The iPad.

Ahhh…soak in its loveliness.

My favorite part? It’s too hard to choose.
hi-res color iBooks, the keyboard dock, the revised iCal (that looks much better (and resembles my ancient (no, wait, did I ever actually use one of those?) Filofax)) or the ability to view all my apps on a larger screen.

Here are David Pogue’s first impressions.

Honestly? It is so very tempting for me. To say the least.

I was in a bus filled with middle school kids today and they were all atwitter, excitedly chattering away about how each and every one of them wanted to get an iPad. Mmmhmm.  Those naysayers on Twitter don’t know what they’re talking about.  This baby is going to be sizzling hot. I can feel it.

What about you?

Just another gadget you don’t need or want? Or are you dreaming about it and frequently thinking about it? Giving up your Kindle for this thing? Or sticking with your hardcover bestseller?

Hmmm….

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Then, when I dropped off the kids at their tennis lesson, I decided to zip over to Starbucks instead of watching their practice (as I normally would).  Sitting down with my Kindle, happy to snag one of the few cushy club chairs in the cafe, I drew the tall iced red-eye beverage toward me, looking forward to tasting the creamy goodness slip down my throat when suddenly I saw them falling – drip, drip, drip onto my fresh-from-the-cleaner starched white blouse – blasted red-eye coffee droplets.

ARGH!

After suffering several more little annoyances, I finally surrendered to the day and chalked it up as one of those “Alexander” days.

As soon as the kids and I arrived home, I took off my blouse to treat the stains.  Uncharacteristically, I stayed in my white cami while I applied the stain remover.

Just a short while later, as I started pulling out ingredients to make dinner, my son walked up to me and said, “Hey Mom! You know what you look like?”

I slowly lifted my head, turned toward him and said softly, “After the day I’ve had, I suggest you be careful here, son.”

Not having worked out yet this week, I was thinking,

“someone from The Sopranos”

or

“one of the guys in Goodfellas.”

I braced for the worst and prepared to stay calm, no matter what came out.

He hesitated for just a moment then said, “You know that lady in Terminator? Sarah Connor?”

Wha?!

Woohoo!  I’ll take that.  Oh, yeah!  I’ll gladly accept that compliment.*

I grinned more widely than I had all day, grabbed him and repeated, “I love you” at least ten times while hugging his little torso.

Well, maybe today wasn’t a total loss.

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*No…in reality I do NOT look like Linda Hamilton at her finest buffness.  Not even close. I still dream of having those arms, sure.  But that’s the beauty of his statement.  It’s his perception. Our kids see us with great big, humongous rose-colored glasses and, particularly when we’re having a lousy day, they have magically descriptive ways of letting us know. You know?

And fell in love.

My daughter and I devoted one of our family podcasts to the Kindle and the Kindle 2 and I taped a webcast about the Kindle 2 and the iPhone Kindle app.  This blog post is not about the attributes of the Kindle, rather it’s about my recent discovery of a necessary accessory for the Kindle 2: a carrying case.

Unlike the original Kindle, the Kindle 2 arrives to you with no carrying case.

No handy dandy (albeit synthetic leather) cover.  As you might expect, Amazon sells oodles of covers, like this one, this one and this lovely sleek high gloss number.  Before buying one, I wanted to see how I used the Kindle, where I took it and how I carried it.  After a couple of months, I still hadn’t decided which cover to buy.  Then I found a great case by Belkin at Target.

On clearance for $13.98.

W00T!

Is it a perfect fit? No. It’s intended for 7″ laptops.  So it’s slightly larger than the Kindle 2, but it works quite nicely. And it comes with a practical, adjustable strap. Belkin claims it will protect a laptop from “light wear and tear” and I’m hoping it will do the same for my Kindle 2.

Stylish, functional and reasonably priced.

Don’t you love a good bargain?

[video removed]

My intention was to publish a review of Amazon’s new Kindle 2, but after learning about the release of the iPhone Kindle application, I felt pretty strongly about its release and wanted to tell the world about it.  After calming down (and researching more information about the intent behind Jeff Bezos allowing that Kindle app to be sold), I recorded more rational (and hopefully helpful) comments.

To hear general information about the Kindle 2, start about halfway in (5:10).

Also, in mid-March, my daughter and I talked about the Kindle 2 on our radio show, Parents and Kids Talk Radio. Download the show by clicking here.

What’s a Kindle?  It’s an electronic book reader produced by Amazon.

Kindle 2 by Amazon

Anyone who travels several times per month (and likes to read) should seriously consider investing in this device.  It holds 1500 books and is smaller and lighter than some paperbacks.

My video review is coming soon…