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My prediction is that ultra thin generic tablet devices will eventually rule the ebook world. 10-11 inch devices with color and touch screens. They will do everything from applications to internet to ebooks to TV to shopping lists to homework.
It's just a matter of time, they will be powerful enough that we won't use laptops anymore, we'll just have an optional keyboard adapter for the tablets.
ASUS will lead the way as a hardware manufacturer they have technological skills to create cheap tablets. Apple will follow up with a more expensive but shinier version which is heavily integrated into their successful app store and has access to all of the TV, Music, Ebooks and Movies around. That will really popularise this type of device. Google will then partner with ASUS and release an Android version which will be great and much cheaper than the Apple device. Geeks will love the Google device but the mainstream will adopt the Apple device like they did the iPhone/iPods.
Then finally Microsoft will come to the table 3 years later with something buggy, proprietary and non-intuitive that tries to emulate the Apple device.
Other companies who lack the combination of hardware and operating system experience will be crushed and will continue to sell poorly implemented reading devices with 1/10 the features of the tablets, eg. Amazon. or they will release poorly designed tablets which people don't like. Main players will be Apple, Google, ASUS and Microsoft again.
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