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I know I have a minority opinion, but here goes. Yes, those four things are issues, but I also think those are issues the general public doesn't know squat about. I don't think having the right device is going to solve the issue.
People were hesitant to move to CDs because of the high cost of players and discs. But the difference in quality, durability and portability overcame those hesitations. When DVD came out, it supplanted CD much more quickly because people were already used to the concept of optical disc. Again, quality, durability and portability made a difference, and unlike CDs there was not a huge price premium attached to purchasing DVDs.
Proprietary DRM is pain, but that didn't stop Apple from selling a billion downloads, or stop Rhapsody/Napster/Yahoo Music Engine/fill in the blank here from taking a stab at it. They aren't raking in the billions, but they are generating real revenue.
There is an essential difference between electronic books and the other electronic media discussed here. You can't play a video game without an electronic device, nor can you play a sound recording or a video recording. Books, on the other hand, have a 100% non-electromechanical variety. It never crashes, the printed format never becomes obsolete, can change hands without restriction, and doesn't require batteries.
I honestly think electronic books will remain a niche market for a long time to come for the reason I've already stated: they don't solve problems most people have. I see electronic replacements for periodicals (magazines and newspapers with material that has a short but very topical shelf life), for reference works (programming documentation, service documents, how-tos, encyclopedias), and for things like text books. For pleasure reading and general fiction/non-fiction, I think it is going to take a hell of a lot longer. To use a buzz-word, what's the "killer app"?
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