E-Ink is the Best Tech For Digital Dead Tree Replication: There's no doubt at all that e-ink is a great tech for replicating black-and-white dead tree content read at a snail's pace, while you're miles away from power. But even if they solve the color problem, there are a few more nasty items on the to-do list. Sony has all but proven that any kind of backlighting and finger touch interface destroys the benefits of e-ink. The touchscreen Sony models are not easy on the eyes, because of their tremendous glare. The so-called touchscreen readers from IRex are actually powered by Wacom pen technology—you can't turn a page with your finger.

Crippled as these more "advanced" readers are, they still don't come close to approaching the functionality of a true tablet. The Apple and Microsoft tablets will be capable of decent book presentation, but will also play back TV, movies, music, web pages and hybridized print media. Movements of your finger (in fact, many fingers) will be registered in realtime, and if it gets too dark, you'll be able to bump up the brightness without the screen suddenly looking like a 1930s movie-house ticket booth.