Well, I've been using my Kindle regularly now for a couple of weeks, and
I like it. I don't love it like I do my iPhone, but I like it, and it
has made finding and getting ebooks as easy as I was hoping. However,
there are few things that do bother me that I think could and should be
improved:

– The next page/previous page buttons on both sides of the device are
really just in the wrong place if you are using the Kindle in the cover
with which it comes. I hit those buttons by accident at least once
every time I'm reading. How on earth does it make sense to put buttons
in places where you will naturally hold on to the device? This is
analogous to putting the call and end buttons on a cell phone on the
sides where you grip it to hold it up to your ear. I know people
somehow get used to this with the Kindle, and some don't even find it
to be a problem at all, but I'm at a loss as to how they do this. I
have small hands and I'm not an uncoordinated person – Amazon needs to
find a user interface/ergonomics professional and fix this. So far,
this is almost enough of an irritant for me to cause me to not recommend
it to others.
– There is no way to create custom folders to store your content. Call
me crazy, but I like to have my stuff organized (I own two label makers
– two, I tell you! A place for everything and everything in its place.)
and I am a bit frustrated that I can't group all of my Samples in one
folder, Books I've Read in another folder, and Books To Read in another,
etc. Why won't they let me create my own folder structure to do this?
My Kindle home screen is already spread out over 3 pages and it looks
messy with no rhyme or reason. Yes, I can choose to display everything
by newest first, author, title, or a few other options, but none of
these really meet my needs. Amazon: please allow users to create their
own file structures to manage their content!

So, those are my two gripes so far. As expected, I have already
purchased more books than I ordinarily would have if I were buying paper
books. And the reading experience continues to be just about as good as
reading paper (with the exception of the next page/previous page button
issue, as noted).

With my luck, though, Amazon will have version 2 of the Kindle out that
will address all of my gripes (and in a nicer package!) shortly. And
this is why eBay is my friend.

Well, I gave in and purchase an Amazon Kindle ebook reader. If you're
not familiar with this device, you can see Amazon's description and
information at www.amazon.com/kindle.

I love reading, and prefer ebooks
over paper books. I had used Palm PDA's in the past, purchasing many
books from eReader.com, building up a small ebook library of about 75
books over the years. I used to love using my PDA for reading – since I
carried my PDA almost everywhere, I had a book or two to read during any
downtime I encountered while out and about. And with a backlit screen,
I never needed any additional lighting to read. But my PDA slowly fell
to the wayside with the acquisition of a Treo (and I could barely stand
to read anything on that tiny screen), and then my iPhone has superseded
all other gadgets I used to carry, but has no dedicated ebook reader
application (at least on my primary unhacked iPhone, anyway) nor an easy
way to get books I want to read onto it.

My commute to work has increased dramatically with a recent move, and
I'd rather not spend the free time I do have on the weekends hunting for
books to read. So goes my reasoning to support the ordering of a Kindle
reader on April 1, which arrived yesterday.

I've had just a little time to play with it after un-boxing it last
night and then using it to browse the Kindle book store and read a
little while on the train this morning. A few first impressions:

– It's not as ugly as I was expecting. In the pictures I'd seen
online, it appears to be hideous, but it's not all that bad in person.
– As already mentioned in many of the reviews I'd read when researching
the Kindle, the screen is quite nice and does truly feel like reading
regular ink on paper. The only distraction is the temporary flash when
changing pages. But it's not too bad, and I've already learned to tune
it out while reading.
– The next page button on the right side is already threatening to
drive me nuts – I hit it accidentally quite frequently. I'm thinking
(hoping) this has something to do with the fact that I'm using the cover
that came with the Kindle that encourages me to try to hold onto the
Kindle while it's inserted since I'm worried about it falling out (the
cover does not hold it in very securely and I'd already been warned
about how easy it comes out). I definitely think I'll be looking into a
sleeve case to simply remove the Kindle entirely to use naked.
– The Whispernet feature is absolutely fabulous! I love being able to
browse the bookstore on the fly and not need to connect to a computer to
get books. Of course, this is pretty much the primary feature that
attracted me to the Kindle in the first place over other ebook readers
out there. I have good coverage at my house and through my entire train
route.

Now, here's hoping that the Amazon Kindle bookstore will continue to
grow its collection of available books! The works of some of my current
favorite authors are available, but not all series in their entirety.
And, I'll have to be careful to not go overboard on buying books – I
must check out what's available for free through Project Gutenberg to
start…