Amazon finally released their Amazon Kindle e-book reader device, a clunky ’stone tablet’ looking device that doubles as a wireless laptop hybrid device. I have to say I’m a little disappointed in the design, but not the functionality. Instead of taking the ”book-like” trac that Sony took with their reader digital book, Amazon took the “techno gadget” road and debuts with an ugly, oversided PDA with built-in wireless. To add insult to injury, they are charging $9.95 for most book titles which is more than I pay for the used books on Amazon.

If I was Amazon, I would not have targeted e-book readers with this thing, I would have targeted Blackberry users that want another keyboard and screen to tantalize them all day. I’ll wait until the next model comes out that allows for wireless air cards (Sprint, T-Mobile, etc.) and has a color monitor. Thanks Amazon for not advancing the e-book market any further than it already was.