Dieter Bohn at The Verge has an interesting post about ebooks and its supposed disadvantages versus the paper book.
Bohn is admittedly a little paranoid about buying into the future of reading at this early stage, I find it hard to blame him for that. At the same time, I don't think investing in an e-reader isn't as dire as he makes it out to be.
I have been using an e-ink screen Kindle for quite some time and yes, there's an undeniably nostalgic feeling missing from owning a paper book. As Bohn writes, “There are many who cling to the idea of a nice, good, heavy book and the feel of turning a paper page instead of swiping a screen or pressing a button.” Still, he notes this nostalgia may be “cultural and generational.”
However, all of that is outweighed by the potential of owning a library of books (for recreational, novel- or memoir-type reading) encased in a six-inch screen. The only downside to an e-ink screen is that it requires some draw of power, which means that, yes, it needs to be recharged once every few weeks.
One argument I do feel is peculiar is longevity; Bohn points out that companies that serve up the ebooks won't be around. I don't see Amazon folding any time soon; plus, the digital locker that Amazon offers means that the books are available where ever one can access a Web browser.
Still, there is one argument I agree wholeheartedly with: DRM. Yes, the books are available “everywhere,” but they're not shareable (with the exception of book lending), or easily transferred to another format.
I think book publishers need to be shown the light just as the music industry learned years ago that limiting the usability of a product turns off potential buyers. Restrictions do not make something a standard. Amazon and other ebook sellers should settle on an industry standard (perhaps ePub, which the Kindle does not yet support) and allow data portability to ensure being able to keep the data for as long as one would like.
Choosing an e-reader isn't the end of the game. It's consumer prerogative and the demand for printed books will not wane for some time. When it does, perhaps all of the questions Bohn has about e-readers will be sorted out.