I like the idea of the E-reader as I think it will encourage me to read more during my commute. However I am put off by the price of content.
Looking at the Amazon and Sony US models it seems the price of ebooks is very similar (and in some cases more) than the price charged for print versions. I was surprised at this and baulk at paying comparable prices for digital versions as for the hard copy, with no second hand market available and no possibility for me to lend books to friends when I've finished reading them.
If I end up getting an ereader I guess that I will very likely end up using it primarily for catching up on out of copyright classics such as the ones available at
www.gutenberg.org whilst waiting for the publishers to get their pricing policy in order
Are there any other good sources of free / low cost ebooks?
Also how do you see the e-book market progressing in the future?
A good use of DRM for me would be things like the possibility of "renting" books (say by paying 10% of the selling price per day with the DRM controlling an expiry date). Does this exist already somewhere?
I can also imagine a situation where authors completely bypass publishers and sell their e-books to the consumer direct. Does anything like this exist already? If so where and what is the quality of content like?