Internet retailer Amazon.com has unveiled an e-book reader that downloads books, magazines and newspapers - including the Irish Times - to readable 'electronic paper'.
The hand-held device called Kindle is about the same size as a paperback but 'lighter and thinner' and can store up to 200 items that can be downloaded by a built-in wireless Internet connection.
'We've been working on Kindle for more than three years. Our top design objective was for Kindle to disappear in your hands - to get out of the way - so you can enjoy your reading,' said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and chief executive.
'We also wanted to go beyond the physical book. Kindle is wireless, so whether you're lying in bed or riding a train, you can think of a book, and have it in less than 60 seconds. No computer is needed - you do your shopping directly from the device.'
'Because it reflects light like ordinary paper and uses no backlight, it eliminates the eye strain and glare associated with other electronic displays such as computer monitors,' according to Amazon.
Amazon said it is also making some 90,000 books available in its Kindle Store, including over 100 best-sellers. Kindle customers can download and read the first chapter of most Kindle books for free.
It said its Kindle Store will offer subscriptions to major US newspapers and magazines including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Time and Fortune, as well as global publications including The Irish Times, Le Monde and Frankfurter Allgemeine.
Amazon will not charge a subscription fee or for connection time, but customers will pay for books or other content delivered to the device.
