E-readers: Can the Kindle avoid repeating the video-game crash of '83?

This holiday season's must-have gift is, of course, the electronic reader, and the public's craving evokes the Tickle Me Elmo and Furby bubbles of Christmases past. Amazon's (AMZN) optimism remains on high after reporting that Kindle sales in November were the "best" ever, making the online retailer's e-reader its no. 1 product.

Barnes & Noble's (BKS) e-reader, nook, hasn't been sighted in the wild, but recent eBay (EBAY) auctions illustrate how demand is far exceeding supply. (Worse for B&N, the nook's shipping date keeps sliding into the future.) Sony (SNE), too, expects big sales for its e-readers. All of which bolsters Forrester Research's prediction of big e-reader sales for the holidays -- and up to 10 million in 2010.