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Radley,
Reader does make sense and WILL replace pBooks for SOME applications, not all. Certainly students will keep using pBooks as well. However, there are many applications where Reader will blow away pBooks, easily.
Consider literature classes. You have to read a bunch of books. The last time I went to a university bookstore I don't think I ever paid less than $100 for anything. So for a single semester you will easily drop $200 or $300 or more. In comparison Reader is not expensive. Especially as many/most of the texts for literature classes are free and available from Gutenberg. Thus one or two literature classes alone can pay for a Reader.
Moreover, who wants to carry around pBooks? Sure it is fine for non-students who use a few books at a time, works great. But how many books students have to deal with? How many papers they have to read and reference later? For them it is a no brainer. Of course they'll jump at the opporunity to copy as many texts as possible into a Reader as it will be much easier to read and recalls/refernce later.
Publishers may not be accomodating and may drag their feet offering eBooks. Sure. Students are very resourceful. Bottom line is that Reader and eBooks are always going to be preferable to pBooks for students.
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