When I first heard reports that Amazon was considering the idea of launching its own app store to rival the Android Market, my reaction was one of confusion. Why would a second app store be necessary? What did Amazon know about mobile apps? How the heck was this going to benefit me and the other Android users?

Well, more details about the plan have emerged now that developers can start submitting their apps to Amazon, and I have changed my tune in a dramatic way. This is the reasoning for my flip-flop.

• The Android Market sucks. The updated version that showed up a few weeks ago makes the tool even worse than it was before. It’s nearly impossible to discover any good non-Google apps, and the update process is messy.

• My big wish might come true. Back when I was an active iOS user, all of my app browsing and purchasing went through the iTunes Store. I almost never used the App Store feature on my iPod Touch. I’ve always thought that the biggest limitation to the Android Market was the inability to go app hunting in a big-screen browser. My hope is that Amazon will realize this and embed its app store on its website.

• Junk filtering is more important than I thought. Google likes to brag about how many apps are in the Android Market. Too bad those numbers mean absolutely nothing since only 10 percent of them are even worth looking at. Amazon has said it will be stricter, almost Apple-esque, in the way it approves submitted apps.

• Amazon knows how to sell stuff. The company does not have a huge mobile presence, but its sales skills may be exactly what the Android culture needs.

WIth all that said, I don’t want you to think that an Amazon app store is an automatic win. There will be downsides, and the most apparent one is fragmentation – something Android has been criticized for since its first release. When you want an app for iOS, you go to the App Store. It doesn’t require a second thought. There are no other options. With Amazon entering the app distribution picture, things could get complicated for Android users. Some apps will be available in only one store; others will be found in both. There may legitimately be a day in the near future when you need a special app to tell you what app store that new game you heard about is in. Apps for finding apps: this is the world we live in.

Early reports indicate that the Kindle 3 will be a terrific piece of hardware and a game-changer for the e-book industry.

I’m an Amazon fanboy, but I’m not buying one. I didn’t even consider it for more than a few minutes. That’s because the Kindle 3 isn’t directed toward people like me who already own one. It’s meant to convince the doubters, the traditionalists, the people who insist on reading paper things. I can’t predict if the strategy will work, but here are a few things about the device we know for sure.

• The price tag is the most important thing about the new Kindle. Feature and design changes are great, but everyone knew Amazon would have to find a way to drop the Kindle’s price if it wanted to expand beyond a niche market. Now you can get a Kindle for as little as $139. Goodbye competitors! Why would anyone buy a Kobo from Borders for $150 when you can get Amazon’s superior library and software for less? I could see the Kindle following the path of the iPod. Apple gobbled up the digital music industry last decade while other MP3 players became obsolete. And if that’s the case with e-readers, watch for the Barnes & Noble Nook to tumble down the path of the Microsoft Zune.

• Jeff Bezos read my mind (or maybe he’s just smart, too). The same thought crosses my mind ever time I turn on my Kindle’s wireless adapter. “Man, it’s great to have free 3G coverage – but is it really necessary?” I bet the answer for a lot of potential Kindle owners out there is no. A network connection is only required for transferring new or archived books to your Kindle’s memory and syncing between multiple devices. Unless you read 1,000 books every day or don’t live or work in a place with wi-fi, the 3G service is overkill. If I did feel the urge to upgrade to a new Kindle, I would take the wi-fi model over the 3G one without hesitation.

• It looks like they got the navigation tool figured out. My only complaint with the Kindle 2’s hardware design is the five-way controller that you use to scroll through text and menus. It’s clunky and imprecise. From the pictures of the new models, Amazon had replaced it with a better navigation tool that gives you four separate directional buttons and a selection button in the middle.

• The Kindle is not scared of the dark anymore. No one is talking about one of the Kindle 3’s coolest features, because it’s hidden on Amazon’s description page. If you look closely at the pre-ordering information, you’ll see an option to purchase a leather case with light. That’s right, Amazon has built a case for the new model that contains a retractable reading light and is powered by the Kindle itself. People are always shocked when I tell them that the Kindle does not have any backlight option at all. The Amazon reading light may not be the perfect solution, but at least it makes nighttime reading more feasible.

