Amazon.com's Jeff Bezos unveiled the much-anticipated electronic reading device Kindle to a roomful of reporters and bloggers in New York this morning.

The $399, 10-ounce device comes with free wireless access and is so easy to use that a 90-year-old could figure it out (luckily, the font can be enlarged). In addition, the electronic ink technology makes the font look like it's on paper instead of a computer screen, and the battery lasts an impressive 30 hours. It holds 200 titles and comes with subscription offers for major newspapers, periodicals, and blogs. And, at $9.99 for the latest bestselling release, it's a temptation for any book lover.

Yes, it's cool. But will it put Barnes & Noble out of business in the same way that the iPod helped to shutter CD shops? Not likely.

For starters, a much bigger slice of the population likes books as physical objects more than they did compact discs. They lend books to friends and store them on shelves and coffee tables for decorative purposes. So far, photographs and illustrations do not translate well to electronic devices, which means entire genres have not gone digital.

Content geeks will likely balk at paying $1.99 for monthly access to their favorite blogs, and news junkies will not be pleased that their $14.99-per-month New York Times subscription doesn't include updates in real time throughout the day.

However, there is a lot that's impressive and practical about Kindle. The electronic-book conversation started soon after the internet took off, and yet there still isn't a lot on the market. Kindle will surely advance the dialogue further than any other attempt before it. The free wireless is a huge bonus, and Amazon has made shopping so simple it's bound to make an impact on consumers' credit cards.

Frequent travelers will appreciate the ability to bring a small library on their beach vacations instead of lugging a few volumes. Commuters who painstakingly try to avoid elbowing their neighbors as they plow through the Wall Street Journal on the train will relish the quiet, ink-free ease of the handheld device.

But today probably won't be remembered as the day the book died. Just ask Wall Street: Amazon.com shares slipped in afternoon trading today.