Amazon's Kindle 2 is Not Quite a New Generation
Kindle Users Don't Need An Upgrade Unless They Want To Be Read To
Feb 9, 2009
Amazon is ready to sell Kindle 2, and people are already lining up to buy. Amazon assured owners of the original, first-generation Kindle that, "our original Kindle owners are first in line to receive Kindle 2. Place your Kindle 2 order by midnight PST on February 10th and you will receive first priority."
Customers who have placed an order for the first generation of Kindles will recieve a Kindle 2.0
Comparing the First and Second Generation Kindles
Kindle 2 is a botox Kindle. It appears much prettier, with gentle curves and round buttons. The slim silver line has been replaced by a few buttons and a controlling joystick. Other changes include:
- the dictionary now has words that appear at the bottom of the screen, instead of leaving the book
- pictures will appear more detailed because Kindle 2 has more shades of gray
- making notes, highlights, and bookmarks are easier to access because through the keyboard and joystick-like "5 way controller" options
- the speakers are on the new, sleek back
- Kindle 2 is thinner and weighs slightly less than the original Kindle
- The battery-power lasts longer, and the memory stores more (2GB)
What has stayed the same is what people bought the Kindle for in the first place:
- Whispernet downloads that are lightning fast
- Glare-free screens that can be read in direct light
- Adjustable font sizes for reading text
- Automatically remembering where one is
- Basic web-browsing without incurring charges
- Text conversions for txt and pdf files (free books abound and just need to be emailed and converted)
Exciting New Feature on The New Kindle
What no one expected was the experimental text-to-speech feature, because ... who buys an E-book reader if they want to be read to? The Kindle's usefulness is often surprising, however, and perhaps stopping to read but still hearing the story or article while driving will be valuable.
Other interesting features include:
- the ability to quickly copy entire articles
- zooming in on pictures
- Whispersync, which Amazon says allows users to "seamlessly switch back and forth between Kindle devices while keeping your reading location synchronized--simply pick up reading right where you left off."
Most people don't have two Kindles, and it doesn't make sense to switch back and forth between identical devices that one has readily available. Matt Hamblen of Computer World picked up on something noteworth from Jeff Bezos Kindle 2.0 announcement. In "Shh: Whispersync Could Be The Real News Out of Kindle 2".
Whispersync, Hamblen suggests, may indicate that Amazon will allow Kindle files to move across different mobile devices (such as cell phones), "which means it will work across multiple networks as well."
The Big Kindle 2.0 Questions of Current Users
Across Kindle forums, the big question has been if the new Kindle uses an SD card. It does not have an SD card slot, so the answer to that is no.
Also, the new Kindle does not come with a case, and it will not fit in the covers of first generation Kindles, so the $359 price tag needs a $30 cover added into it.
For people without Kindles, Kindle 2.0 is going to answer wishes they didn't know they had. For current users, sit back and wait for Kindle cell phones and see what whispersync offers.
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