I got the Kindle Keyboard last year and have been loving it. I have read books on my iPod Touch and it was a bit tedious with the small screen and the back lit screen is tiring on the eyes. looking at all the others I decided Amazon had the best selection and has the resources to dominate the e-book market. You may not like their tactics, but I think the Kindle will be around for some time. The Nook and other devices I’m not so sure of. Anyway the Kindle is great at one thing: displaying readable text in a light and handy device. The e-ink disply is crisp from tiny point sizes to optical reader size for the legally blind. The page is refresh is quick and not too distracting. There is a sort of flash or blink as each page changes. It annoys some folks, but not me. There are a host of other feature as well. With the keyboard you can annotate and bookmark as you read, which I have never done and can’t see myself doing, but some folks may find it useful. The text to speech feature works, but I don’t see me listening to a robotic voice read me a Stephen King novel. That it has speakers is nice as it can function as a media player. With only 8 gigs of storage you can’t put everything you own on it, but for a short trip when you don’t want to carry your iPod or laptop, you can store some entertainment on it. I got the 3G version because I still refuse to get a smart phone and pay an additional data fee to my arch enemy, Verizon. With the Kindle I can sort of connect to the internet and get directions or check an email in an emergency. It has to be an emergency because the navigation capabilities are very limited. You have a 4-way switch and some arrow keys. It can be done, but it’s not fun. That you can read a web page at all is surprising, but the e-ink display can render a remarkably precise graphics and readable fonts. Battery life is scary. If you keep the wi-fi off, it’ll last weeks and weeks on a charge. I turn on the wi-fi every few days to get new books and check the special offers that are another interesting aspect of the Kindle. I recommend getting the special offer version of any Kindle model. They are great! I got the $50 case w/ booklight for half price and there’s are monthly $1 book deals. Sure, it’s Amazon’s way to make more money from you, but if you plan on buying books anyway, why not take advantage of the special deals. There are simple games like Boggle, Blackjack, and Yachtzee, that can help while away the time on the beach or on  a trip. Don’t get me wrong, I love books. I really love books and I have way too many (just ask my Significant Other).  The kindle allows me to keep in one place an electronic version of many classic works (free by the way) I have on the shelf, but don’t want to carry around.  If you are thinking about taking the plunge there are several Kindle types available. I’d stay away from the “touch” versions as the IR touch system seems to be getting panned by many folks. The Fire is a tablet device and is great for what it is and it can do web browsing like any real computer. The $79 basic Kindle may be perfect for most folks. It is the essential Kindle doing what it does best, displaying readable text. It doesn’t have speakers, so it won’t be your portable media device, but many people won’t care about that. E-books are here and you should take a look at them.