E-books are about the size of a book, though a bit heavier. They have a high-resolution screen and a few simple buttons for turning pages, selecting books or documents, and doing a few other functions. They can store the equivalent of several books in memory. Previously, e-books had been hard to find or had to be ordered through the Internet. Hot titles are increasingly being released for e-books the same day as they're released to retailers.
Prices are comparable.
In some regions, an e-book download can be bought days before a book lands in stores. The Rocket eBook and SoftBook are more flexible. Last week, SoftBook unveiled a system that lets companies securely deliver corporate documents, such as memos or employee handbooks, to the device. Both the Rocket eBook and SoftBook can now download e-mail, Web documents or entire Web sites for later viewing. NuvoMedia CEO Martin Eberhard says an entrepreneur recently sent a business proposal to his e-book.