The printed page is facing its biggest threat with the launch of the first electronic book that people can read for hours without straining their eyes.

Sony's Reader is the size of a slim paperback¹ but can store hundreds of books at a time. When the cover is lifted, books are displayed on a sheet of electronic "paper", one page at a time. 　

Although electronic books, or e-books, have been around for several years, previous versions, using LCD screens, have never caught on. The biggest complaint is that readers' eyes quickly become tired from the glare and flicker² of the conventional computer screen.

However, the Reader displays its text on a page of high resolution electronic paper which is virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. Electronic paper also needs relatively³ little power, so the life of a battery should not be a problem.

Sony, which launched its Reader at the Consumer Electronics Fair in Las Vegas, believes that the invention could do for reading what the iPod has done for listening to music. It is selling books for the Reader from its online shop Connect.

Dan Brown, the author of The Da Vinci Code, is an enthusiast⁴. "It is not about replacing books," he said. "But e-books offer features that traditional books cannot." For example, rather than carrying several books while travelling, owners of a Reader need take only one on holiday. "If I want a new book, I can download it instantly online even if it is two in the morning," Brown said. It takes only seconds to download a book. ( to be continued )

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　　近日，美国拉斯韦加斯的消费电子博览会上展出的一本电子书引起人们的关注。这不是普通的电子阅读器，它摒弃了之前电子书籍会引起视觉疲劳的致命弱点，即使阅读好几个小时也不会让人眼累，它就是索尼公司刚刚推出的电子阅读器——Reader。

　　据英国《每日电讯报》1月7日报道，索尼Reader阅读器的体积如同一本薄薄的平装书，但是它却可以一次性存储几百本书籍的内容。掀开封面后，书籍的内容会显示在一页电子纸张上，一次显示一页的内容，使用者可单手持握Reader，利用按键自动“翻页”。 　

　　尽管电子书籍已经存在几年了，但之前利用LCD液晶显示屏的版本都没有流行起来。读者们最大的抱怨是，由于传统的电脑屏幕似的闪光会使眼睛很快就变得疲劳。Reader阅读器的内容则是显示在一张高分辨率的电子纸上，这种电子纸与真正的纸张非常近似，实际上很难加以区别。且电子纸只需要相对较小的能量，所以电池的寿命也不再是问题。 

　　畅销小说《达-芬奇密码》的作者丹-布朗在了解到Reader的功能后说：“它并不是要替代传统书籍，但电子书籍确实提供了传统书籍不具有的特点。”比如，旅行时有人会带好几本书，而拥有Reader阅读器的人则只需要带着一本“书”去度假。“如果想要一本新书，我可以立即上网下载它，下载一本书只需要一点点时间。” （待续）

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