[citation][nom]niz[/nom]With all the artificial limitations and lock-in it has, You'd have to be a moron to buy a kindle.You can buy much better (less limited and more useable) e-book readers such as nook or sony for the same or less than than the price of a kindle.[/citation]
but you can't just flip it on, shop for books, and get a book to read without ever going to a computer. It can receive books either through USB or through emailing them to the unit. Sure, it doesn't read all formats, but I have yet to find a book that is only available in one format.
I like my Kindle. I've transferred over a dozen 'free' books to it using the USB connector so far, and several more books in pdf format through email. (I'm picky about the books I read. So, I only have about 40 books on it right now.) It's not nearly so limited as some seem to think.