Kindle vs Smart Phone

» NYT: Cellphone Apps Challenge the Rise of E-Readers

I can relate to this ...

With Amazon's Kindle, readers can squeeze hundreds of books into a device that is smaller than most hardcovers. For some, that's not small enough.

Many people who want to read electronic books are discovering that they can do so on the smartphones that are already in their pockets -- bringing a whole new meaning to "phone book." And they like that they can save the $250 to $350 that they would otherwise spend on yet another gadget.

As I've blogged about in previous posts, I've been on the hunt for a Kindle to try out. Turns out, I finally got my hands on one for a few days. It's fine enough for my taste, but the issue for me is one of availability of the type of stuff I read. Turns out that at least half of my recent purchases would not be able to be read on the Kindle. I suppose it would be fine to split reading styles, but my first question had to do with amortizing the cost of the tool with the likely savings in purchase of books. And I'm skeptical of the tool lasting beyond two years.

Now, having said that, I've been a bit surprised at how well I've adapted to reading on the G1. About the only issue I have with that is that I have to bump up the tiny font when the bus ride into downtown is bumpy and crowded. The world still awaits a Kindle app for the G1, so I'm not sure about the joy of reading a full book on the thing. Hopefully that's in the works, though.