Sony Reader, the electronic book will be launched in Britain this week by Sony and Waterstone’s. The Reader weighs 9 ounces and has a good battery life for it uses power only when you turn the page. The Sony Reader has a 200MB memory and has enough space for 160 novels.

Though many have been skeptical about its success or if it would ever replace traditional paperbacks, there is a growing audience for e-books and thousands of titles could be downloaded from Waterstone’s. The Sony Reader itself comes with a CD containing 100 eminent books and plays. At about $355, the device is rather affordable and is convenient too. It is just 4mm thick and comes in a neat package of battleship gray and can fit inside handbags easily. The device can play music, magnify text, and does not have a glare like a PC. Though the days when we could expect to see an e-book with touchscreen facilities are far away, it really could help spearhead the digital book revolution and cut down the usage of precious pulp.

Via Gizmowatch