Electronic book reader launched

It weighs less than a paperback, but can hold a mobile library of 200 books. Amazon is hoping to "ignite a passion for reading" among the digital generation through Kindle, its new electronic book reader.

The online retailer's device, which is only available in the US, uses the same high-speed wireless network as high-tech cell phones and costs $399 (€270).

Up to 90,000 books, blogs, magazines and newspapers including The Irish Times can be downloaded on to Kindle, which is about the size of a paperback. Best-sellers and most new releases cost $9.99 to download, while users can subscribe to have newspapers delivered to the device each morning.

Like Sony's book reader, Kindle uses an e-ink or electronic paper display, which is designed to eliminate the eye strain that people get from reading large quantities of text on a computer screen. It is not back lit, making it as suitable for reading outside in the sun as it is inside.

Amazon promises that readers can electronically wade through door-stopping novels like War and Peace without the battery running out. The device also promises to change the meaning of the phrase "a real page-turner", a staple of paperback reviews. On Kindle, you just press a button.

Not every book lover will be convinced, however. Amazon chief executive Jeff Boozes has admitted that books have stubbornly resisted digitalization because they are highly evolved, elegant and suited to their task.

Electronic book sales climbed 24 per cent in 2006 to $54 million, according to the Association of American Publishers. They comprised less than 1 per cent of the $24.2 billion in sales for US publishers last year. Sony launched a new version of its book reader earlier this year, but unlike the Amazon version it does not include wireless access.

Amazon has said it has no plans to launch Kindle outside the US. (Additional reporting: Bloomberg.)