David Pogue sums up Amazon’s Kindle E-Reader perfectly:

So, for the thousandth time: is this the end of the printed book?

Don’t be silly.

The Kindle has the usual list of e-book perks: dictionary, text search, bookmarks, clippings, MP3 music playback and six type sizes (baby boomers, arise). No trees die to furnish paper for Kindle books, either.

But as traditionalists always point out, an e-book reader is a delicate piece of electronics. It can be lost, dropped or fried in the tub. You’d have to buy an awful lot of $10 best sellers to recoup the purchase price. If Amazon goes under or abandons the Kindle, you lose your entire library. And you can’t pass on or sell an e-book after you’ve read it.

The Kindle looks interesting and I like the new design quite a bit. Since moving to Boston and riding public transit everyday I have found myself devouring books and magazines. Carrying all those around with me can be a pain, and a Kindle-like device would possibly be an answer. The steep price tag, $359, makes it hard to take the plunge.