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February 7, 2009

Since its inception in November 2007 Amazon Kindle, an eBook reader, has been steadily growing in popularity. In fact, the first wave of Kindle sold out within hours of its initial release. One of my first thoughts after I saw Kindle was, “Hmm, a device that digitally stores books--that looks a lot like a datapad from Star Wars.” The device remains a fascination to me, but the initial investment is a bit prohibitive at $359. If you’ve visited Amazon.com lately it’s hard not to notice Kindle--as of February 7, 2009, Kindle is the most prominently displayed item on the Amazon homepage. Also, every product listing page that you visit in the Books section prompts you to either "Start reading this book on your Kindle in under a minute" or "Please tell the publisher I’d like to read this book on Kindle." Interested yet? Let's break it all down...

Amazon Kindle (Photo: Amazon.com)

Advantages of Kindle
- can buy several (but not all) of the newer Star Wars books, from Vector Prime (2000) to the present
- eBook’s like Fool’s Bargain and A Forest Apart are on Kindle
- easy, compact storage of hundreds of books
- download books in 60 seconds
- high resolution screen with "digital ink" attempts to replicate the appearance of a real book page

Disadvantages of Kindle
- older Star Wars novels (before 2000) and young adult novels are not currently offered on Kindle
- need to re-buy Star Wars novels that you already own in print
- a bit of an investment at $359 (and tough luck if it‘s lost or stolen!)
- loss of the tactile quality of turning the page

I always think it’s somewhere between cool and creepy (mostly cool) when reality catches up with science fiction--like when cell phones exploded in popularity in the early 2000s. I still find it a bit unsettling to see a seven year old whip out a cell phone and text message a friend. Someday in the not so distant future I’ll probably see a similar seven year old whip out a Kindle to read the latest Star Wars book.

You can purchase an Amazon Kindle on Amazon.com. Amazon.com is a SWBookZone.com sponsor.