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Better Than Kindle?

OK, so by now I think there are no people left who didn't hear about the Amazon Kindle. Or read about it. Or written something. Or something.

I just listened to a podcast by Leo Laporte (it's on Twit network - go check out), where he and his guests in the studio are talking about the kindle device and are not really thrilled by it. These are the sort of people who jump on all the newest and the greatest in the gadgetry, but they don't jump on this one.

Why?

I could probably take a guess, and to be correct as much as anyone. But here are few things that pop into my head when I'm thinking about any eBook:

• It has to be sorta cheap
  
• It has to have a great screen - quality is important
  
• The screen size should be convenient (I know, this one is very subjective)
  
• It should be lightweight
  
• The power should have a long life for this
  

While I'm thinking about all the things I'd do with it, this is what comes to my mind: this thing cost around $400. There are few other devices that cost that much these days:

• Nokia N810
• Asus eeePC 701
• OLPC
  

So, how about relative comparison between the products?

Lets take a look, one by one:

Amazon kindle with Nokia N810:

Weight Kindle: 300g; N810: 226g
Size Well, Kindle is larger
Screen size Kindle: 6"; N810: 4.13"
Screen features Kindle: eInk, grayscale; N810: LCD, 65K colors
Power features Kindle: can go for days; N810: needs recharging frequently
Connectivity Kindle: 3g+ cellular; N810: WiFi and Bluetooth (other?)
Applications Kindle: reading books, articles, blogs, listening to a music?? N810: whatever you like and can get your hands on

Amazon kindle with Asus eeePC 701:

Weight Kindle: 300g; 701: 920g
Size Asus is larger
Screen size Kindle: 6"; 701: 7"
Screen features Kindle: eInk, grayscale; 701: LCD, color
Power features Kindle: can go for days; 701: needs recharging frequently
Connectivity Kindle: 3g+ cellular; 701: WiFi
Applications Kindle: reading books, articles, blogs, listening to a music?? 701: whatever you like in regular Linux desktop, limited by performance

Amazon kindle with OLPC:

Weight Kindle: 300g; OLPC: 1.58kg
Size OLPC is slightly larger
Screen size Kindle: 6"; OLPC: 7.5"
Screen features Kindle: eInk, grayscale; OLPC: LCD, dual-mode, color and B&W
Power features Kindle: can go for days; OLPC: needs recharging frequently
Connectivity Kindle: 3g+ cellular; OLPC: WiFi (with mesh)
Applications Kindle: reading books, articles, blogs, listening to a music?? OLPC: whatever you like in regular Linux desktop, limited by performance

So, what can we tell by these comparisons? Few things actually: we have 4 devices, priced similarly, but allowing different using models. While Kindle is specialized in reading books, articles, newspapers and blogs (and maybe listening to some in the future), all the other devices run almost any application you would like (in Linux).

Asus is not really fair comparison in the bunch, as it has completely different format, and is more appropriate for writing an article than reading it (I mean, it's a laptop, and hence it is more convenient to use its keyboard than on all other 3 devices).

So, for the matter of this argument, I would choose an OLPC laptop as a reading device for the follosing reasons:

• Its much more cool (subjective)
• While buying one for me, I contribute one for some kid somewhere in the world
• It's grayscale mode and ability to turn the screen make it very good reader device
• I can do a lot more than just reading books on it
• It has interesting power recharging solutions
• I can easily read blogs and RSS feeds on it

While the Kindle has interesting technology (eInk, or whatever it is called), and it is much lighter, and don't need recharging that often, I'd choose OLPC for now. Even Nokia's device seems more cool and technically superior than a kindle.

Actually, besides that eInk screen, and commercial model for getting stuff, is there anything exciting in the Kindle at all? Is the OLPC better than Kindle? Even as a book reader? I think so.

Tell me what you think.