I just took a trip to BestBuy to check out some voice recognition software for my Mac and found myself perusing every tablet and reader on display. After toying with all the devices (Dell Streak, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Archos, Velocity Micro Cruz, Sony Reader, and of course, the iPad), it's safe to say the Kinde is by far the unsexiest of the digital Frankensteins. Here are a few things that became immediately obvious about the Kindle — straight from its owner's mouth:

• Dark grey words on a light grey background, however crisp it's made, is downright depressing. Every book is overcast. Look at a Kindle next to any other device and you'll automatically feel like you need an umbrella.
• The keyboard is small, and clunky. It's too wide for my thumbs to comfortably reach across all the keys, and the individual keys are too small for my thumbs not to hit other keys while I hit the keys I actually want. You know what I measfd?
• "Web browsing" is an experience that lasts only as long as you are patient. If you've never tried it, I'll give you 10 minutes before you throw the Kindle against the wall. I imagine using it is akin to being a beta tester for Netscape 1.0 over a regular phone line.

A few things the Kindle does win on:

• It's the lightest of the devices I've held found, which, unfortunately, also makes it feel cheap.
• Its size, for me, feels as perfect as Baby Bear's porridge.
• The ability to buy a Kindle book and read it anywhere — and sync across devices — via the Kindle App is, the smartest move they could make considering the Kindle's lack of sexy.

Unless you've got a relationship with the Kindle that started prior to the onslaught of tablets and reading devices that are hitting the market right now, the thing is unwantable. And when the reading experience on my cell phone is better than the experience on my Kindle, it makes me not want to pick it up again. But what do I know? The Kindle 3 is the best selling product ever on Amazon, and you can tell by Mr. Bezos' maniacal laugh, it must be true.