Last week, it was announced by online product retailer Amazon that its e-book reader - the Kindle - has become the number one bestselling item in terms of both unit sales and dollars across all categories on Amazon.com.

This is hardly surprising, according to editor of Stuff magazine Fraser MacDonald, who explained that e-book readers have slowly gained popularity in the UK and are making it much easier to read any book the owner wants with the same piece of kit.

He explained that with Sony launching a pair of readers this year, alongside the release of the Kindle in the US and a number of rumours regarding Apple, Microsoft and Asus about e-books, it looks like 2010 will be "a big year for e-book readers"

Mr MacDonald added: "What seems a fairly mundane activity - reading a book - is getting the attention of big companies. Yes, big things are going to happen next year and there are going to be some big squabbles in the industry about it I imagine."

Last week, Barnes & Noble announced that it was launching its own e-book reader to keep on top of the developing trend.

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