Accessories

Awesome Kindle!!
I bought my Kindle about a month ago and have fallen in love. When someone recommends a book I go to see if it is on Kindle Books. Have shown it to several people and they were excited. Some never heard of it and others are purchasing for self or others for Christmas. Totally Awesome!

The Best Gift I Ever Received
My significant other called last December and asked if I wanted a Breville Juicer for Christmas. "Are you kidding? NO!NO!NO!" I told him I wanted a Kindle!!! Though we were put on a wait list, it arrived in January and changed my life.

This is a device so enriching I can hardly quantify it. I have the Sony
Reader -- in a drawer. The Sony has too small and too expensive a book collection to be useful, and is not WIRELESS.

The Kindle is my best friend. I read the Sunday NYT book review and in about 55 seconds have the book I want, wirelessly!!! NOTHING surpasses that. I also get a French newspaper, economically.

I used to buy so many books that I had nowhere to put them -- now the excess book problem is solved. Kindle editions are also cheaper than print.

It is not a perfectly realized gadget, though. The Kindle uses the same kind of font technology as the Sony reader, so there is no backlighting. It's difficult to read in low light. I had to buy a couple of tiny external lamps (I like the wedge booklight from Barnes & Noble best, the smaller size). I have the ear clip Sharper Image book lights (2) also for nighttime reading. My only other complaint is that newspapers are simply too large a format to transfer well to the tiny screen. Books work, but newspapers do not.

But for novels, travel research, samples of current books .... this is a dream machine in my opinion.

I am in love with this product
I didn't think I would like this device as much as I do. I bought it in advance of a 6-8 week trip I am on. I bought it because my employer is requiring me to read heaps of books while on the road, and this is the perfect way for me to do so without having to carry them! I am amazed by the devices ease of use, and I love the display. While using it I find myself reaching to turn the page only to recall that I just have to push a button.
One of my friends thinks that this device is her favorite after her iPhone. I don't have an iPhone, but I am extremely pleased with the Kindle.

Life Changing!
I really can't add much from a technical standpoint that hasn't been addressed in the other 3,800 reviews, but from a personal standpoint after having mine for about 2 months I can honestly say that if you read voraciously, the Kindle will change your life for the better. I take mine everywhere and love having the flexibility to read anything from Stephen King to the Tao te Ching at the push of a button depending on my mood at the moment. I usually take half a dozen books on vacation and agonize over which ones to carry on the plane, but this time I just took my Kindle and was happy as a clam. The ability to sample books and newspapers is really cool and has saved me from buying some real stinkers. It also gives me a good feeling from an environmental standpoint since no trees are harmed in the production of my reading material. Finally, I like the fact that the classics are dirt cheap and plentiful, while bestsellers are reasonably priced and generally available. Since I got my Kindle, Amazon has added at least 10,000 titles, with more new material to choose from every day.
Yes, there could be improvements and there will be improvements down the road, but I'm very happy with mine as it is now. Finally, those who complain about the carrying case should check out the discussion boards on how to mount the device properly. I didn't get it right at first, but once I did the case worked fine.

Difficult to handle
Kindle keeps falling out of the leather cover. Why bother with cover? Not enough room on face of Kindle to hold without accidently touching the Next or Back page button. Have had hand cramps trying to be careful where my fingers were placed. With a paper book I could at least put my thumb between pages to hold the book securely.