Amazon's Kindle eBook reader sparked off a revolution when it was first launched and tech-savvy readers rushed out to buy one. So is it all it promises to be?

Kindle 2, which was released earlier to improve on the basic Kindle design has a 6-inch screen and can hold about 1500 books (2GB memory). It gives you access to a library of thousands of books, magazines, blogs and newspapers via the Amazon interface. Being audio enabled means that unlike regular books, you can use it to listen to MP3 music and AAC audio files too.

It has a read-aloud feature that converts written words to audio, making it useful for the visually challenged as well as those who prefer audio books.

The more recent Kindle DX has some smarts like a screen that reorients itself depending on whether you are holding it vertical or horizontal – convenient! The biggest plus with the new reader though, is its ability to read regular pdf format books as well. A caveat here is that the zoom feature won't work – so if you have a pdf file that's full of tiny text, readability is vastly decreased on the Kindle DX. 

An increased memory of 4GB means your device will now be capable of toting a whopping 3500 books. This reader, with its enhanced screen size of 9.7 in is clever, but a tad clunky thanks to its increased girth.

The downside to the Kindle is it doesn’t allow you to enhance memory, is still expensive, Word documents are not readable on the device and a lot of the content readable by Sony’s Reader won’t work on Kindle.
However, the easy to use format, plus the built-in wireless access make it a very strong contender to be the eBook reader of choice for a long time to come.