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.

The Kindle 2 is here folks — it should look pretty familiar at this point! Feast your eyes on the photos. We’re building out with more photos and video, so stay tuned. We played for the unit for the briefest of moments, but it really does feel great in hand. The brushed metal back is great, the device is incredibly light and comfortable to hold, and the keyboard is fairly usable. We’re not convinced the five-way joystick is the best they possible could’ve worked into this space — a d-pad seems much more logical — but it’s responsive and comfortable enough to twiddle with for what it is. Here’s some thoughts:

• The five-way rocker is definitely a step up in terms of navigation — it makes getting around pages way easier by allowing you to skip through individual words, and you can actually navigate simple web pages the way you’re used to.
• The new dictionary pop up (it brings up your definition on the bottom of the screen as you’re scrolling through text) is a huge win. It was a pain before, but looking up words is now super easy. Unfortunately — according to Ross Rubin — footnotes are still handled in the slow, laborious way they’ve always been.

More of the Kindle 2 Review here.

NEW YORK–Were there an anthology of gadget launch announcements, the unveiling of Amazon’s Kindle 2 e-book reader would have one of the more anticlimactic storylines.

It started out like any other big press conference, with a line of reporters and photographers streaming out the door onto the chilly sidewalk outside the historic Morgan Library & Museum.

The Kindle 2’s arrival had been preceded by the usual blog blitz of leaked photos, rumors, and breathless wish lists. (A color screen! Better PDF support! International versions of the Kindle store!) Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos took the stage, Steve Jobs-style, with a slide show recap of the original Kindle’s success before making the big debut.

More of the Kindle 2 Review here.

The unveiling of a hotly anticipated new product. An exuberant chief executive thumbing through slides. A surprise appearance by an A-list guest.

Amazon’s (AMZN) Feb. 9 introduction of the Kindle 2 had all the makings of a product launch by consumer electronics wunderkind Apple (AAPL). “That was parallel to the performances at iPod launches,” says Ross Rubin, consumer technology analyst with NPD Group.

That’s where the comparisons with Apple should end. As much as some might try to draw parallels between Amazon’s approach to books and Apple’s take on music, analysts are clear that the latest generation of Amazon’s sleek, white little electronic book reader is no iPod for the book world.

More of the Kindle 2 Review here.

Now that we’ve seen, unveiled by Jeff Bezos today in New York, I can’t help but conclude that the more powerful machine provides only a slim additional reader benefit. Here’s why:

There are improvements that make the Kindle 2 marginally better for readers, like faster page turning, smaller better page-turn buttons, longer battery life and the ability to charge via USB. None of the rest of the tweaks affect the actual business of reading directly or indirectly, and even these upgrades probably won’t turn Kindle 1 owners an envious shade of green:

• 20% faster page turning: It nice because flipping ahead several E-Ink pages can be annoying—but it’s not what’s needed to make a real difference. You still can’t leaf through a Kindle book like a real book, and that won’t happen until the page refresh is 100 times (maybe 1000 times) as fast.

More of the Kindle 2 Review here.

The Kindle was out of stock for the last two holiday selling seasons as Amazon underestimated demand, Bezos says. “I’m very hopeful that we’ll be able to stay in stock with Kindle 2,” he said Monday at the New York launch, while offering no guarantees.

Kindle 2 will cost $359, same as its predecessor. More than 230,000 books are available in the Kindle Store. Best sellers typically cost $9.99. Newspapers, magazines and more than 1,200 blogs are also available.

More of the Kindle 2 Review here.

As part of Amazon’s unveiling of Kindle 2, the online retailer announced a new novella from Stephen King titled Ur will be available exclusively on the device.  I caught up briefly with King at the Morgan Library in New York City.

Question: As a writer how important is this new delivery system?

King: The delivery mechanism to my mind is secondary for me as a writer. That isn’t necessarily true for people in the business end of it.  But I did this once before with a story called Riding the Bullet and I never had so many guys in suits come up to me and ask me questions. But they didn’t want to know about the story, they didn’t want to know about the process, they wanted to know about the delivery system, but to me that’s secondary.

More of the Kindle 2 Review here.