We all take books for granted. They are cheap, plentiful, and easy to get, but that wasn't always the case. Books are the culmination of many different technologies into an almost perfect form factor. It is that 'almost' which has more than a few companies vying for your interest, and money, in the ebook reader market.

Ebook, as you might guess, is short for electronic book just like email is short for electronic mail. Like email, the ebook hopes to supplant those old, dusty things lining the shelves of your house. A number of different ebook formats exist including: mobipocket, FictionBook, and the Amazon Kindle format. Not every ebook reader can display every format, and in fact some formats can be used only with a particular device.

Which ebook reader will best suit your needs? That depends on what you consider important. We're going to take a look at four ebook readers to get a sense of what's available in the wild, and exciting, world of 21st century reading.