The Amazon Kindle

A few days before Thanksgiving, Amazon introduced an electronic book reader. It isn't the first of these tools, but it is the first from Amazon, and the first that doesn't require a computer to buy or download the books you want to read. The Kindle is self-contained and the first major product in this category.

About a week later, my wife ordered one for me as a Christmas gift. She said it was "the perfect gift for me" - a blend of technology and books, two things I love. She also said it felt like it was a gift for her as well - since fewer "real" books might show up in our house! She was right - it is the perfect gift (however, books will still show up in our house and my office!). Apparently I'm not the only person for whom this is a perfect gift; about a week after they became available, they went on back order. She ordered mine November 30th, and it arrived January 4th.

Actually this tool is more than a book reader - you can subscribe to newspapers, magazines and blogs as well as choosing from more than 90,000 books (priced significantly less than buying a physical book).

I realize not everyone is an avid reader like me and so for many this might not be the "perfect gift" or even something you are interested in. But as people interested in personal and professional development I do believe The Kindle (and other similar products) is a tool that is a part of the future and therefore something you need to be aware of.

If you want to learn more about this great tool, you can check out Amazon for tons of photos, videos, descriptions and reviews and/or you can follow the thoughts of one of my blogging colleagues Lisa Haneberg here, here, here and here.

As Lisa says in her first post - Books Rule! and The Kindle rules!

Learn more and purchase at Amazon.com.

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