On paper, so to speak, the Sony Reader ought not to succeed. It is, after all, pretty expensive for something that basically allows book buyers to do what they can do already: read books clearly.

We may like to think we are a nation of bibliophiles but, in fact, Britons buy a relatively modest number of books. Waterstone’s considers a heavy book buyer to be someone who buys 12 a year, for about £90. In the current economic climate, therefore, such a gadget appears a luxury. Publishers are not helping by indicating that they expect e-books to be sold at similar prices to their physical counterparts, and individual chapters won’t be for sale.

The only obvious benefit is that those who shell out for the gadget will not have to pack six heavy books in their holiday suitcase. New books are downloaded from dedicated websites via a Windows personal computer (an Apple Mac connection is a little more complex) in a similar fashion to the iPod, by using a lead that connects from the Reader to the USB slot that is standard on all modern computers.

Publishers are promising to make thousands of titles available by the end of the year. Random House estimates it will have more than 1,000 titles from authors such as Kathy Lette, Sir Richard Branson and Louis de Bernières. HarperCollins has promised its Agatha Christie titles, but not The Lord of The Rings.

The Sony Reader can also play music, though it cannot play video, and it is a gadget that is hard not to covet; its display makes the pages appear almost like paper. It is a significant technological advance.

The Reader suggests a comparison with the iPod, which makes otherwise rational people seek out the latest version. But the difference between music and books is that it is possible to upload a home music collection on to an iPod. It is far from certain that emotions induced by Sony’s design are enough to change the face of publishing — Penguin estimates that digital books might amount to 1 per cent of sales by the end of the decade — but, for some, the lure will be irresistible, despite the price.

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