Its actually a lot like the music industry... their wet dream is to sell CDs, vs textbooks. Neither wants to offer digital downloads because it would cut into their margin and they would be giving it to the demographic most likely to pirate it, copy, and give it to others for free.

With Music, it took CD burners to bridge the gap between CDs and MP3's. Maybe we'll have something like that for text books one day so we can start chipping away at the man.

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First, for my college education in economics and legal studies, I received the majority of my textbooks digitally. I used various reading devices to read them in much the same way.

Second, with appropriate DRM (yuck, I know) on a proprietary reader, some textbook companies might jump at this sort of distribution model because (1) it decreases rates of cannibalization of new edition sales by older editions, (2) it decreases rates of cannibalization of current edition sales by used current editions, and (3) it decreases the cost of goods, thus increasing profits.

Third, whether we like it or not, this is where the industry is ultimately going. Amazon represents an opportunity for publishers to test the waters in a controlled environment. Of course, there will always be holdouts (not ALL of my books were digitally distributed), but eventually they will have no choice but to come along for the ride. For now, the risk/reward ratio is not to their benefit -- not even close, as zero of these devices are in the consumers' hands at this point. Nevertheless, eventually it will happen.

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I could while away the hours,

Commentin' on Jack Bauer

And bitchin' 'bout battery drain.

And my arse I'd be scratchin',

While my thoughts were busy hatchin'

If I only had a brain.

I'd ask hobbit riddles,

And say "arse poo widdle",

Twitterin' in vain.

My comments would be stinkin'

Or maybe they'd be blinkin'

If I only used my brain.

Oh, I could tell you why

Apple upgrades ev'ry quarter.

I could recite gadget that work unner-water.

And then I'd sit,

And think some more.

I would not be just a nothin'

My comments full o' cussin'

My hands all full of pain.

I would laugh and be merry,

This blog would be a ding-a-derry,

If I only used a brain...

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Let the next evolution be an innovation that doesn't come at the expense of ground that has been made. Color vs. Battery life vs. form factor (for example) is probably something that couldn't be balanced just yet.

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Symbol has even better versions of these devices w/ ring-mounted scanners and wrist-attached screen.

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*cough* sorry. I tend to lose my patience with stupid people.

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Basic rule is this. Color screens draw more power than black and white. By sticking with just black and white they can save on power, and weight by putting smaller batteries into the unit.

It's a niche item designed for people who do not want to A) Try and read war and peace on their iPhone , or B) Haul out their laptop and kill the battery to it while reading for 2 hours.

I prefer to lug around actual books personally, but when I read 100+ pages per hour and have 6 hours worth of flights to deal with, carrying multiple books gets heavy.

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