It feels like we've been talking about them for years, but it seems that--after countless failed attempts and glossy prototypes--the e-book might finally be on the verge of becoming a must-have product.

Thanks to several technological refinements, today's e-book readers are ready to take on the consumer marketplace.

These portable libraries rarely weigh more than two hundred grams, are energy-efficient and can store hundreds of titles at a time.

What's more, they're easy to read, and we think they're likely to be hit with all sorts of readers, from students and children to the most devoted of bookworms.

All of this is just around the corner, though: for the time being, several factors are holding these products back.

The first is that not all of the big publishing houses have been convinced, and even when you include those that are keener, the number of e-books published every month is still a long way behind the number of traditional paper publications.

Readability

In terms of technology, though, the manufacturers seem to have got it cracked.

Capable of storing tens of thousands of pages (or around 200 novels); and of lasting for two or three months without being recharged, today's e-book readers represent a big step forward.

The classic question which always haunts these devices, though, is whether or not they end up tiring out your eyes?

In our experience, the answer is a resolute no.

Not only does text appear as clearly as it does on the printed page, the viewing angles are much wider than on a regular computer screen and you can keep on reading even in bright sunlight.

Content

Unfortunately, the publishing world can be a little insular, and the fact that buying e-books has not really taken off is not a big surprise.

In general, an e-book is cheaper--but not much cheaper--than its paper equivalent, and the selection is still very limited.

We can't see the market taking off until there are more titles available at a reasonable price.

The current saving of just 15% to 20% off the price of a 'regular' book isn't succeeding in winning people over to electronic books.

We all know what happened when the music industry dragged its feet about putting in place reasonably-priced options for getting access to its content …

As with many early MP3 download services, the vast majority of e-book stores lock their texts down with Digital Rights Management software, which means you can't lend an e-book you've bought to a friend.

Of course, older literature which has fallen out of copyright doesn't come with DRM--but it's available for free anyway.

What's more, your access to great writing is held back even more by the absence of a common format for e-book readers.

Once again, the confusion caused to consumers caused by a lack of standards is demonstrated by the cautionary tale of the HD DVD format war, which has only recently come to an end.

Drawbacks

As it stands, e-book readers are great devices, but that doesn't mean they can't be improved.

Until more content is available--including newspapers and magazines, not just books--they risk remaining something of a luxury.

When you can pop into a newsagents and wirelessly download today's paper, e-book readers will become a lot more attractive to a lot more people.

Naturally, the price tag will have to fall as well, because 300 euros () is a lot to pay for a product with all of the weaknesses we've identified here.

Death of the Book?

Let's close our first look at e-books by taking a look at the eternal question: are e-books one day going to over take the printed press?

For the time being, there's no reason to think they will.

Even if they soar in popularity, it's very unlikely that everybody who owns one will ditch their books straight away.

Before that happens, though, there's going to have to be a lot of movement, both from publishers and the e-book manufacturers.