Just got mine today. Only had a chance for a quick play with it at lunchtime, but looks good so far. Very early first impressions are:

POSITIVE

• Connected to wireless network instantly, downloaded a standard paperback length novel in about 30 secs. Very easy (maybe too easy?!)

• Screen seems very clear to read. I closed the curtains to make the room darker and there was no issue, then took it to the window with the sun shining straight on it, and it also looked fine.

NEGATIVE

• I kept clicking the Next Page button on the left hand side to go back a page, instead of the Previous Page one just above it. My instinct seems to be to click on the right to go forward, and then click the same button on the left to go back (I'm right-handed). This will just need a bit of brain training to adjust.

• The screen "flash" when you go to the next page was a bit off-putting. Again, I'm guessing this will get less noticeable the more I use it.

Overall, I'm looking forward to seeing how well it will fit into my daily routine. Pretty well I think - so far, so iPod.

So - those who bought a Kindle: how has your experience been so far?

I have to honestly say, that thing has probably been one of the best gadget / electronics purchases for me in years. I love reading on it and have it with me all the time. I purchased a book on-the-go last week during a short trip to the Basel fall fair - it's simply amazing to purchase new books and have them on your device within seconds.

I wasn't proud of myself when I essentially stopped reading after I graduated from University a couple of years ago (studied English literature amongst other things - and was extremely fed up with it after having to read some 60 books for the final examination ...) But now I'm fully into it again.

Peter

I'm off on a plane today. Is the Kindle likely to be disallowed during takeoff and landing (wireless is turned off)?

I'd ask the the staff - but I'd say they won't allow it because all electronics have to be turned off. While it's functionally a book, it still is an electronic device.

I was actually wondering about how the customs officer will look at it as books are exempt from taxation :-) (they charged it as an electronic device...)

Peter

Was that you today on the 5:07 p.m. train from Zurich to the airport?

regards,

Peter

I love my Kindle. I had pre-ordered the International Edition that was launched on 21st Oct and got mine on 23rd. To be honest, things I like:

1. Portability
2. Ease of ordering content esp Novels, Magazines (already subscribe to The Time and Times Literary Supplement)
3. The way the machine reads - It almost feels like a book
4. Battery life
5. Dictionary - Each word on the kindle can be looked up on the dictionary. There is a small cursor that you bring to the word and it throws up the meaning at the bottom.

Things I hate about the Kindle:
1. International version doesn't have access to the same content as the US version. So, The Economist, New Yorker and many such weekly magazines are not available.

2. I don't like reading newspaper on Kindle as I don't get an overview of the headlines and the satisfaction of flipping all the pages and then, choosing what I want to read. Subscribed to the print version of Guardian Weekly and FT and cancelling the subscription for IHT.

3. I think its not real value for money if you look at it from the point of view that books generally cost abuot $10 - $12 which is the cost of a paperback anyways.

Anyways, love the machine and recommend it for avid readers!

Feel free to PM me in case of questions or you want a demo of the product in a bar where you are buying me beer!!!

i also just bought an ebook reader - the sony prs-300. i wanted something small with a non-reflective screen.

will report how it goes when i get my paws on it...

I've had the kindle2 since March and am thrilled with it. I have the M-Edge platform cover and e-Luminator2 light as well.

I've used it on airplanes during taking off/landing and no one's said anything to me so far.

A good site on ebook readers is http://www.mobileread.com/ - lots of useful info.

Loving the Kindle so far, have used it on a flight to the States, and the practicality aspect makes it a winner for me. I didn't use it during take off and landing just because I assumed it would be an electronic device, but don't know the official line on it.

I've very quickly got used to reading with the device rather than a traditional book and have actually been surprised how quickly I've adapted. If you're the type of reader who likes to have more than one book on the go at the same time, I'd say go for it.

It's going to be interesting to see how quickly it pays for itself, but I have a feeling it's not going to take too long. I could even see me reading more than usual having this device, as it's just so handy.

lately I have been thinking about getting a ebook reader but I am a bit sceptical with the whole reading on a screen thing. I cannot read from the computer screen, is the e-ink technology really that different?

