The Kindle 2 comes out of the box pre-registered to your Amazon.com account. There is no need to connect it first to your computer at all. You can start using it right away. The quick start guide explains in text and images how to charge your Kindle and gives you a overview of the buttons and the different ways of navigating on the device. The first time you start up your device by sliding the power button on the top of the Kindle, the screen will show you the Kindle user's guide. The welcome chapter will give you a minimum to get started on the Kindle.

The home screen of the Kindle shows all your books and other readings you are subscribed to or have purchased in the Kindle store. Basically this is your book shelf. By pressing the home button on the right-hand of the device, it will create small black and white flashes on your screen and will show you the home screen with all your listings.

Using the 5 way Navigation button (Up, Down, Left, Right and Press to Select) on the home screen will allow you to select which book you would like to read. If you scroll all the way to the top you can change the order of listing by: Most Recent First, Author or Title.

Included is "the New Oxford American Dictionary" which you can use to look up a particular word without leaving the book, newspaper or any other document you are reading. Using the 5 way navigation button on the right you can scroll to the beginning of a word and on the bottom of the screen will automatically give you a description and definition of that particular word.

By pressing the menu button on the home screen you will get the following options:

• Turn Wireless Off (preserve battery power)
• Shop in the Kindle Store (this will get you live to the Kindle store to sample or purchase reading materials, wireless needs to be turned on)
• Search (search for items,dictionary,Kindle Store,Wikipedia,Google or web) Some basic web browsing will work.
• Settings (Registration, Device Name, Device E-mail, Personal Info)
• Experimental ( Basic Web, Play MP3, Text-to-Speech) Try it and let Kindle know if it is something they need to continue.
• Sync & Check for Items (this will update all your bookmarks, files that are synchronized to your account. For example if your Kindle reader for the IPhone is further into a document it will sync this to your Kindle as well)

• Go to the beginning
• Table of Contents
• Go to location
• Sync to last page
• Add bookmark
• Search
• Book Cover
• Add notes and Highlights
• And more...

Some other hardware buttons makes the navigation a breeze on the Kindle.

• Next Page - this will turn to your next page in your e-book
• Prev Page - this will turn back to your previous page in your e-book
• Back - this will turn back to your last screen throughout your navigation within the Kindle
• Qwerty Keyboard - physical hardware buttons to type your words in the different search options.
• 5-way Navigation Button - scroll through text- forward to next chapter-highlight text-main menu per title

I have to say that it took a little getting used to reading on this small black and white tablet. But the opaque e-ink screen gives it the great same look as reading an actual book. What I did miss was the option for a backlight. But just as reading a regular book, it is easy to read the screen with low and high light surroundings.

All the items listed in the Kindle shop have a fee. To access the shop you will select from the Home page the Menu button and you select "Shop in the Kindle Store". This includes the Kindle versions of the Books, Newspapers, Magazines and, yes indeed, Blogs. With the 5-way navigation button and the search box it is easy to navigate through all the different titles. In the books section you have an option to download "Try a Sample". This will give you a small excerpt to see if you would like to buy the book in full digital format.

On your Amazon account you can manage your purchases as well as your devices. For example I share the same account with my wife and we are both able to read the same book purchased once on two different devices.

Deleting a book on your Kindle is very easy as well. On the home page you scroll down to the title you would like to delete using the 5-way navigation button. Once you are there your press the 5 way navigation to the left and select delete.

The Kindle has a search with Google built in. This is one of the ways to get to the experimental internet browser. The browser is very simple but could be useful for a quick look up. Being used to multi-colored screens on mobile devices, it is not that attractive to browse with.

The Kindle enables you to read your books without having to drag your books around. The Kindle is a little pricey, but we will save some trees. The e-books are also cheaper compared to the real books. Most of them are $9.99, similar in price to the soft cover versions. The battery life is very good. It even gets better if you turn the wireless off. The 5-way navigation button has so many different function per page that you kind have to experiment a little to know all the possibilities. I am not sure how the Kindle will work in a textbook environment, but for reading a novel, it is the way to go.

Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, U.S. & International Wireless, Latest Generation) goes for $259
Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device (9.7" Display, U.S. & International Wireless, Latest Generation) goes for $489

Update: A question arised about extra possible charges for the wireless connection in your home country or outside your home country with the latest generation wireless Kindle. When selecting your specific country in the box "Live Outside the U.S." on the product page it will state the following:

Free Wireless: Free 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle. No monthly fees, service plans, or hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots. For non-U.S. customers, there are also no additional charges for wireless delivery outside your home country.