You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
Waterstone's high street sales push for the Sony Reader is misconceived, writes John Sutherland in the Guardian. "The most influential early adopters will, probably, be institutional (did you buy the first desktop you used?) The manufacturers should donate 20 sets to every public library and plc in the country - then let the public demand build up, like water behind a dam."
He adds: "Despite the talk of impending revolution in the publishing industry, my feeling is that the current batch of e-readers are still two electronic generations premature. We await the Model T. But the seed is sown, and we won't have to wait long - the market is too big not to be filled. Will it kill the traditional book? No more than TV killed the movies, or the movies killed the theatre. It will, of course, change the cultural constellation. But, having enjoyed 500 years of dominance, the codex book can't complain about taking a back seat for the next half millennium."