This week my wife and I are celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary. Although we typically don’t do the gift thing for our anniversary, we decided to give each other a gift this year. Last night we exchanged our gifts. To my surprise, my wife bought me a Kindle.

I have been intrigued by the Kindle for quite a while. Plus I know that both Ernie the Attorney and Michael Hyatt love their Kindle. Thus, I was quite excited to get my hands on it and try it out.

My first impressions, after using it for less than 18 hours:

• I love the sleek, thin design.
• I love the pictures that are displayed on the screen when it is in sleep mode.
• The e-ink is crisp, clear, and easy to read.
• Buying a book is a very easy process (perhaps way too easy for me).
• I wish the bottom (where the keyboard is) was tapered slightly. I think it would be easier to hold and type on if it were.
• I wish it had a touch screen. the 5-way navigator works fine to move your cursor around the page, however, it does not work nearly as nicely or elegantly as it would if it had a touch screen.

Although I have the second generation Kindle, I recognize that this technology is really still in its first generation. I an anticpate that in the near future, we will see these devices with color screens, touch screens, and the ability to take notes on the screen. I know Plastic Logic is working on some aspects of this now. On the other hand, the Kindle has a market and appears to be selling well. Plastic Logic doesn’t expect to hit the market until 2010.

Anyway, I love the Kindle so far and my wife is awesome for getting it for me.