The Amazon Kindle 2 was not just created for reading the latest novel on the go. Business professionals have used the Kindle to consolidate their work documents. Students are also buying the Kindle 2 as an alternative to hauling around enormous textbooks in their backpacks. While it is not a perfect device and certainly won't appeal to everyone, there are some serious benefits when it comes to replacing all of your bulky paperwork with a digital reader.

Like it or not, the world has gone digital in almost every way, even books are available in MS Word or PDF formats. While these documents are typically designed to be read on a home or work computer, the Kindle 2 has some functionality with them as well. PCs and Macs have no problem working with them as they have been doing it for years. However, the Kindle 2 does not have native PDF readers and struggles with certain formats of files.

Here are some common solutions for this problem. The first option would be to send over your files to Amazon and have them converted. This requires only a very small fee but if we're talking about dozens of books here, a student may have to spend a lot of time sending files over to Amazon. Plus, with the issue of college costs, any amount spent would have an impact on struggling students. One could also opt to convert the files himself, but again this would require a lot of time that students could put to better use.

But with the negative aspects come the positive. Obviously, the size difference is more than a little appealing. College students won't have an aching back from their backpack full of textbooks and a businessperson won't have a sore shoulder from a stuffed briefcase. You may even save money with the Kindle 2. When you look at the price, that may sound silly, but digital copies of books can be substantially cheaper and considering how much a college textbook can costs, that is saying something. Most professors have jumped into the digital age and started offering class materials in the form of PDFs, meaning you will need a computer to view some of your work anyways. Switching to the Kindle just gives you another avenue to view that material.

You have to weight the pros and cons to determine if making the switch to the Kindle 2 is worth it for you. If you are put off by the thought of converting you files, you may not be interested in the Kindle. But if lugging your paperwork everywhere is starting to take its toll, it may be worth the extra effort to save yourself from the burden. And there is always the option of upgrading to the new Kindle DX, which comes standard with the ability to read PDF files.