E-Reader Buyer's Guide -- E-Book Readers -- InformationWeek

In case you hadn't noticed, there's a new "next big thing": the e-reader. We know, you're barely over Netbooks and technology is now stuffing some new, shiny bauble in front of your eyes, hoping to hook you by the wallet. Well, that's the way it works.

We first saw e-readers on Star Trek, the original series. Whenever Yeoman Janice Rand handed Captain Kirk something that needed his attention or approval, it wasn't a piece of paper or a clipboard. It was an electronic "slate" with a touchscreen. Kirk read the manifest, communiqué, or top secret correspondence sent by Starfleet, and signed off on it. No muss, no fuss, no paper...