This is it. Here comes the iPad. The electronic device has been introduced to society that will soon make the printed book as extinct as a theropod from the late Triassic< period. We knew it was coming. We've lived through such awkward, cold, evolutionary incarnations as the Kindle. Now we have a product that makes it once again fun to read via a computer screen, while giving the user a personal experience with the page. We all remember where we were when VHS tapes were overtaken by DVDs. Now you can say you where there--at that very moment--when the apparatus arrived that made printed books go the way of 8-track tapes, CB radios, and the Walkman.
Though we will miss books, we have to applaud the iPad-- it's going to save the publishing industry. Struggling newspapers and magazines will now have a reason to put up pay walls for content. (In turn, writers can once again make a decent living.) Imagine a world of tomorrow when book publishers will once again give descent-sized advances to authors being how inexpensive it will be to publish electronically.
The iPad is also going to tear things open in regard to education. Think of all the college students who will be able to afford text books once they're offered electronically; imagine being able to access every book in a public library. The cost of an iPad is bound to come down to where it's affordable to everyone. Compare the cost of the first DVD player opposed to the cheapest DVD player of today. (Around $20.) Think of the cost of the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X ($3,995) compared to any given cell phone of the moment.
Being one who has written written a few books, I'll miss the printed page. Just like I miss albums, writing letters, and having a landline. But it's time to look towards the future of reading--and I believe iPad is that future.