I love the new Kindle DX, but I'm not sure whether the envisioned e-textbook application will really catch on. I agree that the biggest obstacle is the typical usage pattern. Alphapheemail, you're totally right, everyone wants to be able to highlight or mark up the book, or dog-ear a page, etc. Plus (from the article):
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"It didn't lend itself to the way students actually study," said Paul Klute, who runs the university's e-textbook project. "The students skip around, they look for key words, they look for pictures or charts or graphs. … They wanted to be able to jump to Page 29 without having to push a button 29 times."
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I completely agree.
Still, the cost factor may become relevant as well. Looking at a small selection of >$50 physics textbooks on Amazon, the typical Kindle version is 25%-60% cheaper than the hardcover version. At those rates, and given the price of most science textbooks, even the Kindle DX would pay for itself in just a couple of semesters.
One book was $740 in hardback and only $207 for the Kindle. Heck, the Kindle pays for itself with that book alone.