July 27, 1999
Web posted at: 12:58 p.m. EDT (1658 GMT)

In this story: More e-book readers in the works An e-book first? RELATED STORIES, SITES

(CNN) -- Imagine being able to carry more than a half-dozen novels with you on a trip but adding only a couple of pounds to the weight of your luggage.

Readers who have discovered electronic books are doing just that.

This fall marks the first anniversary of the electronic book, a portable device that lets readers electronically store and read books, magazines and documents. Currently two companies offer electronic book readers: SoftBook Press and Rocket eBook. At least two other companies, Everybook and Librius, have products in the works.

Mountain View, California-based NuvoMedia offers a hand-held electronic reader about the size of a paperback. It weighs 22 ounces and holds at least 4,000 pages of text and graphics, or about 10 books. Batteries for the Rocket eBook last about 40 hours.

NuvoMedia announced July 21 that it would add software for Macintosh users. The Rocket eBook costs about $350 and is sold in stores and online. Mac users have to buy a special converter.

SoftBook Press sells its reader for about $300. It weighs about 3 pounds and holds up to 100,000 pages. A company spokeswoman said it has an internal modem and does not require a computer to download books.

NuvoMedia said it offers more than 800 titles. SoftBook Press said it had more than 500 titles.

Both companies launched their electronic book readers last fall.

E-book maker Everybook Inc. this fall plans to launch a reader it calls "world's first true electronic book." Other devices have a single LCD screen. The EB Dedicated Reader will open up with two facing screens or "pages."

Everybook's device will weigh about 4 pounds and cost $1,500. It will hold up to 1,000 novels, or about 100 college textbooks.

Another company, Librius, also is expected to release an electronic reader this fall.

After purchasing any electronic reader, users still have to pay for the book.

Pocket Books, a division of Simon and Schuster, announced July 19 what it believed to be an industry first. The publisher released an e-book version of "Knockdown: The Harrowing True Account of A Yacht Race Turned Deadly" by Martin Dugard.

The electronic release of the account of the 1998 Sydney-to-Hobart yachting race disaster preceded by more than a month the August 30 hardcover release of the book.

For those who can afford them, virtual versions of books have some advantages over paper books. Readers can do a "search" to see when a character was first introduced. Electronic book users also can underline passages on the screen without worrying about ruining a printed page.