Kindle-shaped book reader machine users, would like feedback

[jmowreader]

As I have reported, very early next year I will be back in the Army. As an NCO I use a lot of different manuals--and these days, they're all in PDF format. With an e-book reader like a Kindle or an Apple reader I could have many manuals at my fingertips without having to carry a footlocker full of books everywhere I go.

I have identified these as requirements for my Pocket Army Library:

needs to fit in the cargo pocket on a pair of Army Combat Uniform pants
needs to have a lid to protect the screen
needs to be able to hold at least 1GB of data
needs to read PDFs
needs to be able to have PDFs sent to it from a PC or a Mac, not just downloaded off the vendor's website

Nice-to-haves:
Rechargeable batteries
Color screen

I have a few months...is the Kindle the way to fly, or should I wait for Apple?

[Graybeard]

1. Amazon has a great Kindle Community Forum.

Go to the Kindle Store at Amazon.com and find the discussion groups or Kindle Community. They are a very helpful group and answer questions such as yours.

[Call Me Wesley]

2. I can answer a few questions but not all.

The Kindle has 2GB storage. Reading PDFs is no problem. You can plug your kindle in and just use it, on both MAC/PC as an external hard drive and transfer all the files you need. It will also play mp3s, although just in the order you uploaded them. I converted my PDF files to the Kindle format, but I think you should be able to just transfer your PDF files.

The US kindle has a web browser, so you can access the web if you have a wifi connection.

Here are the dimensions (scroll down a little, the bigger one is the US model.) http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Wireless-Reading-Display-Generation/dp/B0015T963C/ref=dp_ob_title_def

You recharge it through your USB port. The rechargeable battery holds up for a week of moderate use (no music or audiobooks, and you always can disable the wifi connection to preserve power if not needed.)

Cases are optional, so you better order one with it if you get a Kindle.

Color screen: Nope. And, that is a good thing. The text is displayed with electronic ink, there's no back lighting (you can't read in the dark,) and no glimmering. Text is sharp and very easy on the eyes even for long reading times. No scrolling - it turns the pages.

I really enjoy mine, but of course I'll wait for the Apple one, too. But who knows when it comes, and in the meantime, the Kindle is my way to go.

[jmowreader]

3. Can you print off it?

Something that MIGHT come in handy, but you never know: Soldiers use a lot of forms, too, and most of them are in PDF format as well. It would be very handy if I could carry the PDF for some of the more popular forms and just print them to the battalion personnel office's printer when I needed them.

[Call Me Wesley]

4. No, you can't print.

You can print some of your marks, but not a whole PDF/document. This you would have to do from your workstation. Or carry along an USB stick with all your documents.

It's basically just a reader. If you want to have full access to every file you have, you're probably best off to carry around a small netbook. Or, me and you will have to wait for what Apples e-reader comes up with. But I guess, there's iTunes involved in it.

[jmowreader]

5. The netbook may be promising

Or...I think a smallish laptop--MacBook Air, perhaps?--will fit in a map case. A lot of us carry map cases; they're these green canvas shoulder bags that are about the size of a sheet of paper, and maybe an inch thick.