The future of e-readers

E-readers – electronic devices that can store hundreds of books at a time – are beginning to make some inroads into the market for traditional paper books. And there is much to be said for something that gives you hundreds of books at your fingertips while weighing no more than an average paperback.

The trouble is, though, that most e-readers can't do much more. There is no colour and limited multimedia functionality.

And with publishers now starting to make content available via mobile phone, is this the future of the e-book? After all, why pay £200 or more for an e-reader, when you can get the same functionality on your phone … which you can also use to make calls, access the internet, send emails, etc, etc.

One answer is that e-readers typically have much more readable interfaces. A lot of time and money has been invested in creating screens that mimic ordinary paper as much as possible. The absence of screen flicker and projected light should make e-readers much easier on the eye than mobile phones or pocket PCs. There is also less screen glare, which make them usable outside even when it is sunny (and this is a frustrating thing about some modern mobile phones – I can't use mine at all in strong sunlight, in contrast to the first one I ever bought, more than ten years ago).

To me, e-readers as they are seem like an intermediate technology with a limited shelf-life. The interface is at the moment the only real advantage they have over other technologies and how long will it take mobile phone manufacturers to devise screens that will be equally easy to read?

Unless, that is, makers of e-readers can raise their game too. More multi-media features, full internet browsing capabilities, colour, perhaps – all without losing that easy-to-read screen? And what about flexible electronic paper – something that's been on the horizon for some time and is now becoming viable? People like the feel of real, paper books. An e-reader that seems more like a 'real' book will surely enjoy more success. And to really compete effectively [a split infinitive – I am obviously learning to be flexible!], e-readers are also bound to need the robustness of a paper book. Something that you can drop in the bath without it being a complete disaster. Or take with you to a sandy beach. Or drop on a concrete floor.

Even then, though, books are not just for reading. They can be conversation pieces and even status symbols. A full book shelf says a lot about its owner. What's more, I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks it's easier to scan a bookshelf for a title than it is to look through a list of titles on an electronic device. Perhaps, then, one day we’ll see virtual 'bookshelves' – wall mounted displays showing off your books in all their glory – touch a title and it loads up in your e-reader…

Maybe. But it seems to me that we're just getting to grips with lots of converging technologies – e-readers, mobile phones, pocket PCs, etc. When the dust settles, whatever we end up with will probably seem perfectly natural and obvious when it arrives. But books in their current form have been around for hundreds of years and it's going to take a few collective leaps of imagination to catch up with the possibilities that current technology offers.