Kindle- Not on my shopping list

I recently just began listening to books on audio. That was not a difficult move for me, however, it was one I resisted because reading something is far better then listening to it. Time, however, is against me; making better use of time- my drive- the solution was obvious: audio books.

This is the thing. I am not averse to technology. I love it. I just posted on the technological facts that one should support the Writers Guild of America's strike (besides the moral and ethical reasons). But technology being so prevalent these days makes it also burdensome.

While the Kindle is a great innovation for reading and education. There are a few problems. Why not make this accessible to children in developing countries so they have easy access to books that are expensive when printed? $450 bucks for a Kindle is a steep price. Furthermore, their is a monopolization of reading that I am not to enthusiastic about. Okay, set all these aside- this is the real reason why Kindle is not on my list.

I have a PDA phone, an iPod, blue tooth; clutter of technology and its hard to mange it all. I want integration. The iPhone would be great but in the business world- my world- Microsoft is King and Windows is the sheriff in town. iPhone does not work with my outlook.

So I have my PDA and my iPod, you want me to buy a Kindle in order to enjoy my books where ever I go? No, sorry. It could be small, it could weigh nothing, and you can make it cheap. But for me I need technological integration not segregation. Why not work with google to create a Kindle phone- a book reading do-hicky, combined with a phone and mini-laptop. Now that would be a great idea- I could even listen to my Quran while I read the Arabic?