After the iPod, it's the e-book

The iPod has already revolutionised music, storing entire CD collections on a tiny hand-held computer.

Now technology promises to do the same to literature with the introduction of an e-book that's as easy to read as the printed version.

The gadget - the size of a single paperback - will be capable of storing thousands of novels or reference books.

Its creators say its digital display will be better than the print quality of most books.

Users will be able to download entire books from the Internet in the same way music fans download their favourite tracks on to their iPod.

The e-book - which is expected to sell for between £250 and £300, about the same price as an iPod - could be available in Britain as early as next year.

Owners will pay about £5 for each download, slightly less than the average paperback. However, it might be possible to freely access classics such as the works of Charles Dickens, which have no copyright.

Until now, most firms have been reluctant to launch any type of e-book because portable electronic screens have proved harder to read than the printed word.

But now technology giant Philips has developed digital displays which look like paper and can be read at any angle and in any light.

Its device - developed in co-operation with a company called E Ink Corporation - uses 'electronic ink' to create screens that are six times brighter than traditional liquid-crystal displays used in flat-panel TVs and computers.

It is set up as a two-page screen, just like a real book, which can be turned at the push of a button.

Peter Kurstjens, business development manager at E Ink, said: 'The number-one advantage is readability. When people first see it, they don't even believe that it's a display - they really think it's paper.