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When the Amazon Kindle first came out, we kind of laughed at it; limited by battery life and with a $400 price tag, it allowed you do nothing more than read separately purchased books.  Now, we're still not ready to embrace the thing, but it turns out that the Kindle is a little better than most people previously believed.

Suppose you've been walking down the street, reading the latest Terry Pratchett novel (not that we'd recommend this, but it's been known to happen).  Then - oops - you look up and you're in a section of town that seems even stranger than Jonathan Teatime.  Never fear - Kindle can help.

"It seems there is a location capability (GPS?) in the CDMA module," writes Igor Skochinsky.  He goes on to list keyboard shortcuts that can perform tasks like "show current location in google maps," "find gas station nearby," "find restaurants nearby," and "find custom keyword nearby."  Presto, you're back where you want to be.

It seems Kindle owners can also take screenshots, make slideshows, and play Minesweeper.  Granted, some of these uses are more practical than others, but we have to agree with Joshua Topolsky, who calls that last item "everyone's favorite time-wasting game."

So, although $400 is still a little much for a glorified book-carrying case, the Amazon Kindle may deserve a few kind thoughts.