The end of paperbacks...?

VIDEO they say, killed the radio star... and it seems a new gadget could pave the way for the end of paperback books.
Internet giant Amazon has just launched its latest gizmo known as the 'Kindle'.
This handy electronic book e-reader is a handheld gadget which allows users to download book titles from an Amazon library boasting 100,000 titles.
Slightly larger than a Gameboy and actually around the same size as a hardback book, the Kindle has a large grey screen and several buttons to allow you to flip the page forward or backward.
Dubbed by many as the iPod of reading, it is apparently easy to use and it will eventually connect to the web in much the same way as today's mobile phone or iTouch.
While I can almost hear the groans "I don't like change" from the older generation among us, I'll ask just one question.
Is anyone really surprised?
Technology is moving at such a pace now that it's difficult to gauge how anything will not be outdated within weeks, months or years.
I mean, they're now giving away laptops with phone packages?! (Further evidence of a tech world gone mad...) Anyway while the Kindle surely won't completely replace paperback and hardback books it is inevitable that it will change how we read and the whole process of how we go about obtaining a book.
I mean, the prospect of being able to use your credit card to get a copy of the new Harry Potter book within seconds of its release without leaving your home... the possibility is simply staggering.
According to research, in Japan around 50 per cent of the best-selling novels in the latter part of 2007 were originally released as page-per-day serials sent directly to mobile phones.
I'm afraid to say the writing has been on the wall for sometime and that the change is not only possible, it is happening before our very eyes.
To date the Kindle has only been released in the US priced at around $400. While Amazon's e-reader might not be the only one on the market, it could well be the (so far) most widely recognised and easiest to use. The jury's still out on this one I'm afraid.
Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Kindle.
Meanwhile last month another epic store battle ended with Toshiba announcing it would stop manufacturing HD-DVD products such as HD-DVD players in favour of Blu-Ray. Toshiba's announcement, which had been widely predicted in the manufacturing world, cemented forecasters vision that Blu-Ray would be the preferred platform for the High Definition future.
For PlayStation 3 console owners, the news came as a welcome relief given the platform's built-in Blu-Ray player. For those with HD-DVD players I can't help but feel that it's money wasted.