These dedicated electronic readers were the size of a (large and thick) book, with a battery, a black and white LCD screen, and a storage capacity of ten books or so. They could connect to the internet through a computer (for the Rocket eBook) or directly with a built-in modem (for the SoftBook Reader). They got much attention from book professionals and the general public, with few of them buying them though, because of their rocket-high price -- several hundreds of dollars -- and a small choice of books in the digital bookstores available on the companies’ websites. Publishers were just beginning to digitize their own books, still wondering how to market them, and worried with piracy concerns. # The Rocket eBook The Rocket eBook was launched in 1998 as the first dedicated ebook reader by NuvoMedia, a company founded in 1997 in Palo Alto. The investors of NuvoMedia were Barnes & Noble and Bertelsmann. NuvoMedia wanted to become "the electronic book distribution solution, by providing a networking infrastructure for publishers, retailers and end users to publish, distribute, purchase and read electronic content securely and efficiently on the internet". The Rocket eBook could connect to a computer (PC or Macintosh) through the Rocket eBook Cradle, a device with two cables, a cable for power through a wall transformer, and a serial cable for the computer. # The SoftBook Reader Shortly afterwards, SoftBook Press launched the SoftBook Reader, along with the SoftBook Network, “an internet-based content delivery service”. The investors of Softbook Press were Random House and Simon & Schuster. With the SoftBook Reader, "people could easily, quickly and securely download a wide selection of books and periodicals using its built-in internet connection". The device, "unlike a computer, was ergonomically designed for the reading of long documents and books." # Other ebook readers Other ebook readers were launched in 1999, for example the EveryBook Reader, launched by EveryBook, and the Millennium eBook, launched by Librius. The EveryBook Reader was "a living library in a single book", with a "hidden" modem to dial into the EveryBook Store, for people “to browse, purchase, and receive full text books, magazines, and sheet music”. The Millennium eBook was a "small low-cost" ebook reader launched by Librius, a "full service e-commerce company". On the company website, a World Bookstore "delivered digital copies of thousands of books" via the internet. All these ebook readers didn’t last long. People would have to wait to get through the millenium to see the Gemstar eBook in the U.S. and the Cybook (1st generation) in Europe. # The Gemstar eBook