For a long time, I have been looking forward to the Amazon Kindle e-book reader to be an outstanding train commuter companion.

Unfortunately, because of its popularity, Amazon has not been able to keep it in stock. At long last, they have caught up with demand and the Kindle is now in stock for immediate delivery.

The Kindleis much more than an ebook reader - especially when you compare it to previous generation ebook readers such as the Sony Reader.

The Kindle has its own, free high-speed mobile internet connection, and is connected to the Amazon store - which means if you aren’t particularly interested in the books you have stored on the Kindle, you can buy a new one - anytime, anywhere - and be reading it in seconds.

And unlike the A TYPE=”amzn” asin=”B000WP2RC2″>Sony Reader, the collection of titles available for the Kindle is massive - over 150,000 titles. A quick check shows that 9 out of 10 of the New York Times hardcover fiction bestsellers are currently available for the Kindle - and at only $9.99, its much cheaper than the hardcover.

For straphangers, the availability of the New York Times and many other newspapers, as well as a number of weekly and monthly magazines, means catching up on the daily news without needing change or killing a small forest with a print subscription.

If any of our readers have been using the Kindle on the train, please let us know what you think in the comments.

The other day I noticed the passenger in front of me on a flight was reading one, so I surreptitiously got to see firsthand how well the e-ink display worked - it was great!