[Prestidigitweeze]

In certain ways, e-readers with e-ink have been a bit like netbooks so far: intentionally limited in power and purpose, and all with the same basic specs. And as with netbooks, our preferences are about aesthetics and ergonomics.

Netbooks have reached the end of their circumscribed life-cycle and have been overtaken by ultrabooks. The difference with e-ink is that the screen is different from that of normal tablets and perhaps more comfortable to read -- which is why so many of us view its inevitable denouement with apprehension.