Amazon's Kindle reading device comes in handy

Imagine waking up to find your morning newspaper on the night stand each day without ever having to get out of bed.

Or say you want another book to read while soaking up some sun on the beach. And voila! Michael Connelly's latest book appears in the palm of your hand.

Amazon.com wants consumers to go even more digital with their reading habits with its 8-month-old Kindle reading device. Visit Amazon.com, and it's the first thing you see.

It's one of the latest in the electronic books. And it carries a variety of options: newspapers, books, blogs and magazines.

Great! Unload the back-breaking backpacks.

But in an age of laptop computers and iPhones, do we really want another electronic thing?

I gave Kindle a test drive and, to my surprise, the 10.3-ounce unit proved fairly intuitive. After a day, I was comfortable with searches, downloads and scrolling.

The screen is about the size of a paperback book, and the type can be enlarged or reduced.

Books and periodical subscriptions cost less when you download them to Kindle.

For a $13.95 monthly subscription, get the New York Times automatically each day on Kindle. (The print version of Sunday's New York Times in the Tampa Bay area can cost you as much as $5).

But one of Kindle's strength is also a weakness. It uses "E Ink," a display technology that helps your eyes feel as if you're reading a book. E Ink works best in black and white, so no color.

How about battery power? The battery lasted the day as I played with it. The battery fully recharges within two hours.

Though I had it for just a couple of days, I didn't want to part with it. Perhaps it was the novelty, but Kindle was kind of fun.

Should you buy now? Well, are you an early adopter or do you like waiting for it to be tweaked?

Crunchgear.com reported this week that Kindle 2.0 is set to hit the market as early as October, just in time for the holiday season. In response to the Crunchgear.com report, Amazon says it does not "comment on rumor and speculation."

Ivan Penn can be reached at ipenn@sptimes.com or (727) 892-2332.