The kindle is kinda cool but ultimately too pricey compared to competitors who don't force you to buy content.

My main beef with them is that you need to stick to Amazons proprietary bullshit format.

IE: they make you pay for everything, even content you already own in a different format.

At least they opened it up so you can read PDFs on them now.

I own an iRiver "Story", it reads PDF, EPUP, and DOC amongst others. I have not yet encountered a format it wont read.
It even reads CBR, CBZ etc for comicbooks if you're into that.
Basically the main advantage here is that you can just download a book straight from the net and stick it on there with zero bullshit.

I have 4 gigs of books on there right now that I got from torrents. I don't even know how many that is! (thousands?, at least a thousand)

Other supposed advantages of the kindle are it's 3G and online functionality.
You may differ in opinion here, but basically I see little advantage to this.
Chances are there is already at least one device on your person with the ability to surf the net.
The main reason for this is to ease the process of purchasing books from amazon.
I believe in the states the 3G coverage may come free with the Kindle but as for here? I don't know.
Doubtful.

My iRiver has never actually run out of power despite going weeks between charges so I can't say how it holds up to the kindle, which is probably also excellent in this regard.

-------------------------
Ultimately, the most important thing, and the thing that is coolest about ereaders and e-ink is that you can read anything anywhere with all the comfort you would get with reading a book.
You can have a thousand books in your pocket without the bulk or eye-sore of a laptop.

-The Kindle forces you to pay for anything you put on there but has more functions.
Or at least convert it to the correct format for a small fee.
Even doing a simple usb transfer to your Kindle involves first sending a file via the internet (with the new exception of PDFs which can now be sent directly)

-Other brands may have less functions but allow you to read anything you please.

Oh, worth mentioning that the Story has some periphery functions that I never use, such as the ability to edit documents and listen to OGG, MP3, WMA files via an on board speaker or a headphone jack.
I suppose if you're into audio books or music when you read this would be good.

I´ve the small wifi-only one. works smooth, easy access to internet and amazon etc. I´ve over 30Gig of ebooks so don´t really feel held hostage by amazon. The only problem I have is that, compared to the iriver and some others (that are less smoothly operated; I have one too), the Kindle does not have automatic Pdf reflow.. Meaning you can enlarge your pdfs but basically if you want the text to be readable you´ll have to scroll left-right the whole time.. Sucks. It´s possible to email your pdfs to your own amazon adress and they´ll convert them (for a price). Never tried that, but the one book I test-bought at amazon was reflowed and perfectly readable. Hope that makes sense to you, tired as hell.

A neat machine!

I don't get it. Why not just use Stanza on an iphone and not have to carry about another gadget?

Because e-ink is so much more comfortable to read.
An iphone is also quite small to read a whole book on.

I read a bit on it and e-ink seems really interesting. I also read it only uses power when you turn the page which is very cool. I'll check it out at Best Buy when I get back to the states. I guess my only gripes with it are the price and size. It's fine for a woman to put into her purse but I don't want to have to carry a manbag for this thing. I wonder if they could do something like the Nintendo DS and have dual monitors so it can fold in half.

They do come in pretty small sizes.

It's true, they only use power to refresh the page, content already displayed uses no power - hence such amazing battery life on most models.

There are e-readers on display in many places in Beijing if you want to check them out, there are several Chinese brands that are actually of good quality but similar price to foreign brands.

Thanks for your input HuanChu and Aier2, but I'm a bit dense when it come to technology. Can you (or anyone) come up with specific recommendations that beat ordering the actual books?

If there is something wrong with it, how will you repair it in China?

why is a kindle called a kindle? is it supposed to ... kindle... your desire for reading?

What Do You Think of a small laptop?

Wrong on all counts.

I don't know if you can make notes on the kindle but on my e-reader you can. I've taken it to the beach, I've used it while cooking and I would have full confidence in my ability not to drop it in the bath - but I don't have one (Do you?).

I have spilled food on it once or twice and cleaned it no
problem.

I don't know about you but I like having a large library with me everywhere I go.
If the novel I'm reading is a bit heavy for the mood I'm in I like having a wide choice of alternatives.

BTW -yes you can of course see pictures and diagrams.

Can't think of anything else?....it's not socks or something sh*t like that!

Well I don't know about my parents but I would love an e-reader for christmas if I didn't already have one.