The retail book giant, Borders, have finally entered the market of ebook readers and ebooks by partnering with established UK consumer electronics manufacturer, Elonex. Today they both launched 6-inch eBook reader to feature alongside the new Borders online ebook store.

It comes with a 512mb of memory which can store up to 1000 books, that can be extended to 8000 with the £30 optional accessory pack that contains a 4 gb SD card plus a protective leather case. 100 classics are already preloaded on for free. At 9mm thick and only 180g (compared to the Sony Reader PRS-505 at 260g) it’s thin and light but Elonex’s big claim is the long battery life of around 8000 pages between charges.

The Elonex ebook reader is priced at £189 so right in there to take on the Sony Reader PRS-505 and the more recent Cool-er ebook reader. The Elonex supports ePub and Adobe formats and with the sheer weight of titles on the new Borders ebook store, you won’t be shorty of reading material.

At the launch today. Sam Goult, Marketing Manager at Elonex comments “While the eBook sector is still very much in its infancy, new products like the Elonex eBook give readers a whole host of new ways to enjoy reading their favourite books. At 180g the eBook is so thin and light is perfect for the daily commute or taking on holiday with you. The Elonex eBook is not only easy to use but easy on the eye. It has the great functionality that you can change the font size, rotate the screen, read in direct sunlight and because the screen is two and half times sharper than a computer screen it’s great for people who struggle with their eyesight”

Sam Goult also went on to commit Elonex to a long future in the ebook reader market with promises of further functionality improvements that will not only enhance many people’s futures, but also the environment.

He said “Elonex sees the future of homes, schools and businesses involving eBooks as a way of distributing information, with the ultimate goal of a paperless society which will significantly decrease the nation’s carbon footprint.”