If you don’t yet own an e-book reader and are (wisely) holding out for the next generation, you can while away the time by downloading Kindle software on your late-model PC. If you happen to purchase a color-illustrated book you’ll be able to read it on your PC/Kindle. Sevenistas will be particularly happy, as the new Windows 7 touchscreen features will allow you to zoom in and turn pages. (Just remember you don’t have to wet your finger to swipe to the next page, as yours truly unconsciously did on a friend’s iPhone. I left a nice wet souvenir on the screen. Twentieth century habits die hard.)

Kindle for Mac? Mac users will just have to wait a little longer, as seems to be their eternal fate. Amazon says it’s “coming soon.”

Jacqui Cheng reviewed in considerable detail the PC version of Kindle for Ars Technica and gave it a qualified thumbs-up. She found some glitches which presumably will be ironed out, but her biggest reservation is that reading on a desktop or laptop just doesn’t compare to doing it on a dedicated e-reader. “Kindle (and all dedicated e-book readers in general) are superior to the computer screen when it comes to reading books, and that still holds true,” she writes. “The Kindle for PC software adds another layer of flexibility for users who want to access their purchases elsewhere, but we just can’t see ourselves relaxing in bed, on the plane, or anywhere else with a laptop when all we want to do is read a book. Kudos to Amazon for giving users more options, but we Kindle users will likely continue avoiding the PC for this purpose.”

Well yes. But let’s not forget the the day of the the tablet is dawning, and that’s when a Kindle on your PC or Mac becomes a significant factor. Is Amazon setting up a back door play for the tablet market? Sounds like something foxy ol’ Jeff would do.

Richard Curtis