Kindle 2

So, I bought the Kindle two weeks ago, and I am pretty solid. I have long wanted an ebook reader and have been eye balling the SOny Reader or more than a year. I think the aesthetics of the Sony are much more appealing but in the end, for me personally, the wireless access offered by Kindle proved to be decisive. the built in EVDO, in my opinion, is the killer app. It really is a wonderful thing to be able to read a review in the New York Times Sunday Book Review and be able to order and be reading that book in the comfort of your own home (or better yet, a plane) inside of a minute. It's a bit of a paradigm shift to be reading on an ereader versus holding a book, but I can tell you halfway into my first book, that you get used to it pretty quickly.

The Kindle is perfect for me for two reason: I like to read/juggle multiple books at a time, which you can do with ease with the Kindle and you I travel a ton. So for me, it was a near no brainer, although from an economics perspective, it's a somewhat losing proposition (you need to purchase upwards of 40 hardcover books to rationalize cost). That said, it's almost worth the cost not to have the clutter of multiple books around my house; we have literally boxes of books in our garage and others scattered throughout the house.

The device itself is pretty pleasing and sleek, though I think it's going to become quickly antiquated. The one thing I wish it offered was backlighting, but it would have come at the expense of battery life, so I guess it's all a tradeoff. In two years, we will be looking back at Kindle 2 in a similar manner to early generation ipods. And speaking of early generation ipods, and my good friend Apple, I predict we will soon see an Apple touchscreen device that will also serve as an ereader. This device will be a Kindle killer, though in the end Amazon stills win in that any device that Apple introduces opens up yet another new channel for the business that really matters most to Amazon: selling books.

In the end, however, cost structure aside, the truth is everyone is a winner because anything that encourages reading is a good thing.

So, net net: I am both pleased and impressed. And by the way, in addition to books, I'm also enjoying reading magazines and newspapers via Kindle as well.