Gadget Of The Week: Kindle 2

Den Den Boy announced the early sale of the Amazon Kindle 2 yesterday, and Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos took to the Daily Show to tout the new $360 beastie.

Jon Stewart made the most, in terms of comedy, out of the e-book reader that costs more than most game consoles, lampooning the gadget with what looked like genuine surprise that anyone would shell out such big bucks for what a few dollars can buy you at any airport bookstore. Bezos bragged about the $9.99 pricing of e-books for the Kindle 2; I guess if you have a serious hardback book addiction, that's a deal, but on air it made the Kindle 2 look like a terrific way to waste money.

The reality is of course a lot cooler than that, or at least it is for those to whom the Kindle 2 appeals (ie, business travelers who can afford it), but it was interesting to watch what was clearly imagined as a sales pitch turn into a dismissal of product. Especially when Bezos said that the price wouldn't be coming down...

That said, if you're thinking of getting a Kindle 2, buy me one too!