I'm a relatively new user of the Amazon Kindle, and I've become a fanatic.
My lovely wife bought me a Kindle 2 for my birthday, and I've used it daily in the two-plus month
Kindle 1 is a dogs since. I've purchased multiple books, newspapers, even subscribed to a blog. Now, I've added a blog from bakersfield.com -- where I work -- to Amazon's list of offerings (more on that in a subsequent installment).
In multiple posts, I'll detail some things that interest me about the Kindle, beginning with Version 2.0 and it's brilliant design. I'll also tackle some amazing but very subtle things Amazon is doing to pull customers into its grasp, as well as challenges and opportunities in local marketplaces.
I won't rehash the many product details, but Version 2 is elegant, fun and very easy to use. When the initial Kindle was introduced, I thought it was a horrific product, one of the worst designs ever for a product launched with enormous hype.
The design was so awful I immediately compared it to the car Homer Simpson designed for Powell Motors.
The overwrought car Homer Simpson designed for Powell Motors
Kindle 1.0 not only looked like a homemade craft project but the poor UI resulted in -- surprise -- poor user experiences. We ordered one at work and I gave it a spin, but had zero interest in using it or buying one. I even told a friend -- an avid Kindle 1.0 user -- that the design was so poor that I didn't think Kindle would take off with the public.
So, imagine my surprise when Kindle 2 was released. Obviously, Jeff Bezos invited the designers to the meetings for this version. The look was so polished and elegant that I immediately likened its elegance to the iPhone. 
Kindle 2 is sleek and elegant
Kindle 2 is easy to use, hold and makes me WANT to read. I'm a voracious reader anyway, consuming newspapers, magazines, books and the Internet like nobody's business. But the Kindle made reading more fun for me. There's a thrill to placing an order on the device and having it download within minutes. Or to bookmark key passages in business books. Or to read the Sunday New York Times front to back at a rock-bottom price (more on that later).
So, bottom line: Kindle 2 rocks. Amazon has since released a larger model called Kindle DX. But as I predicted, early reviews focused on the device's weight. The Kindle 2 is just right -- not too heavy for one hand but heavy enough when reading for long periods.