As a lawyer of a certain age – ie I started out before PCs and emails, when cutting and pasting documents actually meant cutting and pasting typed documents and then photocopying them – I am more used to handling paper, printing out documents and scribbling handwritten notes on them. I have, of course, moved into the technological age, but reading documents in paper form is still more comfortable – quickly turning from one page to another and flicking back several pages to cross-refer.

However, reading documents away from the office and away from home means printing out large numbers of separate pages and carrying them around to and from meetings – good for the arm muscles, but not so good for the preservation of the planet (we must all show our green credentials these days). Someone has even suggested that paper, being a finite resource (even if recycled), will eventually become a scarce commodity!

I was greatly surprised how easy it was to read documents on the e-reader and, being the size of a piece of A4 paper, it was much easier to carry around. Being sensitive to security issues, I only printed non-client related PDF documents on to it – I understand that a password-protected system will soon be installed. Scribbling notes on PDFs was also easy, as was book-marking certain pages to which I needed to return on a regular basis. Comparing it to a paper document, flicking between pages was no problem at all.

I found the buttons on the side of the machine wrongly situated – I found myself holding the e-reader just where the buttons were and, therefore, inadvertently turning the pages. Also, when I scribbled on the document, my hand rested where the buttons are – I have since found out that you can disable the buttons. [You can indeed disable up to all of the case keys for just this reason. Rupert White, Gazette]

The security issue is important – in case you are carrying around a large number of documents on the e-reader and leave it on the train – but there are more important security issues than just leaving part of a document. In future, the e-reader will be password protected.

The battery life needs to be improved – it seems to use up power even when switched off. Also, the pen takes a bit of getting used to – the print appears after you have written, rather than as you are writing. [iRex people tell me they are constantly improving response speed for writing – but because of the way the screen works, and it’s a screen that is in almost every other e-reader out there, it’s not possible to completely wipe out writing lag. RW]

Back to advantages. Another is being able to make handwritten notes on the notepad – much better than scribbling notes on loose pieces of paper – as the notes are all in one place.

The ability to download newspapers and legal periodicals on to the e-reader will, I think, be tremendous. I spend a lot of time commuting each week and I use that time to catch up on professional reading. It’s often difficult to read newspapers on a crowded train, but the e-reader makes that task so much simpler.

So, deciding if I would buy this machine, I think the answer would definitely be: ‘Yes – technology certainly has its advantages.’

Roger Gregory is a partner in the London office of Brown Rudnick