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It would be a bad thing for ANY 1 company to rule e-books (with the possible exception of Google since they are freedom of information good guys mostly).
Diversity is the key to fostering a healthy ebook industry. I know I always mention it, but if Apple's tablet does really come out in October, that will dramatically effect the ebook industry imho. Because of the appstore/itunes and Apple's standing with copyright holder (publishers, TV studios, Movie studios) you can see them getting a good ebook pricing schedule and putting a lot more competition into ebooks pricewise.
A touch device with color, touchscreen, appstore, modern design will also light a fire under other manufacturers probably (in the way the iphone made smart phone companies get moving). So ideally it would improve hardware standards and innovation, currently most ebook readers are clunky and feel like they could have been designed in the 90s, to say the least.
Currently the ebook/publishing industry is still in it's early years, it's similar to where the music/movie industry was in 2002, poor customer service, poor pricing, but it will only get better and eventually paper books will be the medium at a massive disadvantage.
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