E-readers obsolete?

I strongly disagree. Too many examples of the ereader doing what a laptop cannot. I would still prefer to have an old fashioned book, but when I cannot, a kindle beats a laptop hands down. Both of my laptops are battery hogs, and a netbook would not cut it either. I think you guys blew it on this one. One of my colleagues has pdf datasheets with him when he travels- it would take something like 15 pounds of hard copy to replace that. Almost sounds like the author has not used an ereader.

Ever try original research instead of parroting other news sources?

I use a Motorola Droid rather than an e-reader or my netbook, and for me it's a better solution than either of those, neither of which would be too slick clipped to my hip. the Droid can play e-books, audio books or even videos and I always have it handy. If I get tired of reading I can play games, manage email or surf the web. It also provides an internet connection anywhere I go and can run a large variety of applications ranging from turn-by-turn audio-visual GPS to weather to flight status. Oh, and it can be used for phone calls as well.

Bought the first Kindle for my 87 year old Mom with poor eyesight and a narrowing vision problem. It's easy to use, font size is adjustable as big as her large print books, it isn't heavy and her width of vision allows her to see the whole screen. Page forward buttons on both sides keep her thumbs from getting tired. It's a winner and brings her back into the Reader's Digest, NYTimes newspaper, and her own choice of books - all things she lost. If only their interface allowed larger font outside of what you read it would be perfect.

I love my e-reader. I use it extensively while traveling. There are several sources to get free books, but now I have purchased several just for the convenience of having it in my pocket. It beats lugging 2-3 big books on a long business trip. I have since bought one for my daughter, and will probably get the wife one for holidays. I also think that e-newspapers are not far off.

My iPhone is my eReader. I have tried the Kindle and Sony, but the eReader app my iPhone is just as good and I always have it with me.

Cherish my Sony eReader. I'm a voracious reader and can easily read 4 paperbacks on a one week international trip. Smaller, lighter, and better contrast than trade paperbacks. I was an early adopter, and laptops are not that easy to use in a coach seat, anyway.

I can see the e-reader for long flights but not much else. Plus, I'll be dragging a laptop along anyway so unless the e-reader is as small or smaller than the paperback I'd throw in the outside pocket of my laptop/camera backpack, it's a non-starter. Plus, I haven't seen a GUI that is as intuitive as flipping pages to find a spot I wanted to re-read to figure out some detail I missed the first time and needed to decipher a reference later on.
Besides, I have somewhere around 1,000 paperbacks on the bookshelves in my den. Am I going to have to re-buy those to e-read them? Ouch!

HUH ?
DIGITAL INK is some profound technology unique to e-Readers ?
WOWIE !
We have indeed arrived at the gates to "clueless".

It escapes me why everyone doesn’t see that the future of E-readers isn’t books, its newspaper subscriptions; with the E-readers being provided as a part of the subscriptions in the same way that cellular phones are now.

I love my kindle. Doesn't replace books but perfect when traveling!

If netbooks and the like had 'digital ink' displays as the ebook readers do I could see your point. But for now, I think ebook readers make sense as useful device. Granted, this generation of devices will be superceded in a short while, but I don't think that makes them obsolete in the way you are suggesting.

Old tech, hard copy is also immune to battery failure or internet connectivity. I always find hard copy an easier to read format than anything on a screen anyway. As long as you have enough light to read by, that hard copy book will still be usable, and if you can read braile, even the light may not matter.

E-readers replace the paperback book, pretty well. They are the same size, and the electronic paper looks - and works - like ordinary paper. Their advantage is you can easily have 50 books in one. Great for reading on the train or on a trip. People I know that have them use them and like them.

To E-readers E-players E-viewers, yes, re-sold again and again. Not to be cynical, but when you get down to brass tacks, the goal of everyone making these things is to find a way to extract money from the world for themselves, and to do it over the long term. An annuity stream is the ideal business - you pay for it up-front for the privilege of being able to use it for a continuing basis for a continuing fee. As soon as the world figures out how to do microtransactions efficiently, you will probably get charged $0.001 per page change plus $0.0001 per page-minute of viewing. No doubt you will be able to copy things out for $0.10 per page, but it will be DRM managed so that it will not copy a second time. And if you take a picture of it with your digital camera it will be a federal offense subject to $250,000 fine and ten years in jail. We are all cattle to be sucked dry. Priorities are inverted. The people are here to serve the government, vs. the government to provide a safe and free environment for people to live their lives. Think about it. Hard.

