I could write a long list of stupid design decisions they made with the Kindle (it leaves nasty marks in my hand when I hold it in my preferred way), but... the utility of it is amazing.
And I live in Europe so I can't even download stuff over the wireless. I have to buy it on Amazon.com and then copy via USB. (Which is painless, even tho.)
I use it to get American / English books near instantly, at 1/5th the cost of having them shipped from Amazon DE.
I use it to travel -- which I do a lot. I can read upwards of a book a day, since I read about 80-100 pages an hour, even non-fiction.
Do I still buy paper books? Yes, I love them.
Does the Kindle free me to buy books I wouldn't otherwise, because of the weight, size, expense and time involved? Absolutely.
I bought the Kindle 1 in November and I already preordered the Kindle 2. There's no turning back for me.
As for the DRM, I don't really care. Say I can pay $8 for a novel or $12 to see a movie in a theater.
The novel is cheaper, even if I couldn't read it over and over and over again -- which I can. After seeing the movie in the theater, I can't watch it again without paying again.
I look at the Kindle as a kind of movie theater convenience for books, with the built-in ability to read anything I want again, as long as I want. Works for me.
And I live in Europe so I can't even download stuff over the wireless. I have to buy it on Amazon.com and then copy via USB. (Which is painless, even tho.)
I use it to get American / English books near instantly, at 1/5th the cost of having them shipped from Amazon DE.
I use it to travel -- which I do a lot. I can read upwards of a book a day, since I read about 80-100 pages an hour, even non-fiction.
Do I still buy paper books? Yes, I love them.
Does the Kindle free me to buy books I wouldn't otherwise, because of the weight, size, expense and time involved? Absolutely.
I bought the Kindle 1 in November and I already preordered the Kindle 2. There's no turning back for me.
As for the DRM, I don't really care. Say I can pay $8 for a novel or $12 to see a movie in a theater.
The novel is cheaper, even if I couldn't read it over and over and over again -- which I can. After seeing the movie in the theater, I can't watch it again without paying again.
I look at the Kindle as a kind of movie theater convenience for books, with the built-in ability to read anything I want again, as long as I want. Works for me.