Will the Kindle eventually replace the book...? Yes!
But the key word is "eventually"...
Yes...the physical book will become a specialty item...like artist's books are today...
The Internet is not only a "print mechanism"...it is also...and more importantly a "distribution mechanism..."
Of course TV did not kill off Radio...or the Movie Theater...as was predicted... But to survive the Old Media need to establish a "niche" that the New Media can not fill...
Radio was more mobile that TV...and today most of us listen to radio in the car...not at home...(except for NPR which is too good to miss)...
Likewise the movies provide a big screen experience...and a social function...as in "dinner and a movie"...that TV could not quite duplicate...
Consider the dating consequences of: "Lets order a pizza and stay home and watch TV..."
So what will the physical book provide that the Internet can't... How will the physical book remake itself...in view of the massive distribution benefits of the Internet...?
Remember cable news...already has pretty much made obsolete the old network news @ 6:30pm...that was a viewing staple years ago...
And further...look at the dismal plight of the local newspapers...they are dropping like flies...!
So the old style book may go the way of the hand written book and the scriptorium...
But likely its still about 50 years off...and who knows real "books" may become as "collectible" as old hand written books from the 14th Century...! So stock up now before the price goes up...!
