NuvoMedia launched the Rocket eBook, an early mass-market electronic book reader, in 1998.
The Rocket eBook was designed by NuvoMedia, a Silicon Valley startup founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. The handheld device had a screen for reading digital books and connected to a computer so users could download purchased titles.
Its launch came years before Amazon introduced the Kindle in 2007. The Rocket eBook therefore belongs to the first wave of dedicated e-readers, alongside devices such as SoftBook. Its limited battery life, relatively small content catalog, and dependence on a computer connection made widespread adoption difficult.
A common mix-up is calling the Kindle the first e-reader. Amazon’s device was highly influential and helped make e-books mainstream, but it was not the first commercial electronic book reader. NuvoMedia’s Rocket eBook helped establish the product category earlier, even though it did not achieve Kindle-scale success.