I see a lot of assumptions going on here. Yes, many of us are focusing on the negative aspects here, but those are serious aspects that will be significant barriers to making a successfull market here. Are e-books are solution looking for a market or a market looking for a solution? I believe it is the former, hence my poor prospects for the future.
200 stores? Is that really impressive when that breaks down to an average of 4 per state? Will every state get a Borders with one of these? Will all the Borders in, say, New York state eat up my state's average of 4 stores? Heck, I can throw a stone from my house and hit 4 within a 20 minute's drive.
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Once readers see first-hand how good the E-Ink displays are, they'll want one for the readability and convenience.
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Maybe for a few, but I doubt it. I think most people will shirk from the price tag, even more people will just say "neat" and move on without considering buying one. Paper books are just as readable if not more so; the convenience factor pales when all someone is carring around is one paperback, which does not require batteries, works great in the sun, has instant random access, and can be turned in to their hole-in-the-wall bookstore for credit for more books.
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I think out-of-print sales could really benefit from ebook technology since there is no store house or logistic of reprinting to mess with.
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Those books went out of print for a reason - there was not enough perceived demand to make it worth paying the taxes on inventory required to keep a backlist in print. The ebook market is still too small to challenge this; notice what's happening in the iTunes world, or the Sony adverts we've see so far: blockbuster best sellers.
The cost of digitizing and proofreading titles old enough not to have an electronic manuscript are not insignificant for a major publisher, as well as examine or re-negotiating contracts, tracking sales and payment of royalties, and all the overhead the office operations incurr.
I'm trying to be optimistic, but I can't. If we were talking about a $100 device that came with 5 free books and a one year subscription to Time, I could see selling some units. All I can see right now is another Gemstar.