Scheduled for spring release, Microsoft Reader is being promoted as the software that will make reading an electronic book as easy as turning a page. But Microsoft also says the software will improve the appearance of digital text on liquid crystal display screens. Reader will be the first Microsoft product to use ClearType, a technology that, according to the company, can make on-screen type appear three times as clear as conventional displays.
Reader has an unusual screen appearance.
To allow users to focus on the text, the software doesn't have any on-screen icons or navigation devices. It presents text that looks, quite simply, like a page from a conventional book, complete with a title and page number at the top. Users move through the text by clicking either to the right or the left of the page number. A menu of options is produced by clicking on the title. For now, Reader will allow users to choose only the type size.