Amazon’s Kindle promises wireless paper-free reading

If the space-age family the Jetsons had a library card, it might be the new Kindle wireless reading device.

The battery-powered device is lighter and thinner than your typical paperback--just 10.3 ounces--and can store more than 200 different book titles at a time.

The Kindle is the latest wireless reading device on the market, and touts a “revolutionary” high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper. It joins a growing field of other eBook digital readers that strive to put a collection of books in the palm of your hand. Thanks to such wireless reading devices, avid readers can now download the latest best-sellers, newspapers and magazines right into their handheld eBook devices.

Kindle is produced by Amazon, one of the biggest book distributors on the web, which no doubt hopes to conquer the booming digital reading market.

Amazon claims the Kindle is better than its competitors thanks to its crystal-clear screen and ease of use. Whereas other eReaders require the user to dock the device to a PC to download material, Kindle is totally wireless. Simply download books and periodicals using a wireless connection.

Wireless just about anywhere you go

There’s also no need to track down a hotspot. Rather than wi-fi connections, the Kindle uses the same high-speed data network (EVDO) as advanced cell phones, so you can download titles easily just about anywhere you go.

When you buy a book, it is automatically delivered in less than a minute. You can shop the Kindle Store for more than 120,000 titles. New York Times best sellers and other new releases typically cost $9.99, with no additional fees. You can also download the first few chapters from a book for free before deciding whether to buy.

You may also download top U.S. newspapers including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post and top magazines like TIME and Forbes, as well as leading international newspapers.

Also in the Kindle Shop, you can download more than 300 top blogs from the worlds of business, technology, sports, entertainment and politics, all updated wirelessly throughout the day.

Kindle boasts a long battery life and fully recharges in two hours. With the wireless function on, you can recharge every other day. If using the provided power adapter, read for a week or more before recharging, although some say that browsing the Kindle Shop and other features drain the battery faster.

Among other fun features, you can email your word documents and pictures to your Kindle for easy viewing. The device also comes with free wireless access to Wikipedia.org, the most up-to-date dictionary on the web. There’s also a free Kindle NowNow feature that allows you to type in a question and receive several answers within minutes, similar to an online Google search. Kindle also plays mp3 files, although they play randomly, without the ability to select certain songs.

There are no monthly wireless bills or service plans for Kindle, but the $399 price tag may make some consumers wary.

But is it “cool” enough?

Some industry experts say the Kindle is not very stylish, and doesn’t have the same “cool” factor as Apple’s iPod or iPhone, which can also serve as eReaders. Fans of the Kindle scoff at such criticism, and say they carry their Kindles with them wherever they go.

Though critics doubt most consumers will be willing to shell out $399 for a hand-held digital book, Amazon claims the company can hardly keep up with demand since launching the product in November 2007, due to a combination of high demand and major supply issues.

Time will tell how this latest eBook offering will compare in the fast-growing world of digital readers. Some say to wait it out as the price drops and a new-and-improved Kindle hits the market. Others say they’ve fallen in love with the device, and can’t imagine life without it.

One such fan claims the device has made him a little lazy. Rather than walking out to fetch the newspaper in the morning, he simply stays in bed and switches on his Kindle, where the morning paper has been downloaded automatically. Now how’s that for information in the palm of your hand?