The Softbook Reader

Maybe what's needed is an e-book reader.

A decade from now we may look back and judge 1999 as the year that the electronic book matured into a stable book form all its own. Just consider what IDG writer David Moschella wrote in April:

"Just as MP3 has grown from an obscure audio-compression format to become one of the hottest topics in the music industry, so are electronic books about to shake up the traditional book publishing business. Indeed, e-books will change book publishing much more than e-retailing. While Amazon.com does a great job using the Web to sell existing books, the emerging e-book business will create whole new markets for book content -- and eventually expand our very idea of what a book is."

Peanutpress.com offers books for reading on handheld computers including the Palm Pilot

The e-book comes in a variety of shapes, including:

the slim, leather-bound SoftBook Reader, weighting slightly more than 2 pounds, uses a phone line to download books, business magazines and news;

the NuvoMedia's Rocket eBook, a 22 ounce, hand-held reader uploads through a port connection in your personal computer;

Peanutpress.com offers books, newspapers, and magazines for reading on handheld computers including the Palm Pilot, Handspring Visor, and Windows CE machines. The titles are downloaded though your personal computer.

Staffers at CNN.com have experimented reading with each of the above three systems; all three deliver as promised, though each may be best suited to individual needs.