Once touted as a silly gadget that will never catch on with proper readers, the e-book reader is proving many critics wrong as momentum gradually builds in favor of the technology.

Amazon’s Kindle has much to do with the acceptance of the technology, as well as the flexibility and improved mechanics of the device itself. There are a growing number of bibliophiles who are being motivated by the technology towards the digital age.

Big developments in display technology are improving the usability of the readers like Organic Light Emitting Diodes or E Ink’s displays in the Sony devices. Both are easy on the eyes and making reading in different lights both easy and pleasurable.

Future innovations like low-power and e-paper displays, both of which can be read in direct sunlight are expected to propel e-readers to the next level. It doesn’t stop there either as further down the line there are flexible screens and devices in the works. It is thought that truly flexible screens will hit the market somewhere between three and five years time.

This will enable readers to be paper thin and offer magazines and newspapers as well as book, making them truly multimedia. This is bound to increased the popularity of the technology, among commuter if no-one else! No more folding papers on the train and having to wash the ink of your hands before the mornings meetings, or being wafted in the face by the New York Times by an inconsiderate reader in the seat next to you.

There are also plans to add Wi-Fi and standard internet connectivity to them over the next couple of years. Allowing users to download content on the fly as they need it, and offering publishers another medium from which to bombard us with advertising.

Authors see these e-book readers existing alongside traditional paper books for some time yet. They appreciate that the majority of their audience still appreciate having pages to flip through and the feeling of something solid to hold while reading. Never mind the beauty of a well stocked bookshelf.

Publishers on the other hand are in favor of e-book readers. They have borne the burden of expensive printing with paper for years, and are embracing this much cheaper way of disseminating work to readers. Successful publishers will be those that embrace the technology and make their inventory accessible through it.

It is estimated that at least twenty percent of book sales in the US will be electronic by 2014. That market share is worth over $5 billion, and manufacturers and publishers alike will want a piece of that.

The main barrier at the moment is the cost of the reader. The market leading Kindle currently retails as $299, which is significantly more than the standard $9.99 for a book. Only avid readers and technophiles can justify that kind of expense at the moment. The price of electronic versions of book aren’t all that much cheaper than their paper equivalent at the moment, so there is no real saving.

Once the technology matures and publishers realize they have to offer real value for money in order for this to take off the market will grow substantially.