers, creating an easier way to enable first-time authors to get their work in front of the public. That will be a revolutionary change."

Nick Hornby, whose books include Fever Pitch and About A Boy, was less convinced. "There is currently much consternation in the industry about the future of the conventional book, but my suspicion is that it will prove to be more tenacious than the CD," he wrote recently. "Readers of books like books, whereas music fans never had much affection for CDs." Waterstone's said it had pre-orders for thousands of Readers, but admitted it was struggling to finalise pricing of ebooks. "We are aiming to make them cheaper than their physical counterparts, although people will have to pay VAT," a spokesman said.

"We are aiming to have every new title available the day it launches, so you should be able to download everything you see in store."