While the Kindle might be synonymous with e-book readers in most people's minds, the first reader to sport an electronic ink display wasn't made by Amazon. The Sony LIBRIé hit stores in Japan in early 2004, and while early users marveled at its print-like display, they didn't love that books purchased for it expired after 60 days. Sony eventually introduced a cousin of the LIBRIé, the Reader, in the US a couple of years later, but was never able to attract many buyers — requiring a PC to download and transfer books was just one of many obstacles to widespread adoption.
Rojas and Block are the founders of gdgt, a social gadget site helping users get better answers and product reviews.