Kindle Fails To Spark

Yesterday Amazon's Jeff Bezos launched Kindle, their new $400 e-reader that he claims will become the iPod of books. Previous e-readers have failed to catch on, but the Kindle, which can hold 200 books, does have some nifty features, including the ability to wirelessly download books, blogs, magazines (Time Magazine: $1.99/mo), and newspapers (New York Times: $13.99/mo.) New content is pushed onto the Kindle via a free network called "Whispernet". Once you've subscribed to a source, it automatically appears in your device.

Some have noted the product's name in reference to Ray Bradbury's famous novel about book burning, Fahrenheit 451, but Bezos claims the name is a reference to "rekindling" an interest in reading. Yeah, whatever. While reviews have been generally unkind, citing the device's lousy web browser among other issues, I can sorta see myself using a Kindle, as I am not a book saver - once I read something, I usually give it away shortly after. But with the Kindle's cost and limitations, I'm not that blown away. I wanted an MP3 player the minute they came out. For the Kindle, not so much.