Amazon's Kindle 2 - my next gadget?

I've been looking at reports of various eBook readers over the last few years, and even read a few books on my Pocket PC.  This device, Amazon's Kindle 2, looks to being very useful for a traveller wishing to carry several books.

There's a review over at The Register (Amazon unveils Kindle 2.0), from where this image is sourced.

Kindle 2

Well, aside from the general Star Trekkie geekiness of the device, it seems to have some pretty useful features: 1.4 Gb available storage (about 1500 books, according to the Amazon page), eBook download via 3G, 4 day battery life (presumably 4 days of use?).

A very appealing package, but no European release date thus far.   And as with all eBook readers, I have to say that it can't really compete with the sensations of opening and exploring a new book (or indeed a musty old book!).  But still...the convenience for long journeys.