Earlier this week, Amazon starting shipping the new Kindle 2 e-book reader. Priced at $359, the Kindle 2 is thinner and a bit lighter than the original Kindle.
This video features a hands-on demonstration with Amazon’s new e-book reader. Learn about the Kindle 2’s new features, and whether it’s an improvement over the original Kindle.
Continue reading the Kindle 2 Review.
Having already handled the Kindle 2 at its launch in New York City, we had a pretty good idea of what we’d be getting into after it arrived at the bunker. Once we actually had a little time to spend with the device, it really started to sink in how much those minor tweaks can add up to make a big difference. Jumping from Amazon’s original attempt at an ebook reader to its latest iteration isn’t exactly like day and night, but it’s definitely a positive shift in the experience, though one that leaves us wondering how they failed to make some of these choices the first time around. Read on for a full look at the Kindle 2.
Continue reading the Kindle 2 Review.
There’s been a lot of anticipation about what Amazon would do for an encore to its much-hyped e-book reader, the Kindle, and now that it’s finally here we can say that the Kindle 2 is about what we expected it to be. Talk of it being a huge leap forward or going from generation one to generation five in one fell swoop was really, well, just talk.
In reality, the Kindle 2 is a nice upgrade over the original Kindle; yes, it leaves off a couple of key items–most importantly removable memory and a protective carrying case–but it makes up for it with a slicker design, improved performance, increased internal memory, built-in speakers, and a new feature, Text-to-Speech audio reading.
That’s all you need to know in a nutshell. But I did write about 2,500 more words on the device if you want the full skinny on Amazon’s Kindle 2.
Continue reading the Kindle 2 Review.
The most notable feature of the Kindle 2 (Amazon.com’s long-awaited update to its groundbreaking but somewhat flawed electronic reading device) is that it’s possible to pick it up and not turn the page. This sounds like faint praise, but anyone using the original Kindle quickly found the oversized buttons covering both sides of the device made grasping it a delicate, stressful task — kind of like picking up a sea urchin. Anything less than perfect finger placement would lose your place.
Not so with the Kindle 2, which fixes that problem and a host of others through thoughtful, businesslike improvements and innovations.
Are the improvements big enough for the Kindle 2 to spark an iPod effect, causing bookstores to shutter, forests to grow unchecked and the tomes on our shelves to disappear, replaced by plants and bobble-head dolls? Not any time soon.
Continue reading the Kindle 2 Review.
In the high-tech industry, you live for the day when your product name becomes a verb. “I Googled him.” “She’s been Photo- shopped.”
Amazon, however, is hoping that its product name, a verb, becomes a noun. “Have you bought the new Kindle?”
The Kindle is the most successful electronic book-reading tablet so far, but that’s not saying much; Silicon Valley is littered with the corpses of e-book reader projects.
A couple of factors made the Kindle a modest hit when it made its debut in November 2007. First, it incorporated a screen made by E Ink that looks amazingly close to ink on paper.
Continue reading the Kindle 2 Review.
The first-generation Amazon Kindle weighed 0.29kg and offered a paperlike E-Ink display that keeps eyestrain at bay (as compared with the backlit displays of mobile phones and other mobile devices). The first Kindle was readable in sunlight; it also offered long battery life and allowed you to look up words on the fly, as well as to take notes and highlight passages at will.
The Amazon Kindle 2 retains all of those capabilities, in a slimmer form (it’s 9mm thin). We like the thinner profile: the new device feels better in your hands, and we think it will be easier to pack. At just 0.28kg, the device’s weight is virtually the same as before.
Continue reading the Kindle 2 Review.
As the media huddled outside the Morgan Library in Manhattan this morning awaiting the unveiling of the Kindle 2, the big question was: when can we touch it? Sure, we came to hear Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos tell us how skinny it is (25% thinner than an iPhone, although he never mentioned Apple’s phone by name) and how many books it’ll hold (1,500 books), and how many are now available in e-book form (230,000). And it was a kick to hear featured author Stephen King read from his Kindle-inspired novella, Ur.
But really, we just wanted to get our paws on the thing. Which I finally did, for a quick page-through.
I knew I’d be reading Kindle today, but I didn’t expect it would read to me. The new text-to-voice feature is one of the ways that Amazon realized it could distinguish the Kindle from an ordinary book. As goofy as it sounded to hear the Gettysburg Address read by a computerized voice on the Kindle’s upgraded stereo speakers, it’s also easy to imagine how convenient this would be when your eyes and hands are otherwise occupied, say, while driving. You can choose a male or female voice, and select one of three speeds. (The fastest speed is best; it sounds better than Amtrak’s Julie or Hal 9000 in 2001). I couldn’t tell about the volume, though. The lobby where we tried the demo units was crowded and you had to crane your neck to make out Ms. Kindle reading from The New Yorker, a new addition to the Kindle store as of today.
Continue reading the Kindle 2 Review.
As expected (and leaked) Amazon unleashed their Kindle 2 e-reader today. The pics and price we detailed on Friday were 100% accurate, but now we’ve got the official details for you to salivate over. This version of the Kindle is much more svelte, measuring a 1/3 of inch thick and weighing just 10.2oz, which is apparently less than most paper back books, at least as far as Amazon is concerned. They’ve updated its connectivity to 3G enabling books to be delivered in under 60 seconds. And while slimming down the e-reader, and rounding the corners, they’ve managed to improve battery life by as much as 25% and increase ‘page turns’ by 20%. Another big notable is the ‘read-to-me’ function that will fill the void in case Mom or Dad aren’t around to read you bed time stories. The Kindle 2 will be released February 24th and cost $359. Kindle 1 owners will get first priority if they place their order by Feb 10th, that is assuming Amazon sells out to the general public. Ton o’ videos on the product page including a drop test, which makes the Kindle 2 look suitable for military application.
My only disappointment? No college/text book integration as first rumored. Amazon could’ve been a major factor in the fight against Scoliosis.
More of the Kindle 2 Review here.
Amazon’s Kindle wireless e-book reader, launched 14 months ago, has been one of the hottest selling consumer electronics gadgets in the US and helped create a new distribution model for the book publishing industry.
Amazon is looking to its second generation Kindle 2 not just to build on the success of the original Kindle, but to substantially expand the market for electronic book readers and e-book content.
I got my hands on a demonstration model at the Kindle 2 launch in New York on Monday and was suitably impressed – particularly by its sleek, slim new design that replaces the clunky, wedge-like slab of the original.
More of the Kindle 2 Review here.
Amazon.com on Monday released a new version of its Kindle electronic-book reader, but the slimmer and lighter upgrade of the original is drawing criticism from some Kindle users.
Rather than make any dramatic changes, Amazon has tweaked the original book-sized Kindle. The new version is a third of an inch thick, weighs about 10 ounces, gets more battery life, and has an improved display. In addition, Amazon has added more storage and has made the device faster. The price, however, remains the same: $359.
More of the Kindle 2 Review here.