Electronic paper moves a step closer

Sony and Philips have begun selling an electronic book with a display that mimics paper and can be read indoors or outside.

The Sony LIBRIé e-book reader uses new technology to give better text resolution with low power needs.

The 6in display screen is made up of tiny spheres floating in oil - one side black and the other white - with text displayed by rolling the spheres.

The screen uses very little power when text is not changing, so four AAA batteries can allow more than 10,000 pages to be viewed and the device can store more than 500 books, with a memory stick expansion port to add others.

"Up until now, consumers have been less willing to adopt e-reading applications because of poor display quality on cumbersome devices," said Yoshitaka Ukita, general manager of the e-book business department at Sony Corporation.

"This display solution provides a level of text clarity comparable to paper."

The LIBRIé, which is expected to cost about £300, will go on sale at the end of the month.