This is a little off topic for this site, but the new Amazon Kindle is just about my dream product. I started reading ebooks with my first handheld, a lovely little Handspring Visor. The lousy screen was one of the major reasons I invested in what was then an expensive Palm Tungsten T. I still buy plenty of print books, but my Tungsten T with Mobipocket has been a great solution for RSS, Word Documents, eBooks, and offline reading.

The new Amazon Kindle makes use of digital ink technology, which if you haven’t seen it, is extraordinary. It really is as crisp and clear as print and uses far less power than a regular backlit screen. I’ve figured the killer app in this area would be one that downloaded your morning newspaper for you and let you take it on the road — yes, I still read the newspaper.

The Kindle does this and more. Plus, I’m impressed with Amazon embedding EVDO instead of Wi-Fi. My first thought when I heard about the wireless component was, “great — I’ll have to be in a hotspot.” The EVDO solution is really clever. I also like the dedicated email address so you can email yourself or have others email you documents.

I know it works on Mobipocket, so one of my first questions that isn’t answered is can I sync it to my desktop if I want to? I know part of the sales pitch is that you don’t need a computer for this — but what if I have one and want to sync it up? I’d also love to see if there is any kind of PIM utilities on there. I’m already thinking about ways to get around that if there isn’t. I don’t want to haul 3 gadgets around and I don’t think I want to upgrade both the phone and ebook reader at once. The other element I’ve been hoping for is more of a notebook feature with handwriting capture. The Kindle has a built in keyboard, which most people seem to prefer. I know Mobipocket has note taking abilities, but I’m curious about using this more like a notebook. Did I mention it also plays audio files?

[update: about 1 hr after original post] I just skimmed through the user guide and found out that Kindle doesn’t support DRM mobipocket books. Ummm….didn’t Amazon buy Mobipocket? So I can’t use any of the books I’ve purchased previously? Seriously? DRM sucks, but it’s been the only way to get a lot of the more recent books. The Mobipocket reader has been the best so I dedicated to that one, so I wouldn’t have to juggle 3 different readers. I was psyched when I saw that Amazon bought Mobipocket, because I figured that meant wider support for the locked format. That sucks.[/update]

For the full details see: Kindle: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device

[tags]amazon, kindle, ebooks, gadgets, news[/tags]