Amazon Kindle 2

Jaypee Habaradas — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:30:19 +0000

Yesterday morning, Amazon officially announced and introduced its 2nd generation ebook reader, the Kindle 2.

Aside from a new sleek and thin design, Kindle 2′s improvements over the Kindle 1 include seven times more storage and can hold more than 1,500 books. It also has a much longer battery life and turns pages 20 times faster. The Amazon Kindle 2 also has a couple new features. The first one is called the “Read to Me“, a Text to Speech feature that reads ebooks, magazines and newspapers for you. The other one is called “Whispersync bookmarking”, which lets you read from one Kindle and continued reading it right where you left off from another Kindle.

Here’s the complete list of new features and enhancements:

Slim & Lightweight: Just over 1/3 inch and 10.2 ounces
Books in under 60 seconds: Get books delivered in less than 60 seconds; no PC required
Improved Display: Reads like real paper; now boasts 16 shades of gray for crisp images and text; even reads well in bright sunlight
Longer Battery Life: 25% longer battery life; read for days without recharging
More Storage: Take your library with you; holds over 1,500 books
Faster Page Turns: 20% faster page turns
Read-to-Me: Text-to-Speech feature means Kindle can read every book, blog, magazine, and newspaper out loud.
No Wireless Bills: No monthly wireless bills, data plans, or commitments. Amazon pays for Kindle’s wireless connectivity so you won’t see a monthly wireless bill.
Large Selection: Over 230,000 books, plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines and blogs available
Low Book Prices: New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise

Additional Photos:
Front and Rear views

Size comparisons

If you travel a lot and love reading books, the Kindle 2 is definitely a good travel companion. It saves you the hassle of carrying several books, magazines and newspapers around plus it also saves you luggage space and weight. The Kindle 2 would also be a nice gift for friends and loved ones this coming Valentine’s day.

Although you don’t have to pay for monthly bills to use Kindle’s wireless connectivity, I think it would be nice if the Kindle would have the option of using a regular WiFi connection to download ebooks, magazines and newspapers instead of just relying on Sprint’s 3G network. Right now, the Kindle only comes in one color – white. I think it would also be nice if they’d make them in different colors like black, blue, brown or grey.

The Amazon Kindle 2 will be released on February 24th but is now available for pre-order starting today for $359 and will start shipping later this month.

For those who have previoulsy placed an order for the Kindle 1 and haven’t received it yet, your order will automatically be upgraded to a Kindle 2. And for Kindle 1 owners, if you place your order today, February 10th at midnight PST, you will get first priority.

DISCLAIMER: JaypeeOnline is an affiliate of Amazon.com

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Amazon Kindle 2

Weekend Roundup #35