@Hellmark: Your comments on the costs of manufacturing are sound and IMO, exactly the POV of consumer electronic makers these days.
Though IMO/IME, niche markets for people like us [e.g. enthusiasts] will continue to exist in the long-term [and I daresay, can flourish to a large extent], not just for ereaders but pretty much for every product/service out there, tech or otherwise. I point to the pretty widespread success of smaller scale B&M shops or online merchants that specialize in a select number of products and services, at least in the more cosmopolitan places I have lived in and traveled to like NYC, L.A., London, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo, etc. Want to choose from 100 kinds of coffee beans or 300 kinds of tea? Check. Looking for new and old vinyl LPs? Yep. Hunting for those rare, hard to find/out of print books? How about choosing from a selection of over 200 hot sauces? There is no dearth of options for the enthusiast across the entire spectrum of consumer products/services.
A good thing I think.
And yes, while the old classic Gameboys may indeed be gone, interest in dedicated portable gaming systems remains quite steady, if not higher than ever, if my own observations are correct. Sure, gaming on iPhones and tablets/smartphones is quite prevalent, but the increase comes mostly from commuters looking to pass the time away during their daily grind. Think Angry Birds, Bejeweled...hell, even Texas Hold'em and good old Solitaire. But I still see plenty of hardcore [enthusiast] gamers using Sony PSPs and Nintendo gear, something I don't think will ever change.