E-book's new chapter.(the iRex iLiad)(Product/service evaluation)

Byline: Mark Chillingworth

E-book's new chapter

MP3 players arrived on the music scene back in 1997, but it wasn't until the arrival of the now ubiquitous iPod from Apple that MP3 began to take over from the CD. Likewise, e-books and e-book readers have been under discussion for some time, but in the last 12 months the arrival of new screen technology and attractive devices could do for books what the iPod has done for music.

For the information industry, the question is whether e-books will capture the attention of users in the way the internet has done over the past decade and whether information providers, professionals and departments should be planning to support another new format.

The iRex iLiad on test here uses an electronic paper display. Like the Sony Reader, the iLiad employs a technology developed in the US known as electronic ink. Previous e-book reader attempts by computer companies adopted the same liquid crystal display (LCD) technology used by laptop computers, which were tiring to view for any length of time and couldn't be read in sunlight.

Electronic paper display technology is the closest that digital has yet got to paper. Electronic ink works by using millions of tiny capsules filled with black and white pigment chips to create words on the page. The display can be refreshed in 250 milliseconds.

Electronics giant Philips is the development partner of Dutch business technology company iRex, which has developed the iLiad. The device enables users to read a variety of electronic document formats, including PDF and plain text.