Amazon Kindle 2 launching on Monday -- we'll be there live!
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted February 6th 2009 11:03PM
posted February 6th 2009 11:03PM
posted February 6th 2009 11:03PM
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Now with less ugly!
MUCH less ugly!
Looks much better!
My Chicken Lips will love this!!!!
Less... but still a lot.
Physical buttons... have we just been sent back in time to 1980?
It looks like an early iPod that has been run over by a steamroller.
Still not happy with so many buttons and the "THIN!"
However if it manages to impress engadget then it might be worth a look. Lets hope its a palm situation not a dell :)
Those of you who bash the keys clearly don't have an original kindle. You don't use them much of the time but they are sort of necessary to look up content in the online store. Not all e-readers can be as slick as the Sony model and require you to hook up to the computer with a USB cable every time you want to download content!
I'm buying. Are you?
Yes, it's perfect!
I'll take the no bezel and no keyboard version, thanks!
Does it need THAT much space for the keyboard? Is this a reader or a typer?
Apparently, both.
The Kindle looks HUGE in standalone pics, but in pics with it in people's hands, it looks significantly smaller.
Yeah, I think this is a case where an onscreen keyboard would be good. If people have managed with the iPhone's keyboard, then they should be fine inputting small amounts of text with a bigger keyboard. Then you could also replace those giant, space-wasting buttons with a swipe gesture, too.
@Justin Bell: Unless your actively using Amazon to seek out new books, adding notes or using a document search feature. Useful as all get-out in academia!
"you're"! Drunken academic fail.
Come on..like 4 people are going to buy this....it's crap
no, just one person... but Oprah will buy em all
Still looks pretty ugly, that keyboard is a waste of space, surely they could do a slide out keyboard or something.
with a screen that big may as well put a touchscreen with the keyboard on it that way when u want to turn a page on a ebook u just tap one side of the screen.
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Mark my words this thing will not sell over 1 million.... i hope.
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Yay?
I want one, although I really would like more screen and less buttons. A sliding keyboard would have been more appealing.
I agree with most of the other comments. That keyboard is wasting so much space. They could expand the screen quite a bit to the sides and downwards. I think all the empty space makes it uglier.
The empty space is probably there to give you more places to hold the thing without your fingers getting in the way.
Will it have a memory card slot and can I put book on it unencrypted without conversion WITHOUT amazon interaction ?
My guess is most likely NO to all of those.
If reports are to be believed, this "new version" doesn't have a card slot. However it should still have USB.
Rumors are that it will not have an SD card slot, but will likely have boosted memory over the Kindle 1. And as with the K1 it will probably come with a USB cable that lets you drag and drop documents on to it without Amazon interaction. Personally, I just mail everything to my Kindle, much easier.
These are all great reasons to get the sony reader instead. I guess if you don't like plugging it into the pc go with the kindle. I just like adding any files I have to my reader without having to go through the owning company first. Otherwise the devices aren't all that different.
You can already put lots of books in on a Kindle without involving Amazon. They don't lock it down. Some formats do require conversion but you can do that yourself with mobpocket software. If you don't mind involving Amazon a little bit, you can use their free email conversion service.
I wish Amazon would release this in Canada. I'd get this in a second.
I'm getting more and more interested in this. Handling a regular book is becoming cumbersome, hardcovers are too bulky, paperbacks' font size is too small for me. The idea of purchasing and downloading books over the air to a device without additional bulk is great. The older kindle looks too geeky and I don't like the sharp edges. This 2nd gen kindle's round edges is more aesthetically pleasing. However, it seems that it is actually larger than the older one, and the size is wasted on the extra space. I wish it's more compact with less bezel around the screen.
Kill the over the air download. In using a Kindle, I would MOST CERTAINLY dump the radio for a simple WiFi chipset/docking cradle to cut a huge chunk off the price. Make it $250 and the price is just low enough to ignore the many warts of book readers at the moment (poor graphics rendering, no color, presumably still no backlight).
wtf? OTA downloading is THE single best feature of the Kindle. I can buy books everywhere, because Sprint has insanely good coverage.
Why would you even buy a Kindle if it didn't have its OTA downloading? It is pretty much the entire point!
Unless you're reading textbooks, when was the last time you read a book with color and graphics?
If you want cheaper and don't care about the ota get the sony reader... It looks nicer too.
Maybe you can stop whoring out the Sony reader Ian... cuz some of us actually like being able to get the NY Times or new books wirelessly delivered to our device any where we get cell coverage.
Douchebag.
I will still wait for the movie to come out......
My question is.....Will it Blend?
less buttons and more screen space for R3 please.
I am very interested in it. It seems a reality hand PC.
But it can more cool. Hope more and more apps developed upon it.
What an awful attempt to try and contribute to the conversation. Stick with hawking your batteries elsewhere.
I'd say that it blends so well that you may have trouble finding it. What really concerns me is the haunting fear that anyone who uses one regularly might slowly become as gray and featureless as the text on the Kindle's screen.
Looks much better than the first.
I wish the keyboard would be closer to the screen, and the buttons on the side would be shifted upwards a bit.
Those buttons would be so easy to press accidentally.
Kindle question: With that keyboard, can you write things in a text editor?
The current software for Kindle 1 doesn't have a text editor. That's one of my pet wants, just a very simple editor. So far, no go.
@carld
lol, I read "pet wants" as "wet pants"
I'm a big reader and love the idea of not toting around books. That said, the Kindle seems like way too much of a niche device. As mobile phones continue to increase their screen size and netbooks/umpc's become more common, the Kindle becomes less and less attractive. Do I really want another device to carry around just so I don't have to lug my books? Especially, when I can read those same books on a nice 3.5" high res screen (phone) or a 7" screen (netbook/umpc).
I think the Kindle with either go the way of PDA's or change dramatically to differentiate itself from other mobile hardware. No way will the Kindle survive at it's current price point and functionality over the next 4-5 years.
You don't seem to get it. Reading on a backlit screen is murder on the eyes. Ever try reading a novel on your LCD computer screen? It's eyeball rape.
This is where the e-reader comes in. You see, it has this thing called e-ink. It is almost indistinguishable from real print ink. In fact, if you've never seen an e-reader in action before I guarantee you'll attempt to try and rub the screen to see if it isn't actually printed paper. It is really that realistic looking.
As such, it makes reading as easy on your eyes as reading an actual book. The upside? You can carry around hundreds of books in that small of a package. It is also much easier to hold in many situations - in bed, on the can, in the tub (risky, but hey, live on the edge), in the car, on the bus, etc.
Besides that, LCD backlights suck up electricity like a hooker sucks.. well you know. E-Ink only requires energy to flip the page, so you're using very little electricity and thus the batteries can be quite small and last you for several thousand page flips. Can you say that about an LCD screen? Didn't think so!
Having used all three, the Kindle is FAR superior to the other two devices for reading.