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ekaser, what is the primary use for a gadget? There is no question a tablet can be used as an e-book reader. I have a primitive tablet/e-book reader (CyBook Gen 1). However given a choice between the two, I choose an e-ink reader for novel reading. Easier on the eyes, and it doesn't have to be charged up every few hours. A tablet is ok for a light duty reader. And you are right, the majority are only ever going to use a gadget for a light duty reader, at best. (Most likely, they'll never read a thing on it, when they can watch a super-duper hero movie instead.)
But what's wrong with a niche product? Apple's Macintosh computer was a niche product for over 20 years. ( And not a whole lot better that niche today.) Flexibility is good, but not at the cost of the primary use. Your primary use is high-definition color images. Fine. Text oriented user will tend to prefer gadgets that fit their niche needs better. They'll pay more, but enough of them will be around to provide a market.
Will e-ink get supplanted in the niche their in? Probably. but the supplanting devices will have to be bistable (so they use low energy amount AND they don't flicker), and read existing software formats. Color? Probably, but I want to be able to see a product before I'll say it'll take over. For me, and most text readers, image reproduction is a secondary task, not a primary one.
Maybe I'm set in my ways. But you know, in 1995, everything was totally Personal Computer centric, the classic multi-tasking device. Since then, there been a steady growth of "gadget" tech, with a single main purpose, and what ever secondary purposes can be easily added. Portable game players, music players, cell phones, Personal media players, ect. Each one has a primary use, and whatever secondary uses the builders feel is worth sticking in on the gadget. I don't see this pattern going away.
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