Easy to read... The kindle. Review on Amazon Kindle Touch

There really should be some kind of requirement limiting actual reviews only to actual customers. I am not even a beta tester, just a real person who ordered this item immediately and received it today!

On balance, I'd say it is pretty amazing. Small form factor, fantastic readability - even outside in very bright light. But I am not entirely sold on it yet.

1. I'm trying it now at my second home in Vermont, and Whispernet does not work here. Sadly, this means I have to download titles to my computer and then transfer them to the device. No biggie, but an annoyance. So much for eNewspaper delivery in remote areas! I do think Amazon is being misleading in implying that Whispernet will work everywhere.

2. The screen, while readable, is actually quite small. In practical use this means you are clicking away on the next page button with a kind of videogame intensity, as each page holds not nearly the amount of text that an average paperback does. I might get used to this over time, but right now it feels distracting.

3. Because of the constant next page clicking one does get more oriented towards speed reading than curling up with an eBook in front of the fire kind of reading. Great for the business person who needs to read all the latest pablum about how to succeed in business etc. while in airplanes. Not great for the former English majors( like myself) who like to savor. You can savor pages in books - it is hard to savor and take one's time when you are reading only a paragraph or so on each screen and wanting to click click click to get on with it!

4. I'm already feeling guilty about not adding to my physical book collection, not being able to pass a book onto someone else, etc.( Then again, I feel this way about music I order via iTunes - I still prefer the physical CD, if only to look at it!) But it appears great for ephemera - books you probably won't want to pass onto others, books you should read once and throw away. The trouble is that I'm a book lover - and if you are a book lover you know it's not just about the content, but also about the physicality of cradling a book in your hands. Fortunately I'm a tech lover too, I love my computers, so maybe I'll get over this wistfulness, but as I'm reading on this device I am definitely missing turning some physical pages. And I couldn't IMAGINE giving up the pleasure of a physical newspaper. Indeed, the very idea of clicking away from page to page to page to page to page to read the New York Times would drive me quietly insane.

5. When you spend serious time looking at the Kindle store you'll be amazed really at how limited it is right now. But because it is Amazon this will surely change, as Amazon is to books as iTunes is to Music. But in the meantime, it's definitely a meager selection. And for me, many of the titles I buy I would never want in e form - photography books just don't cut it in this format, for example!

So with all this, why did I buy it? And why am I considering keeping it? Well, It has that fantastic instant gratification thing going for it - at least it does in those areas where Whispernet will work. I just love thinking about a title and having it the next minute, just as I can with music for my iPhone and iTunes. Once I'm back home in Boston - where I expect Whispernet will actually work - I know I'll love that aspect.

I also like the idea of traveling with one small device rather than my usual six books( although the six I'd want to bring probably aren't available on Kindle yet!).

But mostly I bought it and may keep it simply because it is a glimpse of the future. In my book, that makes it worth every penny! And I'm giving it four stars if only to encourage more pioneers to try it, because the more of us buy it, the more titles we will( eventually) be able to download.

And THAT is a good thing!; -)

UPDATE: Well, I've spent two days with it now and I am about to return it. The screen size is just TOO small to get any content continui