[thorn]

when i saw the first sony readers i was fascinated and hopeful. i was aware that e-ink technology existed, and had been waiting and waiting for some company to use it in a consumer product. but when i went to the sony site and explored its bookstore i quickly saw that it was still a non-starter and i'd have to keep waiting. i saw immediately that there were no reference books to speak of, and no mention of any way to take notes or highlight passages. the lack of reference books told me that there was no way to search any of the text on the device. the only difference between the sony experience and the printed book that i could see, was 'big, heavy text in lightweight, small package'. the device was very pretty, and i fell in love with its screen when i saw one at a borders. but it had the main disadvantage of being electronic (DRM) and only one of the advantages - the weight-thing.

pricing, and the huge books i own but wasn't reading were what pushed me to finally get the kindle 2 back in february of 09. despite how big it was, i never really looked back. just got a new kindle 3, and am going to offer my used 2 to my sister. if she's not interested, i'll probably just keep it as a backup/loaner device.