That’s the question posed by Leslie in a recent KindleBoards poll.

For me, I was sitting in a Starbucks in Atlanta when a lady at a nearby table started reading a Kindle. I was so excited, and – prodded by my wife – I worked up the nerve to ask her how she liked it. (I’m a serious introvert.) The Kindle owner graciously showed me how it worked, let me hold it, and described how much she loved it. I remember vividly how much smaller and lighter it was than I expected. A short while later, I opened up my own Kindle, which was a gift from my wife.

My experience, as it turns out, is not the norm…

A snapshot of the results shows that, out of 199 responses, about 65% of you bought your Kindle without having ever seen or touched a Kindle. Less than 10% of buyers had occasion to try a Kindle out before buying. This poll probably reflects how many of our members are early adopters, who ordered Kindles before they started appearing in the wild.

I had never seen or touched a real Kindle and read very little about it before purchase (it was an impulse buy). 24 (12.1%) I had never seen or touched a Kindle, but had read lots of information at the Amazon website and various forums (such as Kindleboards). 129 (64.8%) A friend/family member/co-worker had a Kindle and I had been able to see/touch/use it briefly. 10 (5%) I saw a stranger (ie, in a restaurant or airport) using one — just seeing it was enough for me. 1 (0.5%) I saw a stranger (ie, in a restaurant or airport) using one — I asked for a demo and that convinced me. 1 (0.5%) Other (please explain) 10 (5%) I saw it on Oprah and that’s when I decided to take the plunge. 8 (4%) I took advantage of the “see a Kindle in your city” forum at Amazon and was able to test a Kindle that way. 4 (2%) I received my Kindle as a gift. 12 (6%)

One of the benefits of our active forums is that we can quickly survey a lot of Kindle owners with these types of questions. Hit the comments link below to see the current results, and to vote!

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