Posted on 18 April 2008, at 5:06 am, by Wayne Schulz

I placed an Amazon Kindle order on March 15, 2008. Wednesday I received notice that it was shipping (about one month from order to delivery). It should be here today. Watch for feedback as this device gets passed around the Geardiary offices. And, yeah, I was (and still am) doubtful that a non-backlit screen is going to work well. So - why’d I buy? I’m looking for a way to avoid storing the many books and magazines that I purchase. It’s been two years since I subscribed to a newspaper in large part because I felt that I was wasting paper by collecting and disposing of 3 daily newspapers. I’m not opposed to paying for good content. I am also intrigued by the Kindle’s ability to subscribe wirelessly to newspapers, magazines and blogs. More updates this weekend after I have a chance to set it up. PS: The Amazon site has changed the product status for the Kindle to “Expected to be in stock on April 24, 2008. Order it now. Ships and sold by Amazon.com” - I take this to mean they will have fulfilled all backorders by that date and the Kindle will be available for same day shipping.
April 18th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Sadly, if it turns out the Kindle really does need a backlight or something similar, it’s going to be a while before a truly good ebook reader arrives. E-ink is apparently not too backlight friendly.
Maybe in the next kindle version they could include a booklight built in, that was angled to illuminate the screen from the top, or all around the edges…
April 18th, 2008 at 9:33 am
I’m really curious to try this out. If you ever see me knocking a product in the comments - watch out. It means in about 30 days I’ll be getting one…
I plan on having a cross section of people try it too — just to see how it would translate to use by geeks and non-geeks alike.