You’re in bed and finishing an exciting new book. Can’t wait to get your hands on the second volume.. at once! Then the new portable reading device from Amazon might just be next on your wishlist.

The Amazon Kindle‘s seamless proposition: browse, buy and read the most current titles including books, newspapers, magazines and blogs, no wires attached. Unlike your usual glaring backlight powered portable devices, electronic readers like the Kindle (below left image) utilize e-Ink technology that replicates black ink on light colored paper and are superb for prolonged reading.

In a nutshell, you get instant access anytime and anywhere (currently within the USA, possibly UK by year end). Convenience is the key selling point with control placed literally at the customer’s fingertips – 125,000 title choices, and counting. No cables or wi-fi required as the content is bundled with free 3G delivery. Will Kindle eventually become as ubiquitous as your indispensable mobile phone?

Being someone with promiscuous reading habits (too many books make strange bedfellows), I confess it was the initial attraction to their ‘1-stop shop’ concept. You also have a choice of 200 stored titles without having to physically lug them around. Admittedly the idea and hardware itself is not new or terribly sexy. There are more sleekly designed devices in the market such as the Sony Reader, Dutch iLiad and Hanlin eReader (below image, right) from China’s Jinke Electronics. I find laptops get hot too fast and iPods, smartphones etc. are too small for extended ease of reading.

So what exactly is Kindle’s wow factor? Digital content delivery via wireless downloads under a minute. The largest online book retailer is building on its existing relationships with publishers and to good effect too. CEO Jeff Bezos is appealing to the tech-savvy generation weaned on instant gratification (IM) and accustomed to iPod + iTunes sensibilities. Download by the chapters next, anyone?

Amazon recently lowered the $399 price tag of Kindle by 10% to US$359 while the Hanlin and Sony Reader PRS-505 retail at $299. Customers making a comparison may also want to take into account that Amazon absorbs the bundled 3G access costs and on average, a Kindle book download typically costs less than half the price of the printed copy or some ebooks (based on prices from ebook.com).

How about targeting the burgeoning expatriate and English-speaking communities in Asia, then developing multi-lingual add-on capabilities? Digital content via wireless delivery will offer interesting growth opportunities in Asia where mobile phones far outnumber the number of PCs. Looking forward to seeing the Kindle here soon.