Kindle first impressions

I just unboxed my Kindle. I played with it for a few hours only, but I'm satisfied with the choice so far.

First of all, to the zealots that may happen to read this article and feel compelled to whine on "scent of paper" and other oddities: I'm not planning the disposal of all my "real" books, neither I'm considering buying only digital contents from now on.

I decided to buy an ebook reader because I wanted to see on my own what can be done with this technology, which I consider immature and yet to be completely exploited.  I think I am an early adopter, even if Amazon Kindle and its competitors hit the market several years ago.

Also, I think having an ebook reader is nowadays the most practical solution to the eternal problem "What books should I bring with me during the journey?". Being able to answer "All!" is a wild dream that comes true (but I understand this can be a problem as well).

Anyway, here a few impressions from a very very beginner.

• The device itself looks beautiful. It's not heavy and it seems prolongated use will not be tiring. On the other hand, I have the impression it's not particularly sturdy. Again, this is something I can say only in a few months (or in a few hundreds kilometers).
• I think the slogan "it's like paper" is inaccurate.  Whatever appears on the screen seems printed, but it does not recall paper to me.  Besides that, fonts are very  crisp and readable, so Kindle hits on the spot for what is supposed to be its  main use.
• I am positively surprised by the refresh delay. Maybe because  I expected it to be even worse, I think it's bearable, at least for the kind  of books you read cover to cover in a sequential fashion. In other words, good for novels, articles and stuff like that; maybe not practical for manuals, documentation… in general, things you want to study, or browse randomly.
• I suspect I will eventually feel hampered by the position of buttons on the device. Anyway, this can't be but a speculation.
• I'm currently at my parents' place, and there are problems with the Internet connection, so I couldn't try its wifi capabilities yet. A pity: one of the things I was more eager to try was Kindle's use in conjunction with Instapaper.
• Ah, the screensavers are wonderful!