How Amazon's Kindle Will Bite Your Ass

All of you people with are so enthralled with the selfish instant gratification feature (read: wireless downloading of eBooks) of the Kindle will have no tears shed by me.

1) You cannot read eBooks on your desktop. Your Kindle breaks? Do without until replacement.

2) You're locked into one eBook store: Amazon. Don't expect every publisher to jump on board. Amazon offers a criminal 65-35% split.

3) You're locked into the bastardized MobiPocket format. Amazon owns MobiPocket. They tweaked the file format for Kindle. All Kindle can read is that and free (not DRMed!) MobiPocket.

4) You can't share books with other Kindle owners, even in your own family.

5) You're locked out of the ePub future -- which is what book publishers have standardized on for eBooks.

6) You can't borrow eBooks from public libraries.

Contrast that with the Sony Reader:

1) eBooks are downloaded to your PC and can also be read there with Sony's eLibrary software.

2) You can buy from Sony's eBook Store or any eBook store that offers ePub files.

3) You are not locked into Sony's BBeB file format. There's ePub and PDF text reflow too (albeit this last is touchy).

4) Sony allows sharing on up to five devices: So, PC plus four Readers. And the Readers don't have to be under the same roof or in the same family!

5) Sony is in the midst of the ePub revolution and several publishers attended the PRS-700 debut to show public support.

6) You can borrow eBooks from public libraries.

So when wireless comes to the Sony Reader in 2009 (Sony won't commit to a date, so I will for them!), what are you left with on your Kindle?

Just your undisciplined desire for NowNowNow and nothing else.

Now you've been warned.