What's a Kindle?

The Kindle is an electronic book-reading device developed for/by Amazon, and being sold exclusively through Amazon.com. There have been two models of Kindle on the market, the first and second generation models. The second generation is the current model, and a third edition will soon make its entry into the market. Amazon has announced the creation of a larger Kindle, called the DX. Amazon is taking pre-orders for it and expects to sell it this summer.

I walk the fine line between educated tech guy and legally retarded. I love gizmos and buy a lot of them. I do my research and try to know what the hell I'm buying before I pull the trigger. One thing I've learned in doing my research before tech-related purchases is that some of you lot out there are obsessed, thinking of technical aspects I can't begin to grasp. Some of the technical particulars I've seen people argue about amaze me, and I don't mean that in a complimentary way. The things we choose to care about...

My point here is if you're one of those tech customers who requires algorithms, quadratic equations, and chemical compound breakdowns to make your decision, you won't find any of that here. Instead what follows is a rundown of my experience with my Kindle 2.

Overview:  No one is more surprised than me that I've embraced a digital-only device. As passionate as I am for the physical media when it comes to music, I would never have dreamed I could fall in love with a digital-only consumer experience.

Better than 98 percent of the 21,826 songs on my iPod come from my own CD collection. If my iPod were to, say, fall into the toilet, I'd still have the CDs. I am still passionately in love with the physical compact disc of music sold in a nice plastic jewel box with pretty pictures. I completely understand if you're romantic about the touch, feel, and scent of a good book and can't bring yourself to give them up, but for the promiscuous, let Kindle tempt you.

What I Love About Kindle 2: The reading experience. In most aspects, it is as satisfying to me as reading an actual book. In some aspects, I actually find K2 a superior reading experience. You'll never need another bookmark. K2 remembers where you left off, even if you're in the process of reading multiple books at once.

When I read it's usually with feet propped up, head reclined, and book held with one hand some undetermined number of inches/feet out in front of me. Depending on the weight and size of the book, that can actually get uncomfortable for my hands/wrists after awhile, particularly because I've had trouble with tendinitis.

Article Author: Josh Hathaway

Josh Hathaway is a Sr. Music Editor for Blogcritics.

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