PDF really isn't that "compatible" with eBooks. Text needs to be able to reflow, arbitrarily break for pages, and not rely much on specific presentation. PDF is designed to look the same on screen as it will when you print out it, so it's at odds with the desirable eBook features.

Actually, PDF can include structure tags that allow it to re-flow the text when the display size changes. The problem is that this tagging feature is a somewhat new addition to the PDF standard and is not supported by most document creation utilities.

Ah, it's awesome that they've put some of that stuff in. I hope that stuff picks up faster than many previous cool PDF features have. :)

The kindle is roughly the size of a paperback... I can't imagine there would be much difficulty in making a pdf display in that size (and I routinely print pdfs at 2 pages per page side).

Many PDFs are made in letter size, so they would get scaled down to the point of unreadability on the Kindle screen. I don't think it's fair to compare the Kindle screen to 2-up paper, since printers have much higher resolution.

PDF conversion is pretty easy to achieve if you have Windows. If you have a Mac, it's a bit more painful, but it's still absolutely achievable.

you can also just email them to the email address associated with your kindle and it will wirelessly deliver your converted document to your kindle. even though it's an extra step, I find this version of "just works" is often superior, as I don't have to pull out any cables or memory card readers, and can be done asynchronously (I don't need my kindle with me to send it a document).

I know. The point is just that I shouldn't have to convert it, it should "just work" (tm).

You can directly put non-DRM'd files on the kindle. It's just that it only natively supports basic text and it's own semi-proprietary format. The effective difference is very small, but it's there.

You can also convert (via windows app or an amazon service) your own files into kindle's format.

The Kindle video on Amazon's site claims "View Word and PDF documents" ... is that somehow not true?

Take a PDF that is formatted for a 8.5 x 11, then try to read it on a 4 x 5 screen. It just doesn't work. Word docs, RTF files, and other structured doc formats (e.g. HTML) can be re-flowed to fit the screen correctly, but a PDF file needs to use the "tagged" PDF format and have the structure tags included in the doc or else it will not be able to adjust to the different display size.

It may be subject to change in Kindle 2's software. But in Kindle 1, it has to be converted.