You talk about Obsolescence but don't offer what will obsolete them. Netbooks and laptops exist now and there still seems to be room for dedicated e-readers. I suspect the non-folding hardware, larger than cell phone screen and longer than netbook battery life are the compelling factors. Future generations of e-readers I suspect will experience some convergance with netbook/net-tablet products. Indeed if a net-tablet does materialize with significant battery life, you will have that obsoleting factor. If we could have something with the functionality of a iTouch/iPhone/Droid but with 2x to 3X the screen size, you would have a pretty nice multi function tool.

I fell for a Kindle 2 on the recommendation of a friend. I love it - nice size to both read and carry in my purse. I also love to be able to check out a new book or go get something different to read without carrying around a big stack of books. However, I do hate not being able to share. And Amazon just sent me a reader for my Kindle books for my PC.

My wife has a Kindle2. We also have desktops, laptops and netbooks. We both like the Kindle by far over the PCs. The Kindle battery charge lasts for weeks, it is by far smaller and lighter than the netbook, and it doesn't blow hot air onto your lap. I can toss it into the car or truck... can't do that with the netbook. Plus it boots up in a couple of seconds and has free wireless email capability anywhere there is cell phone service. I don't regret the purchase, the only thing I'd like to see is a consumer replaceable battery instead of sending the unit back to Amazon for battery replacement.

All of the comments are valid, however I use the ereader for a very specific use. That is during flights back and forth to Asia. PC batteries don't last long enough. The PC is too cumbersome. Carrying multiple books while traveling is too cumbersome. for me the ereader works well under these conditions.

I wonder what fraction of scribed's 50 million "readers" are people snared with a body hook as they try to find something online? Recently I keep getting snared by them looking for various computer documentation. Instead of the original document, I end up in their (unwelcome) UI / reader, stuck in their contraption. To me it is just another disfunctional snare trap that gets in my way via a flood of google entries obscuring and getting in the way of what I am looking for. They are interfering with the useful functioning of the internet and google search for their own fun and profit. So don't conclude that people gleefully availed themselves of their services 50,000,000 times. Perhaps 49,999,990, but I would guess that I am not the only one. They were "read" because they intercepted someone trying to find something.

I have a Kindle I really enjoy, and the daily newspaper delivery, and portability of the device, but I think the paradigm shift will occur when ready-access is made to ALL forms of documents in simple pdf form. I store as much as I can as pdf! It is completely portable, savable, and user friendly, but it is still evaded by most information/document offerers since it reduces their $$$$ and control.

I have one. I don't regret having one and I use it all of the time. It is simple to convert any book that I download/scan on my computer into the ebook format and load on to the ebook.
The ebook is (much) smaller than a laptop, runs forever, and is easier to read than a laptop (except in the dark - which I can't do with a paper book anyway).
I never lose my place in the ebook, even if I close that book and open another.
I am slowly converting all of my paper/hardback books over to be read on the ebook. I can carry a library in a book smaller than a paper notebook.
It may not be for everyone, but it is for me.

I can't see myself investing in another single-purpose gadget when I can download books to my Palm organizer or read them on my laptop. Too many gadgets to get lost or broken, too many adapters/power supplies, too much stuff to lug around. The name of the game is convergence.

Ditto for the Xmas idea...

E-readers (huh ?) - why ???
Let's see - I have an E-player for my music, I have a (generation old) E-viewer for my video, and now an E-reader for my printed text ???
All of which can be viewed on my P.C. - but which is cumbersome to watch, listen to, or "view" - - - - but, not as cumbersome as schlepping each of these gadgets ?
How long before we change the E-thingie again so that the content can also be re-sold to the consumer - again - - - - and again - - - - -- - - and - - - - again ??????!!!!!!

I won an e-reader as a prize, but haven't been able to bring myself to actually buy e-books. It doesn't seem right, when I usually just check hardbacks out from the library (actually, I usually listen to audio books on a long commute).

There goes that idea I had for your Christmas gift.