title_body: What was the first commercially available eBook reader? Today there a number of eBook readers.  What was the first device marketed as a device primarily for reading eBooks?  When did it become available?
upvoted_answer: I think NuvoMedia's Rocket eBook was the first e-reading device. IIRC it was released in 1998. SoftBook also made a pre-1999 e-reader; it was the confluence of two competing technologies (plus Microsoft's software reader) that led to the formation of the Open eBook Foundation and the creation of a single, open e-book format.