Fellow Microsoftie Omar Shahine posts about Amazon’s Kindle from a unique perspective: as someone who’s actually USED one. The verdict? It’s a winner.
If I think of this device in perspective I think it has a lot of similarities to both the iPod and the Apple AirPort. This device has finally liberated me from stacks of books, and a pc that I need to sync with just to use the device in the same way that my iPod let me carry around my entire music collection (remember mix tapes) and the AirPort let me use my laptop anywhere in my house or at work without finding an Ethernet cable. The Kindle is a portable bookstore that provides a limitless avenue to purchase and enjoy books with an experience that feels book like.
I’ve been considering ordering one of the Sony Readers for some time now, but have held off because of the rumors about Amazon’s entry into the field. Now that it’s here I’m still going to wait– the price needs to come down a bit before I’m willing to bite.
However, the ubiquitous connectivity and support for newspapers is a huge plus.