Books have been around for centuries, but until recently the way we have read books has changed very little in all that time. Initially the labour intensive copying methods (by hand) meant only the wealthy could afford books. All that changed in the 19th century however, with the invention of the printing press. This massive reduction in the time it took to produce a copy of a book led to a lower cost per book. Lower cost led to higher demand and soon everyone was reading.

The printing press, though more advanced these days, still forms the mainstay of the book industry. That is until the last couple of years, when e-book readers started to filter through to the market. The initial high cost of the e-book readers made them more of a niche product, a toy if you will for early adopters. All this was about to change however.

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Just as Apple had released the iPod at a time when digital music players were almost unheard of only to revolutionise the music industry and forever establish the iPod as the leading MP3 player, Amazon was set to release it's own e-book reader - the Kindle. The plan was simple, to tie in the Kindle to Amazon's own e-book store. Using its position as a leading book seller, Amazon was able to push forward aggressively with setting up the e-book store and procuring agreements with publishers.  The first Kindle was released but initially it didn't take off. Price was still the biggest factor, next was the size. So when the second iteration of the Kindle was released it was both cheaper and lighter.

But while all this was going on in the USA, those of us in the UK were left with only with a handful of expensive e-book readers. Amazon allowed the second generation Kindle into the UK, but without a UK mains adapter it was still a very niche product. By the time the third Kindle came out, much slimmer, lighter and crucially much cheaper, the UK was ready for e-books in a big way.

You can now buy a Kindle almost anywhere, including in Tesco. The decreasing retail price, from £109 for the Wi-Fi only model 3rd generation to the £89 fourth generation Kindle has only helped the e-book revolution. The lower initial cost has made the Kindle desirable to a wide range of readers. From commuters to families to the elderly, the ease of use and ability to carry hundreds of books with you wherever you go, without taking up much space or adding too much weight to your bag. There's also a healthy eco-system of accessories available, Kindle covers being the most prominant.

Amazon got the formula right, offering a desirable product at the right price point and with a huge library of e-books to choose from. The Kindle is now as synonymous with e-books as the iPod is with MP3's and is sure to be a warmly and widely received Christmas present this year. If you do receive one this Christmas, once you've decided on a few books to get started, why not treat yourself to a Kindle cover and take your library with you on your next holiday?