The New Kindle E-Book Reader from Amazon

The Amazon Kindle is a revolutionary new book reading device launched by Amazon this last year. This reader has been in development since 2003 and is finally available to the general public. There has been so much demand for the Kindle that Amazon has had to put buyers on a waiting list to purchase it. Obviously, this is more than just a new electronic gadget!

The difference between this reading device and those failed attempts at electronic readers in the past is that the Kindle utilizes e-ink. E-ink is a new type of screen that uses no power unless flipping pages and has the look of real paper. This screen will not hurt your eyes like a computer screen would since it emits no light.

With the advances in flash memory, this device is a mobile library. An average book is only half a megabyte, and the Kindle has 180 Mb of internal memory. You can also purchase SD cards to increase the Kindle's memory. You can shrink down a library onto a few cards and put them into your pocket.

This reader also features a wireless connection which allows you to download content from almost anyplace. You do not need a computer to use this device nor do you need to pay a monthly service charge for internet access. Kindle can download the content your purchase from just about anywhere thanks to free cellular support. The Kindle is the first step into becoming a paperless society.

There will be more devices like the Kindle in the future and Sony has its own e-ink reader but the Kindle is the first complete device to come to the market. Sony's reader lacks the wireless connection and many other features that Amazon has incorporated into their reader. The $399 Kindle is priced a bit higher than some of its competitors' products, but the additional features are worth the extra expense.

Amazon has a newspaper service for the Kindle that can save the average user quite a bit of money on paper service. The newspaper is electronically delivered to your reader while you stay in your house. Searching through the paper is a little more difficult than a real newspaper. Blogs can also be accessed either by subscription or through the simple web browser that is incorporated into this device. Prices for new books are quite reasonable at Amazon with most bestsellers selling for only $9.99. Using the wireless connection, you can browse through titles in your recliner at home. You can preview a book before purchasing and when you find a book you like, just push purchase and it is delivered right then. The books are encoded with copy write software making them impossible to copy or move, this is an unfortunate downside to digital media.

Although it will be many years before the average consumer starts trading in their books for e-readers and many people may never do so, many people are embracing this new technology. It is fairly expensive, but it will save the consumer money in the long run and it is makes mobile reading much more convenient. It is easy to foresee a future in which the majority of people have Kindle-like devices. It is unlikely that the book will ever become a thing of the past, but they will certainly decline in popularity as they are replaced by e-books