Finally - e-Newspaper Reader!

I wholeheartedly believe at least one of these is going to take off in the next year. The incentives are aligned (if newspapers can continue to monetize ads this way) because production/distribution costs go way down for the publishers, and for consumers there is a huge decrease in waste and the added convenience of having thousands of publications in your hands at once.

Part of me thinks that ultimately laptops and/or smartphones should win out in this market, but there really is something hard on the eyes (I should know...I see a computer screen at least 10 hours a day)...I'd love to test each of them.

I already have an e-newspaper reader. It's called a computer.

How long before the kindle technology is combined with a PDA or pocket PC? maybe with some sort of switch that turns the backlighting off on the screen for easy on the eyes reading.

 I'm not sure how/if they could do that because the purposes of the technologies are so different. When you can ignore dynamic graphics, etc. the e-readers can focus on absolutely sipping power (if you have the wi-fi off, you can read for a week without a charge) and creating a comfortable reading/visual experience. Anyway, I'm talking out of my butt a bit because I haven't used them enough, but that's my $.02

don't discount the power of human ingenuity. There is a market for this because people don't want to carry around a bunch of devices that do similar things. Soon there won't be anymore ipods because cellphones will have usurped that functionality and rendered them obsolete. The same thing will happen to these readers.

It seems like a cool idea, but I couldn't see myself buying one.

I think more and more people are discovering online news - the NY Times has a pretty good website, the BBC website is great for headlines, and I believe you can get AP/Reuters via Google for free?

I'm am actually surprised that they are spending money on trying to do this... I remember when it looked real cool in 2001: A Space Odyssey - but that was before we all had cell phones.  Where I live in Orange County almost nobody gets a printed paper... everyone uses the internet - desktops, laptops, iPhones, etc.  You can go to any number of news sites - some even use different background colors so it is easier on your eyes.  ...and they typically are all free.

I question how much sales potential this has as many of the younger generation don't get a delivered paper anyway... or even want to.

So it looks like the Kindle is Oprah's new favorite gadget (for whatever that's worth).  According to this post in Wired, you can get $50 off the sales price...

Not only should her endorsement alone boost sales significantly, but Amazon is also promoting a discount of $50 off the sales price to anyone who purchases a Kindle before November 1 and uses the code “OPRAHWINFREY.”

Now, I can't say either Oprah's endorsement or the $50 off makes me super inclined to buy one when I can use my computer (which I have a tendency to sit at for large portions of the day)...but I have no doubt that there will be plenty of folks who give it some consideration.