Are e-Books Hot or Not?

Is there any real-world proof that consumers want to read books on a screen? With Amazon getting ready to roll out Kindle, its e-book reader, there's a lot riding on that question. Still, no one seems to agree on the answer.

The New York Times claims today that "[h]opes for e-books began to revive last year with the introduction of the widely marketed Sony Reader." While Sony hasn't released sales figures, "the Reader has apparently done well enough that Sony recently increased its advertising for the device in several major American cities."

But what the Times sees as capitalizing on momentum, BusinessWeek reads as evidence of desperation. Besides the stepped-up ad campaign, Sony has also cut the device's price and made it compatible with e-books obtained through outlets other than its online store, Connect.

Still, "[r]eviews of the tiny handheld book-reading device have been tepid at best, and Sony Corp. has consistently declined to release sales figures, which just might tell you something," notes BW.

And the anecdotal evidence is not terribly promising: A Borders in Midtown Manhattan is only selling about five Readers a month. That's not exactly what Amazon -- whose Kindle will cost $100 to $200 more than the Reader -- wants to hear.