I was considering kindle, sony prs-505 (or 600) or CyBook Opus. One question to kindle users, is the PDF conversion efficient, how does the document look? I will be using the reader for novels etc but also reading scientific articles. would those article be converted properly and be readable? is there a way to test the quality of conversion before actually buying the device? and how does it handle the images?

I can read for hours on the Kindle without fatigue. The screen is very different from a normal computer screen - it feels and looks like paper.
Why don't you go to a Thalia shop near you and check out the Sony reader? The screens are principally all the same - if you like the sony, the Kindle will be very similar.

Peter

got my prs-300 yesterday. i like gadgets and it's cool, but it's pretty hard to get over excited about something that's literally a glorified book.

busy downloading free books from PG so will have lots to read. also installed calibre to manage the books. everything seems to work fine so far. really looking forward to the next train ride now to test it out!

I noticed today that the Kindle for iPhone app has now been launched internationally, including in the Swiss iTunes store.

I've given it a spin this morning, and it works pretty well - I especially like the way it will sync your position in a book between the two devices, so you can read ahead on one, and then pick up exactly where you left off on the other.

If you're not a Kindle owner, you can also create and use a Kindle account on the Amazon store through your iPhone, and just read the content on that - so if you were holding off on buying a Kindle, your iPhone will now give you a kind of slimmed down version of it.

I can't see my iPhone ever replacing my Kindle, but I can easily see occasions where I might read a few pages on an iPhone (say in a long queue or so), where I might not bother taking out the Kindle.

Definitely a handy little tool - and for the unbeatable price of free!

Kindle with Global Wireless launched today ....

Looks like most of urban CH is covered for 3G .... Heatmap

I so want one

I still don't get the point of wireless on an e-reader It takes seconds to transfer material via USB and days/weeks to read it. On my Sony ereader I can bung in an SD card and carry thousands of books with me. Perhaps its for Magazines/Newspapers, but even then you have to pay for a subscription and again you could do a sync first thing in the morning.

I have the iPhone and PC kindle app. We really want the DX (larger version), so we've decided to wait till it's available internationally.

I like both the iPhone and PC applications though. Reading on the iPhone in particular is nice - if your eyes wander on the page while you're reading the small bit of text helps to focus you.

Too bad the text to speech feature isn't activated on non kindle devices. The whole debacle has to do with audio publication rights, although having your text read by a simulated voice is not the same as having it read by an accomplished reader. I have a text to speech reader on my PC, but it won't work with kindle material either. Oh well.....

But the iPhone/PC app is great for recreational, informational reading. One big drawback, and I don't know if this follows through to the actual device, but if I want to cite material read on the kindle, I don't have an actual page number, just a kindle position. I suppose that may become an accepted bibliographic format someday. There are a lot of technical books available on the kindle though, so the citing thing is a problem if you're reading something for an academic purpose.

The wireless aspect is good if you buy something spur of the moment and want to download it while away from your computer. Amazon definitley has impulse buyers in mind there.

The wireless has two functions:

- You can buy books on the go (you have direct access to the Amazon book store from the device) - I've used that twice so far, once in a Swiss hotel and once abroad. It can be useful but it's not essential. It'll also auto-deliver your newspapers and magazines, which is very nice.

- It syncs your bookmarks, the page you're own and your annotations. That's useful if you also use the Kindle app on your PC or on your iPhone. Once you've synced, you can continue reading on your iPhone or PC where you left off on the Kindle.

I wouldn't want to miss the Kindle's WiFi capabilities - while they're not essential, they're very useful (to me)

Peter

The Kindle's been available with global wireless for quite a while - they've just added the larger DX version now to the international line-up.
While the DX's screen looks great, I dont think I'd want to carry that around all the time - the smaller version is perfect for my purposes (as the screen's about the size of a normal book page).

Peter

Ah... I didn't realize the dx was available internationally. Hmm...

I ordered my Kindle DX today - I will let you know about it when it arrives