• The Kindle is not an iPad, and Amazon doesn’t want it to be. But come on! Something can’t be cool unless it has a touch screen and bright colors! Well then, I guess the Kindle is destined to be uncool. It’s an e-reader; it’s not a tablet. To drive the point home even more, I think Amazon should get rid of the joke of a web browser that they have running on Kindles. It doesn’t serve any useful purpose, and trashing it would prove that the company’s entire focus is on making the best reading device possible. The point is: Apple and Amazon are not competitors, and that’s perfectly fine with me.

When Apple announces even the smallest update to the iPhone operating system, geek nation goes into freakout mode and dissects every new feature. Despite its brief cameo on “Modern Family,” the Kindle doesn’t get the same kind of love (I’m still a little steamed that the show gave the iPad a 30-minute promo, yet ABC couldn’t manage to use the Kindle’s actual name in last week’s episode).

Here are five reasons why the Kindle 2.5 update is a major improvement for current owners and a big deal for Amazon’s future.

1. Collections

Both Apple and Amazon left the basic concept of folder organization out of the first several generations of their mobile operating systems. It’s finally here in Kindle 2.5 and will be included with the upcoming release of iPhone OS 4.0. No one knows why such a logical feature was overlooked, which means the companies just assumed their customers had a secret passion for clutter and chaos. The new collections feature brings relief to the many Kindle users out there like me, who have discovered the unfortunate truth that it takes far less time to buy a Kindle book than it does to read one. As your Kindle library grows, you find yourself scrolling through lists and lists of titles on your device to locate the next book you want to read. The 2.5 update lets you create collections to separate your books based on genre, author or whatever the hell you want – and it makes home screen navigation dramatically more manageable.

2. Social Networking Integration

It’s far from perfect, but it’s a start. With Kindle 2.5, you can link your Twitter or Facebook account to your device and then post passages that you’ve highlighted for the rest of the world to see. If you make a note on the passage, it’s included in your status update along with a link to the text (which even non-Kindlers can view).

3. It Gives the Keyboard a Purpose

While the Kindle’s keyboard is not as laughable as the useless color block on the bottom of the Barnes & Noble Nook, I often find myself wondering if it really needs to be there or if it’s just taking up potential screen space. However, the new Kindle software update gives you more opportunities to use the keyboard and shows that Amazon was planning for the long-term and not just trying to make a pretty PDF reader.

4. It Puts Pressure on the Other Guys

I doubt executives from Apple, Sony or Barnes & Noble are having trouble sleeping because of the Kindle update – but perhaps they should be sweating a little bit. Amazon promised the Kindle would be a revolutionary device, and now that’s starting to become a reality. The social networking feature is the first step toward changing the reading experience. It looks like the key to Amazon’s strategy is the new Kindle website that’s out in beta (a blog entry for another day), where it is cultivating a massive community (and possible cult) of readers. With the web capabilities of the iPad, Apple has the chance to do something just as special, but it’s hard to judge how much effort they want to put into iBooks. (My guess: not much.)

5. The Update Process is Wicked Exciting

Amazon announced the Kindle 2.5 update a few weeks ago, but it was purposefully vague about the timing of the release (sometime in May, the company said). Kindle users knew what that meant: time to leave your wireless turned on. Because unlike pretty much every other electronic device in history, you don’t check for updates on the Kindle or choose to download an upgrade. Nay, the Kindle chooses you. That’s right – the only way to get a Kindle update early is to turn your wireless on and wait. I did this the other day, checked back a few hours later and entered a state of euphoria when I discovered my Kindle was running version 2.5. I felt special, like Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos had scanned all of the Kindles around the world and picked mine to receive the update. I guess Steve Jobs doesn’t love me as much.