title_body: What was the first commercially available eBook reader?
upvoted_answer: I think NuvoMedia's Rocket eBook was the first e-reading device. IIRC it was released in 1998. SoftBook also made a pre-1999 e-reader; it was the confluence of two competing technologies (plus Microsoft's software reader) that led to the formation of the Open eBook Foundation and the creation of a single, open e-book format.