Amazon’s Kindle 2 is cool and all but it’s a recession, dude.

The Kindle 2 is Amazon’s latest effort at repooling their talents and attempting to make their first Kindle a bit more realistic. They approached the task with a fervor reminiscent of a certain electronics manufacturer named after a popular fruit, that shall remain nameless. The device that was produced after those laborious efforts came together was the Kindle 2, the latest and greatest in e-reader technology.

The Kindle 2 is thinner than the original at just over a 1/3 of an inch, comparable to most magazines. This is both nice, and a bit of a worry factor. You hold the unit thinking that a swift movement will snap it in half, yet you’re mind is boggled by the features this little sliver of plastic is delivering. The Kindle 2 features an updated system of wireless information transfer, jumping on the 3G bandwagon you can now download books from Kindle anytime, anywhere with no monthly fees, service plans, or Wi-Fi hotspots necessary.

Continue reading the review here.

Last time Jeff Bezos was in the building, we were chatting with him about the Kindle — the first version of the Kindle, which kind of doesn’t count. He was talking about how, for the last twenty years, the momentum of technological change has all headed in the direction of shortening attention spans, destroying the impulse for leisurely consumption, obviating the possibility of contemplation. We’re paraphrasing a bit, but that was the gist. Bezos continued, saying that he believes the technological pendulum will begin to swing back, that devices like his Kindle will, for some significant portion of the population, reverse that momentum. And in the cases of the few hundred thousand who have owned the Kindle for a while, that is clearly happening. The people we know who own Kindles read more books than they did in the recent past. They consume a variety of traditional media on Bezos’s original device, despite the fact that it was pretty crude, really limited.

Continue reading the review here.

If only the Kindle 2 were cheaper! Despite its other shortcomings, Amazon’s new and improved digital-book reading device does enough right that it could become the Model T of e-readers, capturing the imagination–and discretionary spending–of the masses. But in this wretched economy, in which most of us will purchase only nonessentials that save us money or make us money, I doubt folks will pony up $359 for a pleasure-reading gadget. And thanks to Amazon’s mysterious pricing policies, the old argument–that digital books are so much cheaper than their hide-bound ancestors–no longer holds.

Before a recent visit to my dear old mum, I purchased The Kindly Ones, by Jonathan Littell, a 992-page Nazi-palooza that, given the nearly 3-lb. weight of the new English translation, makes for an ideal Kindle selection. But when I got ready to buy it on Amazon, I blanched at the $16.19 price. Every Kindle text I’ve purchased since Amazon started selling the device in November 2007 has been $9.99. Indeed, that was one of the Kindle’s main draws: you could buy books wirelessly, on demand and at a fraction of the cost of their printed peers. Case in point: Littell’s book was listed in Amazon’s Kindle store with a hardcover price of $29.99, making the digital version seem like a real bargain. But later I discovered that Amazon’s bookstore was selling the new hardcover for $17.99. So the Kindle saved me all of $1.80. Big whoop.

Continue reading the review here.

After spending a week with Amazon’s $360 Kindle 2, I’d like to say we were wrong about it not being a big step forward, but for better or worse, it’s the same Kindle as before.

The annals of gadgetry are littered with revisions that just aren’t meaningful, like the 3rd Gen iPod with its solid-state buttons, or the slimmer, lighter but substantially unchanged PSP-2000. But after waiting a year and change for Amazon to get serious about its Kindle platform—serious enough to keep the thing in stock—I was surprised at how banal the modifications were. Why didn’t they just lower the price of the $400 original to something like $300 or $250, and build more?

Continue reading the review here.

We’ve spent a few days with the Amazon Kindle 2, which has been the talk of the gadget world this week. We know some of you are wondering if you should pick one up, so we are here to give you our thoughts on the latest iteration of Amazon’s e-book reader. If you’re like us, you already know that the Kindle 2 is available for purchase now, and you likely have one in your hands - but for the rest of you, join us for our full review of the Kindle 2 (and if you missed it, check out our Kindle 2 gallery.)

Okay, so while we were working on the review, we sent a couple of questions out to some of our Twitter peeps asking what they thought of the device, and Lisa from EllisLab hit us back with so much info, that we are using her feedback to break this down for you. Sometimes you need the point of view of a “real world” user anyway, as opposed to one of us gadget fiends. So what we will do is give some of our thoughts on the Kindle 2, and then bring in Lisa’s thoughts as well.

Continue reading the review here.

Slideshow|All ShotsBoth Loyd Case, editor of ExtremeTech, and Jim Lynch, forum moderator and commentator extraordinaire, recently bought Amazon Kindle 2 ebook readers. What follows is Jim’s review of the Kindle. He focuses on the hardware, plus the store and the experience of using the Kindle 2. Loyd talks about reading on the Kindle 2. It’s not, despite Jim’s thoughts, like reading a book. It’s not better or worse, but it is different. First, let’s look at Jim’s take.

In my last column I talked about what made me buy a Kindle 2. This week I want to share my impressions of the Kindle 2 after finally buying one. My overall feelings about the Kindle 2 are positive but there are some problems and drawbacks with it that I couldn’t help but notice.

Continue reading the review here.

At half the thickness of Amazon’s first e-book reader, the Amazon Kindle 2 ($359) is pretty inviting — it’s a, sleek, curved tablet that you can easily hold in your hands. But even though Amazon has made some successful enhancements to its e-book reader, other tweaks fall flat or miss the mark entirely. And the company has done little to advance the gadget beyond its single trick: reading digital books.

In the e-book universe, the Kindle retains a significant edge. Offering built-in Sprint 3G wireless (at no extra cost to users) and tight integration with Amazon’s shopping engine, the Kindle handheld delivers a cohesive reading and shopping experience (even the Kindle for iPhone application doesn’t allow you to shop within the app itself). Its nearest competitor, Sony’s PRS-700 Reader, can’t come close: Amazon’s library of Kindle e-books, all available for immediate delivery, gives new meaning to the concept of instant gratification.

Continue reading the review here.

At half the thickness of Amazon’s first e-book reader, the Amazon Kindle 2 ($359 as of 3/5/09) is pretty inviting–it’s a, sleek, curved tablet that you can easily hold in your hands. But while Amazon has made some successful enhancements to its e-book reader, other tweaks fall flat or miss the mark entirely. And the company has done little to advance the gadget beyond its single trick: reading digital books.

In the e-book universe, the Kindle retains a significant edge. Offering built-in Sprint 3G wireless (at no extra cost to users) and tight integration with Amazon’s shopping engine, the Kindle handheld delivers a cohesive reading and shopping experience (even the Kindle for iPhone application doesn’t allow you to shop within the app itself). Its nearest competitor, Sony’s PRS-700 Reader, can’t come close: Amazon’s library of Kindle e-books, all available for immediate delivery, gives new meaning to the concept of instant gratification.

Continue reading the Kindle 2 Review.