kindle
Disclaimer: Amazon did not pay me to write this review.
Get the danged Amazon Kindle. Now. I'm not even kidding about how cool it is. It really is the future of book reading. What's so awesome about it?
It's Compact
It weighs 10.3 ounces. Add an SD card, and you have about an extra ounce. What do you get for ~11 ounces? Jaw droppingly epicness. I personally have both the Ender and Shadow series (Orson Scott Card), the Harry Potter series (J.K. Rowling), about four Python reference books, most of Dan Brown's work, about ten or so sci-fi books, 1984, Animal Farm (George Orwell), a thriller or two, the His Dark Materials series (Philip Pullman), another ten light novels, and the Inheritance Cycle (Christopher Paolini), to name a few, all on my Kindle. Whew, if I wanted to carry that around with me on a daily basis, it'd be a really big hassle.
The E-Ink Screen Is Gorgeous
LCD screens use liquid crystals. E-ink uses e-ink. This means that staring at a computer screen all day strains your eyes and makes your regret reading the Bible in PDF format. Reading the same material on the Kindle, on the other hand, is a joy. It gets easier to read with more direct light, just like regular ink on paper, so you can go out there and enjoy a book in the park without the glare or eyestrain.
The Battery Lasts A Long Time
I bought my Kindle right before a car trip to Laughlin, Nevada from LA. A four hour ride, and I read nonstop the whole way. It didn't run out of battery. E-ink takes no battery to maintain its state, so theoretically it could stay on indefinitely (it actually doesn't due to a small power draw to do stuff behind the scenes). Reading sparingly, you could easily make the battery last a week before recharging.
Whispernet
The main thing that distinguishes the Amazon Kindle from competing e-book readers is the existence of Whispernet. This thing is Amazon/Sprint's gift to mankind. A free cellular network that allows you to connect to the Internet almost anywhere at anytime. Check your Kindle coverage before buying, though. With Whispernet, you can surf the Web, subscribe to blogs, magazines, and newspapers, and access the Kindle Store, a repository of over 180,000 books and counting. Not only are they available instantly, these books are cheap due to a lack of brick-and-mortar maintenence fees. Almost all New York Times bestsellers and new releases are only $9.99.
Smug Snobbishness
One advantage of Whispernet is the ability to get books at the least of your whims, and possibly show off to your friends. After an exam, my friend pulled out Brisingr (Christopher Paolini) to read, and was silently rubbing it into my face. I promptly connected to the Kindle Store and bought it. The look on his face was priceless.
Their Customer Service Rocks
Amazon Kindle customers get their own toll-free number, run by competent operators and unhindered by long hold times. I'll say that again. Hold times are minimal. Everytime I had a problem, the guys there did their absolute most to help me. Replacements were sent with minimal hassle and tech issues were fixed quick as a flash. It's so good, I almost want to weep for joy.
Miscellaneous
The interface is really intuitive, and the buttons are placed just right. The built-in dictionary gets used maybe twice a week, which is a lot more than I used to use a dictionary. The case is nice, aesthetically and functionally. Four color grayscale + dithering is really restrictive when displaying pictures, but really nice when reading manga. The music player function is like an iPod Shuffle; you can't choose the songs. PDF support would've been nice, but I can deal with converting it. The new Kindle DX supports reading PDF files on its ridiculously large screen. Annotation on the thing is sorta stupid, so I never use it.
Final Thoughts
If you're an avid reader, buy it. If you're not and want to become one, buy it. It's a bit pricey, but it's been worth every penny. There are rumors flying around about the Kindle 2, so wait for it for what it's worth. And now there's a Kindle DX, and I'm pretty sure there'll be newer and newer versions if you keep waiting. But by all means, get one today!