PC World's review of the Amazon Kindle. Nothing surprising based on already published specs, though it did answer a couple of my questions: You can indeed shuttle files between the device and a PC using the SD card or the USB cable, but those files will only be in either plaintext (including your highlighted clips) or their proprietary AZW format, so you can back up your purchases locally. You can also re-download purchased files any time.

Wired has an e-book reader comparison chart that reminds us there are several readers on the market with similar dimensions and technologies (e-paper), but also support PDF and cost less. Amazon's free cellular data and store are still a big deal in this light, but if what you want is a way to carry a stack of academic papers and free PDFs around, there are options. I'd be curious to know more about the Jinke HanLin eBook reader V3.

One thing I keep thinking about regarding the Kindle is how Amazon can promote Kindle versions alongside paper versions. My Amazon MP3 Store addiction has everything to do with the ability to discover that CDs I want are available as MP3s for substantially less money and substantially more convenience. Hopefully the "substantially less money" bit will eventually apply to the Kindle.