Amazon Kindle 2: Finally looks cool

Amazon may have finally gotten it right with the new Amazon Kindle 2.  Taken a few notes from Apple I’m sure, the new kindle is sleeker (not hard to do), thinner, and seems to be overall, a better product.

The original Amazon Kindle wasn’t that bad actually.  It was sort of like “Windows 3.0″, a game changer.  It just wasn’t refined.  

When Amazon released the Kindle it was a major step in our own literary evolution.  There were a handful of E-Ink devices prior to the Kindle, most of which were prototypes though.  The Kindle let people download books and read them on a paper like screen.  That was the best part.

I remember a review I read about the Kindle over at Dubious Quality.  The review, titled Kindle, used the greatest description for the device I could ever imagine: homely. 

Look how thick and boxy the original one seemed.

Seen here, you can see how the old Kindle looked.  To me, it was very similiar to the size of an early 80′s basic calculator.  Lots of hard edges, and just clunky looking.

The new Kindle 2 features much smoother edges, and is overall something I could imagine people wanting to be seen with (remember the first few iPods you saw?).

Here are some features of the new Kindle 2:

• 1/3 inch thick, 10.2 ounces
• Download entire books in 60 seconds wirelessly
• Better display than the original, 16 shades of gray — it is an E-Ink display, so it seems like you’re reading paper!
• 25% longer battery life than the original.  Works for days without a recharge (the digital paper lets the device use battery life ONLY to refresh the image, and not keep it lit.  So you use small amounts of battery life when reading text)
• More Storage: holds over 1,500 books.  I can’t imagine ever needing more than that.  Until we can watch movies on it.
• Faster Page Turns: 20% faster — of course since it is digital ink, the screen refreshes aren’t that fast compared to a monitor.  However, when you read a book, you turn the page anyway.
• Read-to-Me: Text-to-speech.  I’d imagine this would sap battery life, and really don’t see a major need for it but it would be nice for making any book an audiobook in the car
• No monthly fees.  It’s just a device that can download wirelessly.  
• Large selection: there are over 230,000 books, papers, magazines and blogs available
• Cheaper book prices: this may be a biggie for most of you, standard hardcover books available for $35 are available for the Kindle(s) for $9.99.  

If you want to ask me, I think the new Kindle will be the final spark that starts the big fires.  I don’t think these devices will be ubiquitous for quite some time, but these are where books are going.

Order it here: Amazon Kindle 2

Tags: Amazon, Amazon Kindle, Amazon Kindle 2, Dubious Quality, E-Ink, Kindle, Kindle 2

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