I haven't actually held one, so I don't know how ergonomic it is. It certainly looks more comfortable to hold than the 1st gen version. I love the concept and will probably buy one. It is difficult to find large print books for my grandmother, so the idea that she can read anything and zoom in on the print is very appealing.

The next most necessary application for this unit is textbooks. I forgot how cumbersome most textbooks were until I took a class recently and tried to schlep the huge textbook different places. Imagine how much more economical textbook distribution would be if they were all digital. Students could carry all their textbooks with one hand. I don't have any hard data for the savings in printing material and distribution costs, but it seems plausible that digital textbooks could be sold at a lower price and still maintain the same profit margin.

The lack of ability to share printed material, like clipping an article for or sharing a book with a friend is a drawback. I do believe, however, that this device has huge potential. I look forward to seeing this and similar devices evolve.

I think it's better because it's thinner, for example, but there are some disadvantages. For example, see paragraph 3 of the source I used.

I know I need something that will re-energize me to start reading more than the passing magazine article -- I need a new reading experience, and I would guess society at large might need the prospect of an exciting new reading experience to get to reading more books. Kindle 2 seems pretty well-equipped to do that.

I can't even really imagine having that kind of selection at your fingertips, but I guess it's just like iTunes/iPods for books. As soon as I can afford one and have a little more time to actually read I would definitely consider buying one of these...