Amazon.com is getting the much coveted support of the best-paid woman in American showbiz - Oprah. The television icon has said on her show that she would soon reveal her “new favorite gadget”. Although Oprah didn’t openly name the product, all the clues point to Amazon’s Kindle.

The device named Kindle is an e-book reader. It has an embedded system that allows you to read electronic books. It only reads Kindle’s own format – AZW – and it downloads the books in the specific format from a network. The network is property of Amazon.com and it bears the name Whispernet. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, Kindle is only distributed in the U.S., being useless outside the country, as Whispernet – free to use with Kindle – doesn’t work outside the United States.
The first time Kindle was offered for sale, it sold out in almost 6 hours. It was first sold for $399, but Amazon lowered the price later on to $359.

However, $359 doesn’t spell “cheap”, especially considering the fragile state of the American economy. It’s a known fact that whatever Oprah praises - sells. It has been proven time and time again, especially with the books she recommends. But how much will her rave boost Kindle’s sales? Because people have started acquiring e-book readers and the products are extremely popular, many companies have developed similar devices. Apple’s Stanza e-book reader is an example – it is an application for the iPhone.

It remains to be seen whether Oprah’s comments can boost sales just as much as before the economic crisis. It doesn’t seem impossible, especially when the controversial television legend calls a product “life-changing” and “the wave of the future.”