Will the Digital Revolution Nudge Printed Books Right Out of the Market?

I was standing in a local bookstore the other day and caught the tail end of a debate between buying a book in print and downloading it onto their Amazon Kindle, and a rather rude comment by a member of the bookstore staff (not to the customer) that digital media was never going to oust the printed page out of the market.

What lies in store for the future of the Amazon Kindle 2?

But is it?

As a member of the printing industry I have to admit to having a very vested concern in the future of digital media. This December Amazon made the announcement that on December 25 it sold more e-books than print books for the first time in history, a move that was probably closely related to the fact that the Kindle was the holiday gift of the season. Is this a trend that’s going to continue?

Now, I could tell you what I think about digital media and where things are going with the Amazon Kindle, Kindle 2 and other e-readers like the Nook and the Kobo, but where’s the fun in that? You tell me-where do you think digital media is going? Will you stop buying print books in favor of their digital offspring?

All comments welcome!