This week Bezos is releasing the Amazon Kindle, an electronic device that he hopes will leapfrog over previous attempts at e-readers and become the turning point in a transformation toward Book 2.0.

The $399 handheld device, now available, uses wireless connectivity, via “Whispernet,” based on the EV-DO broadband service offered by cell-phone carriers, allowing it to work anywhere.

It can hold 200 books onboard, hundreds more on a memory card, and a limitless amount in virtual library stacks maintained by Amazon. Also, the Kindle allows you to change the font size and search within the book for a phrase or name. It uses 167 dot-per-inch E Ink display.

More than 88,000 digital versions of books will be on sale at the Kindle store, priced at $9.99, and users can also subscribe to select newspapers and magazines.