Let’s just hope these key decision makers learn from their past mistakes, and think before they speak. Because it wasn’t that long ago when a certain “software” giant predicted that no one would really want to download music in digital format, and another “hardware” mogul arrogantly announced the premature death of Apple Computer… and you see how that turned out.

That said, only time will tell who will win the race. But no doubt, it will be interesting to watch.

I think as long as Amazon is able to work with publishers and have the best selection of titles available at the best prices, they’ll be the industry leader. There has been a lot of talk, but so far Amazon has done the vast majority of the walking. That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement, but I’ve liked what I’ve gotten so far.

The kindle “ignited” the market for a reason. Because it does what it’s intended to do, and it does it very well. The device may be on the expensive side, but the cost of ownership is not; reasonably priced books, great selection, free wireless downloads, larger screen size (DX), and the reputation of a solid company, are just some of the factors contributing to the kindle’s popularity.

As for Sony, they can whine until the cows come home, but unfortunately they’ve lost their edge. And it’s not the first time they let a competitor kick their butt. Apple massacred their once-booming Walkman line, the MiniDisc was a flop, and their e-readers are/were dull and less than appealing. Their previous line of readers offered only one way to download books (via a Windows PC) and was NOT Mac compatible. Is anyone over at Sony awake these days? Who doesn’t own [or want to own] at least one Apple product – hello?!? In addition, like everything else Sony, their e-book prices were ridiculously over-priced. And now they’re pushing for a common book format, how honorable, coming from a company who introduced Betamax, MiniDisc, MemoryStick, and many other proprietary formats, as well that little “root kit” fiasco they pulled a few years back. Unfortunately, the last decade has seen Sony go from a leading-edge technology company, to one desperately trying to copy or keep up with the trend.

I have no issue with completion or other companies jumping on the e-reader train. But let’s not downplay the one device that actually started it all. The rest just sounds like sour grapes to me. If I were Amazon’s CEO, my response would be “bring it on!”