It is the gadget that could mean the end of the book - or become one of the biggest hi-tech flops in history. On Thursday Sony and Waterstone’s will begin Britain’s biggest marketing campaign for electronic books when they launch the £199 Sony Reader.

Roughly the size of an average paperback, it has 200 megabytes of memory - enough to store 160 books of average length. More capacity can be added by using memory cards, and the device can also store and play back pictures and music files. By connecting it to a home PC, owners will be able to download “ebooks” from the Waterstone’s website.

The Reader uses a display technology called electronic ink or “e-ink”. This means it only uses power when you turn the page. A single battery life should be enough for 1,680 page turns. Each one will be sold with a CD containing 100 free books, including Dracula, Great Expectations, Pride And Prejudice and Romeo And Juliet.

Waterstone’s has managed to beat Amazon - which has been selling its Kindle device in the US for several months - to the British market. The design is appealingly restrained. And it’s nice the way it mimics pages to be turned, rather than having continuous scrolling text. Indeed it’s slower to turn a page on this than with a real book - it’s cleverly been aimed at leisurely readers, not impatient whizzkids source.