Amazon

Amazon

Glad I waited.

John,

Does Apple have a similar device coming out anytime in the near future? I keep hearing rumors that they are and it is supposed to be fabulous (like all Apple products, thanks to their great marketing machine!).

Nothing in the queue that anyone can tell. I've actually been reading books on the iPhone,but prefer the Kindle size.

Yes, people. You

10:09
Okay, they're about to start.
10:21
Wireless is extremely unstable:

"Today I'm excited to announce Kindle 2." thin, light, weighs only 10.2 ounces (.1 less), .36 inches thick. iPhone is .48. Kindle is 25% thinner. A big engineering challenge.

Easy to hold. "Page-turning buttons flex inward. We added a five-way controller to improve navigation. Easy to use one-handed.

16 shades of gray vs. 4 in new e-ink. Crisper photos and text, page turns are 20 percent faster. Battery life is 25 percent longer. You can read for 2 weeks on a single charge.

10:21
Bezos onstage. I finally have Wi-Fi access again.
10:21
Free 3G wireless delivery in less than 6 seconds.
10:22
New feature: WhisperSync syncs up with Kindle 1, Kindle 2, and in the future, other mobile devices.
10:22
Here's what he said before, in summary: Long-form reading is losing ground to short-form reading. We read blog posts, emails, etc.

Books haven't changed in 500 years

Hello from Amazon.com.

Thank you for writing to us about purchasing content from the Amazon Kindle Store.

At this time, we are unable to offer the Amazon Kindle and associated digital content from the Kindle Store to our international customers due to import/export laws and other restrictions. Whispernet, which allows you to take advantage of Kindle's wireless features, is currently available only in the United States.

When you place your order for an Amazon Kindle, the shipping address for the delivery must be recognized by our systems as a valid U.S. address.

To successfully purchase digital content from the Amazon Kindle Store, the 1-Click payment method listed on the Manage Your Kindle page must be a credit or debit card issued by a U.S. Bank with a U.S. billing address.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We value our international customers and hope to make content available in your location in the future. Please continue to check our website for additional information on supported locations.

Thank you for your interest in Amazon Kindle.

What a shame, Gayle. I feel your pain.

I some friends in Europe that keep a US credit card for that purpose. Once you have the account you can download Kindle books from Amazon to your hard drive and then to the Kindle via USB. I do it that way when I travel out of the US.