CK I get where you're coming from and gealrnely agree with you. On the Sony Reader vs. Kindle thing we disagree but that's OK we have before and I still love you man ;^)Having used both now, I can say w/o equivocation that the Kindle is a decided evolutionary step forward from the Sony which suffers from a terrible software experience much like everything they make my opinion, your mileage may vary.The always-on connection can be quickly and easily turned off (oxymoronic perhaps) when long life is the goal and left on when power is easily accessed and real-time input of content is more important.I think complaints about Kindle's attractiveness (or lack thereof) from a physical perspective are more than offset by the utility of the device. Of course, I have an iPhone and other pretty gadgets to wave in front of people so I can afford to be generous here. In all seriousness, all of the real people that is non-techies I've shown my Kindle to this week have ooh'ed and aah'ed over it not a single one has said that's ugly! .Thanks god there's vanilla and chocolate in this world.