I’m sure glad I’ve still got my old Clie TH55 so I can read most anything that’s available anywhere I want.

Until something better comes along, it’s just fine.

Any updates on the ETA of this client? The eReader release was a big deal and I’m moving ever closer to buying an iPhone. Slowly Apple are checking off the boxes on my list of features I must have on a portable all-in-one device. Only A2DP and a keyboard to go ;)

Kevin, you get the wi-fi in your home because you’re paying your ISP by the month. Stop paying, and you stop getting wi-fi (unless you steal it from your neighbor). With the Kindle, you buy it once, and you have free wireless connectivity forever. Stop buying electronic books with it, and you can still browse the store remotely as much as you like.

The real profits on this device are going to be on the purchases over time. In that sense, the free wireless is analogous to the free physical delivery that you get from Amazon in many cases. Amazon has a great distribution network that they end up being able to afford *overall*…even if some of your purchases technically are losses for them. The same thing is happening with wireless service on Kindle. Amazon is betting that there will be enough purchases overall to create enough profits to pay for the service.

Although I’ve owned my iPhone since they were available, I have only bought one song on it directly, just for fun when the service became available. Always seemed silly to me, but if there really are a lot of people with your preferences out there, then good for Apple.

I said I “rarely sync my iPhone”. I didn’t say “never”. ;)

How do you backup your music purchases?

Michael, before I had my iPhone I was indeed buying music directly on my computers. Since I’ve had my iPhone, I’ve bought about 80% of my music directly on the phone. Yes, that means over WiFi by default. The excellent buying experience I was describing is on the phone, so you lost the bet. ;) I also don’t have any need or requirement to connect my iPhone to a PC as my mail is all OTA, i.e.: I rarely sync the iPhone.

While you’re not paying for incremental wireless charges for the Kindle, the connectivity is really not “free”. It would be equally inaccurate by me saying the WiFi in my home is free. The $399 paid for a Kindle includes the EV-DO service but the price is essentially built in. Look at it this way: there are other eInk devices out there that use current gen display technolgies (not prior gen like the Kindle) that cost $299 (Sony’s Reader comes to mind). What does the $100 premium in the Kindle offer? Wireless connectivity for one thing. Yes, that’s a difference because you can’t currently buy music on the iPhone over EDGE. That of course will change next month with the next gen iPhone.

Are you buying that music directly to your iPhone, or are you buying it on your computer and then transferring it? Or maybe you are buying it directly to your phone, in which case you have to be using wi-fi (not the AT&T Edge network). If you’re not getting the music from your computer (and sometimes even if you are), you’re paying for bandwidth. And I bet the excellent e-commerce music-buying experience you’re referring to is happening on your computer, not your phone.

With Kindle, the wireless connection is free, and as long as you are getting a signal, you can download content directly to the device, all the time. That’s the difference I’m talking about.

PDAs and phones have had eBook clients for ages. This is nothing new or exctiting. What people tend to not understand is the difference is in the screen of the device, not the software. I’ve used eBook software on my Palm TX (PalmFiction) for years, but reading on a backlit device has its pros and cons. I would never attempt to read a book when I am outside of the house for example, since that would be masochistic. On an eInk screen, however, I would have no troubles. Conversely, reading in the dark on a backlit device is much easier.

I’ve always wanted Mobipocket to get access to the same distibution system and content as the Kindle, especially since they’re both owned by Amazon.

But if they did that, I think it would seriously affect sales of the Kindle. We all know the iPhone will sell like hotcakes and going to the iPhone as an eBook reader has a lot of advantages over the Kindle (some negatives too obviously).

I actually think that this means it’s more likely that we will continue to see a break between the content available to Mobipocket and content available via the Kindle. That’s disappointing.

It’s all about the content.

Just think of that software as another iPhone opportunity to torment me, Fiend Kevin!

Apparently, you two have recruited MobiPocket as Auxliary Fiends!