First Impressions
Amazon's packaging is well designed, minimalist and easy to open - no scissors required. On opening the box for the first time, the Kindle is right at the top with a long USB cable coiled underneath. Amazon doesn't bundle a mains adapter with the Kindle, but since it charges from USB (I've had it working with several mobile phone chargers and a compute) this isn't a big problem.
Since the battery was about 50% charged on arrival, I was able to turn on my Kindle and start reading straight away. The instructions made no mention of whether the battery should be charged first, so I didn't. Advice about how to treat modern rechargeable batteries tends to vary so I have no idea whether this will affect battery life in the long run, but it doesn't seem to have affected it in the short term.
When the Kindle is switched on for the first time, it displays it's own instruction book. This is stored permanently on the device if you ever need to refer back to it. It's very clear and comprehensive, but the Kindle's user interface is so intuitive that you'll probably never need to read it.
What I Like
Before I saw a Kindle in real life, I was dubious about manufacturers' claims that e-Ink screens are as easy to read as paper. Having experimented with the Kindle in different lighting conditions, I think it's easier. This is probably due to the screen being slightly reflective - enough to effectively use all the available light but not enough to be uncomfortable to read in direct sunlight. By default, the screen will only fully refresh itself every few pages which can lead to characters from previous pages showing up faintly underneath the current page. This can be fixed with a menu option, and although the instructions warn that it may reduce battery life I haven't noticed a significant impact.
Even with a case, the Kindle is still smaller than a thick paperback book. I was surprised by how small and thin it was the first time I picked it up. It's probably around the same weight as a small paperback, and is comfortable to hold for extended periods. I usually hold it with both hands, but it's narrow enough that you could probably hold it in one hand if you wanted to.On the subject of cases, the Kindle is so popular that there are lots of cheap cases available. I found mine on eBay for less than £5, and could probably have got it cheaper if I'd been prepared to wait for it to be shipped from China.
What I dislike
The screensavers that the Kindle displays when in sleep mode aren't particularly nice. Whilst I appreciate that it must be difficult to choose pictures that look good in greyscale, I'm sure they could have done better than they did. There isn't a way to add different pictures without jailbreaking the firmware, which I'm reluctant to do as it's very stable.
Things I Haven't Tried
As well as acting as a simple eReader, the Kindle Touch has a few extra features. These include a built-in web browser, support for playing music and talking books, the ability to highlight and mark pieces of text and the ability to look up dictionary definitions of words. I haven't used any of these features yet - I haven't needed to - so I can't comment on how well they work. I can't see myself browsing the Internet from my Kindle regularly because of the limitations of the screen, and whether I ever use the other features remains to be seen.
In Conclusion
I'm very impressed with the Kindle. The few faults I've mentioned above are more nit-picking than serious problems, and overall Amazon have created a very usable, intuitive device. I've found myself reading far more since I bought my Kindle than I have for a long time, in part because of the amount of free and cheap books available via Amazon but also because the Kindle is more comfortable to read than most paper books. I would highly recommend the Kindle to anyone with even a passing interest in reading.
