This is supposed to be revolutionary?

Amazon has announced its e-book reader, the Kindle. Am I supposed to be fired up about it? $400 for less memory (256MB, I think) and less features than a PDA. The main strengths of this new item are its wireless nature (allowing immediate purchases and also some subscription services over Amazon's own Whispernet network) and its paper-like screen. But I just can't see using this personally or for my classes. You seem to be locked in to buying from amazon.com (at $10 per book), it can only hold a few hundred books, you have to plug it in to recharge it, and it has a LOT of buttons on the front (including a complete keyboard).

I'm not against e-books. I like the idea, actually. Here's what an e-book reader that I would use would look like:

- Crisp, sturdy, touch-activated screen.

- Holds at least a few gigs of data.

- More options for charging it; a plug-in charger, sure, but also the ability to use batteries or even renewable energy like solar or cranking.

- Unconstrained to one content provider or one file format. Why can't I offer my students a reader filled with stuff from Project Gutenberg, or from Wikibooks, or self-made .pdf files, or a variety of online stores?

- The ability to share data easily among devices. What if you could distribute a "handout" without using any paper?

- A reasonable price point. If they were less than $100 each (and you could get free or cheap materials to put on them), they could replace textbooks and perhaps even school libraries.

The concept has a lot of possibilities. Maybe, like the iPod, the Kindle will have improved dramatically in a few years from its first generation offering. I sure hope they come up with something we can use in education.