To start with lets take a look at what been happening in the marketplace:
In 2007 ebook sales amounted to about 1% of world book sales;In 2008 ebook sales amounted to 7% of world book sales;In 2009 ebook sales amounted to 20% of the worlds book sales so it quite clear that ebooks are not only here to stay but in fact will grow to have a much higher market share in the next few years.
In line with ebook sales the popularity of electronic book readers increased enormously during the course of 2009. The launch of the Amazon Kindle 2.0 and the large format Kindle DX, followed up by competing readers like the Nook from Barnes and Noble and Sony's Daily Edition reader in the latter part of the year, put both readers and e-books firmly on the map.

By early 2010 there was a large selection of ebook readers for potential customers to choose from - including the Apple iPad, which includes the ability to read e-books amongst its many options.

Now that e-readers have been taken up by "early adopters", the next wave of potential customers will come from more traditional book readers.

Although it's possible to find many (very many) reviews of ebook readers on the internet, and increasingly in magazines and newspapers, the current crop of customers are probably more interested to learn how e-readers stack up against "real" books rather than how they compare with other ebook readers. They want to know if they will miss the feel of a traditional book.
The good news is that the e-ink display technology used in modern e-readers is really very good. The reading experience is nothing like reading on a computer screen - it's much closer to reading text printed on paper. When you "turn the page" of an ebook, the reader display goes dark very briefly. However, these page turns are much faster now than they were even twelve months ago. After a couple of reading sessions you won't notice them at all.

In fact, when you're enjoying a good book, you will be completely unaware of the fact that you're reading it on an electronic device rather than leafing through the pages of a more traditional paper edition.

Most e-readers are very easy to use. A recent survey of American ebook reader owners found that 80% of them actually preferred using their electronic readers to reading a conventional book. That's a fairly strong endorsement - but considering how easy these readers are to use one-handed, on a crowded bus or train, or sitting propped up in bed - it's possibly less surprising than it appears at first glance.

Apart from the numerous advantages of the readers themselves, the e-books to read on them are cheaper than paper books. They don't use paper, ink or bindings and there are no (or very small) delivery fees.

They are also, for exactly the same reasons, much more environmentally friendly than conventional books - even when the materials and energy used in the production and delivery of the readers themselves are taken into account.

eBook readers, all things considered, have a lot to recommend them. They are the future of reading and, if you read a book a week or so, could well be quite a bit cheaper than traditional books. At the end of the day, it's a matter of personal preference - but an electronic reader may well be an option which you should give some thought to.

About FIRSTeBook:- FIRSTeBook is a world class provider of innovative online digital publishing solutions for ebooks, helping authors companies and individuals all over the world benefit from the growth in online epublishing and ebooks. With offices in London and Amsterdam, FIRSTeBook offers advanced professional publishing services at FIRSTeBook.co, the ebook library and author resource marketplace that also allows publishers to promote, share and sell their publications and other digital content with the world.