The traditional book is a fantastic technology; being durable, bounded and fixed. The ancient Romans originally invented the book, placing sheets of paper between wooden slabs. Despite all the recent advancements in technology, the book is still regarded as an excellent resource.

However, recently the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader have been released, aiming to revolutionise the book industry. The Sony Reader features an electronic paper display with 5", 6" or 7" screen sizes. You can purchase books (known as eBooks) from various online stores, whilst reading personal documents, PDF files, blogs and RSS news feeds. In essence, a multimedia experience, whilst retaining the natural display of a book by appearing as ordinary ink on paper.

"You will often hear it said that the print medium is a doomed and outdated technology, a mere curiosity of bygone days destined soon to be consigned forever to those dusty unattended museums we now call libraries."
Robert Coover (New York Times - Published 1992)

Personally, I don't believe these devices pose any real threat to traditional books. One obvious deterrent is cost, with the cheapest Sony Reader model costing £150. The main advantage is undoubtedly the ability to store approximately 350 books on one device, therefore a great space saver and convenient whilst commuting. To be honest I would feel less nervous throwing a traditional book into my bag than I would a Sony Reader!

However, this year is when everything looks set to change with Apple due to release it's iPad. The iPod Touch has been a huge success, with a touch screen no other manufacturer can match. Essentially, that is what the iPad is, a larger, more powerful iPod Touch, with a 9.7" screen size. The iPad will pose a massive threat to the traditional book, due to its innovative multimedia capabilities and powerful hardware. Numerous newspaper companies are already working to digitise their publications specifically for the iPad.

To conclude, the traditional book is under no great threat at the moment, with the Sony Reader too new to show any major market share. However, Apple's iPad is what could save the declining magazine and newspaper industries, turning the market around and starting another digital revolution.