Amazon’s New Kindle EBook Reader

Other than playing golf, my favorite thing to do is to read. And when I can read about golf, that’s even better.

I’ve always got several books going simultaneously. Right now, it’s Churchill’s History of the English Speaking Peoples, MATCH, THE: THE DAY THE GAME OF GOLF CHANGED FOREVER by Mark Frost, Clarence Thomas’ My Grandfather’s Son: A Memoir and China Mieville’s Iron Council

Mrs. Golfblogger wonders how I can keep them all straight, but I actually find it easy. And reading several at once keeps me from being bored. As soon as I bog down, I switch.

That’s why I was so intrigued when Sony came out with its Sony E Reader a couple of years ago. It seemed an elegant solution to my reading habits, and I have looked longingly at it each time I visit my local Borders (in Ann Arbor—the original store of the chain). But two things kept me from buying it: one, the price; and two, like so many Sony products, it operated with a proprietary format. They’ve since solved the second problem; the newest version will display RTF and Adobe Acrobat files.

It’s still expensive, though. And of course you need a computer to download the materials.

Now Amazon has gotten into the ebook reader market with its Kindle Wireless Reading Device. It works a lot like the Sony with its low power consumption electronic paper display, and tiny size.

What makes it different is that it doesn’t require a computer to use. Instead, it has a built-in wireless device that allows you to look up and download books directly from Amazon. You can also get newspapers and magazines delivered automatically (I wonder if there are any golf magazines among those).

Another neat feature: it lets you access Wikipedia wherever you are.

Reading Word documents on the device is possible. The literature doesn’t mention pdfs.

I’ve got a serious case of tech-envy over these two devices.