Official-looking Kindle 2 pictures and pricing leak out
By Nilay Patel 
posted Feb 6th 2009 7:43PM
posted Feb 6th 2009 7:43PM
[Thanks, Alex]
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drop the price a bit
and i would DEFINATLY pick one up ! :)
360.00 is too much.
but damn does it look enticing!
@Look at you
KAIKAI's boobs or the Kindle?
@Mikeweezer
The boobs.
This might be enough to get me to move from my beloved PRS-505, which, while sexy, just seems astoundingly behind the times in terms of underlying software and support.
That's a lot of wasted real estate that could be better used by a larger screen.
Too expensive for a device that was made to squeeze even more money out of your pocket by buying the ebook content.
I would spell "definitely" first. Maybe the Kindle 2 will help you learn.
I would love to use a Kindle to read books on, but I like coming up with ways to save money. I love paper books and always will, but i enjoy my reading books in a different way. I use my PSP to read books on a crowded metro train in DC. I only need one hand to read and flip to another page, but with a book it is too difficult to use both hands while the train is jostling you around. PSP Max Media Manager, ABCLit & PSP Ebookcreator fix reading on my PSP.
if you drop more, I will pick you up..
I would spend 354 only it was letter size.. 8.5 X 11
hoping plastic logic will deliver it soon..
Haaaaha. You spelled a word wrong. Everyone caught it so it's the dunce cap for you.
That does look nice but why not hide the keyboard
which you don't use 99% of the time?
Moving parts tend to add thickness.
I tend to agree.
This is not exactly what I want in an e-reader. I'd like to see the screen go to the edges, and right from top to bottom. Then we're getting closer to e-paper. sigh, how many years are we away from this?
nice? has no one notices all the extra bezel that wasn't on the 1st Gen?
kudos
the keyboard is a waste
if they must have one, have it slide out
but seriously, have they not done any market research?
i want to buy this for the ereader functionality, not so i can write a crappy story about my day.
The keyboard is kind of necessary to use the book store, which is kind of the whole point of the Kindle.
If I ever bought one I'd embed solar panels in the bezel area. There's lots of usable real estate there.
Totally agreed. The keyboard is not important. Either give me a bigger screen or make the entire device smaller, but lose the keyboard. If a keyboard is necessary for some actions, implement a digital version and a screen that does not show fingerprints easily.
The keyboard area is useful -- that's the bit that beds down into the duvet without obscuring any of the page ... :-)
Mark Wheadon
I have an original Kindle and this design does not appeal to me at all. I love the sharp edges of the Kindle and I think reducing its thickness would be a step backwards in usability. For a device meant to replace book reading, it needs to be somewhat substantial in the hand. This thing also has a keyboard that looks worse (although i'd have to try it) and a bigger bezel around the screen. Also I have never used the speakers on my Kindle so I don't see that as a big improvement.
That being said, the back and side views of this thing are damn sexy.
I have an original Kindle too (love it). My thoughts exactly.
Put me on the me too bandwagon. I love the form factor (and dare I say, the sharp-edge design of the current Kindle, things are just too curvy these days) of the current Kindle. Although, my beef with this design is that the screen is too small to the rest of the device. I'm hoping for an upset on release day.
I'm calling fake. I don't think Amazon can make it that thin, and the big metal plate is sort of an iPhone/iPod Touch copy. I'd be glad to be wrong on this one!
I still hate the 'speak and spell' giant keyboard on it. Get rid of that crap, get a bigger screen, and figure out text input some other way that doesn't bulk up the device so much.
Design and marketing (pencil) by Apple Inc.
You ever seen the Sony Reader? That is as thin as this.
Hey! I kind of like the keyboard. Think about it, when you hold a book you usually need some blank space at the bottom so that your thumb doesn't get in the way. Too little space, and it gets unconfortable, or you need to move the book/magazine around your hands to keep reading, in every page. So having that "screen free" area at the bottom (and a little at the edges) seem to be the most comfortable way to have it. And since there's a free area on the bottom -- might as well stick a thin keyboard in there, right?
I really hate to piss off those against the keyboard but, I must admit, Ricardo makes an excellent point.
Yes, having all that bezel at the top and sides may seem dumb, but it is probably neccesary... most likely stuff under there that is new and makes the Kindle 2 better than its predecessor. I can't wait for somebody to crack this thing open and prove my point.
That keyboard is a ton better looking than the scattered-rectangular-scrabble-piece design of the old one. It probably feels better too.
I am willing to plunk down the money on this sexy piece of product. It looks better than before, "might" perform better than before, and will cost the same as before.
But I must note the striking similarities between this and apple products.
-It's white!
-It has a metal back with a plastic-looking strip (iPhone, anybody?)
-It costs the same, but adds more sexy and/or performance (Apple is famous for doing things like this)
-It is simplistic(ish), yet functional-looking (Macbook Pros are famous for their simplistic fuctionality)
-Did I mention that it's white? Oh...
So when I try to hold the device by the screen free are I inadvertantly type stuff on the keyboard?
The keyboard can be used to hold the Kindle. Most of the keys are inactive while you are reading. (at least in the current version). The keyboard is useful in the bookstore and for writing notes. Making it slide in and out would add mechanical complexity, weight and cost. Making a virtual keyboard on screen would require adding a touch screen which adds cost, complexity, eats batteries, and (in the Sony 700) makes the screen less legible.
Thin and fugly
Wow, it actually looks pretty nice.
Looks great! But $359! I can get my self a nice ipod touch for that which does much more. It's not a great e-book reader but it does the job.
If Amazon wants people reading again, they need to keep the price under at least $249.
really? REALLY? you'd read a book from your ipod? go read a few hundred pages and tell us how that goes.
This is just to expensive. Its nice, and i do want one, but i cant really justify that much money.
I currently read all of my books on my Iphone 3G and although im aware its not the best option available, its perfect for me. I really do think that the stanza app is the best option for ebook reading at the moment.
@Max Pl
have read thousands of pages on my touch, and thousands more on my psp before that. no problems here. i'll take a high quality lcd with adjustable back light over slow e-ink any day . e-ink is the most over rated tech out there right now. limited use, limited functionality, in limited conditions, = limited device.
@hoohoo
Those thick glasses on your face look sexy.
really? REALLY? you'd read a book from your ipod?
Reading a book on your iPod/iPhone is a dream compared to reading one on a Palm - which I'd been doing since 2001.
Oy, this whole obsession with "thin" annoys me. Ergonomics should come before style.
Btw, they need a new hand model.
What is under that guys nail....
Definitely cut the price, too many buttons, and too thin, why are companies so keen on having really thin products? i wouldn't want something that thin, I'd rather risk a little thickness for improvements. Looks like it'll snap in half
I am so with you on this. Although I think the Kindle looks ok at that thickness, I think in general we are getting too obsessed with thin. Apple is so guilty of this. Sometimes its fine just as thin as it is, or maybe a little thicker. Just give us a bigger battery, more storage, whatever.
Looks good. I will probably buy one... if I'm not broke when it comes out.
But I'm guessing I will be broke, and so will many of us.
DAMN THE ECONOMY!!!
What's up with the huge screen bezel? Having a huge bezel wastes space. Most people want a small device with a big screen. This would give you a big device with a small screen. Also this "thin" craze (probably lead by Apple) is dumb.
Well, as they say...
"Thin is in".
And I think it's here to stay.
From ugh to sexy in just one revision - not bad, Amazon!
Love that image: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=22756&d=1233965915
Now, next revision: less buttons, bigger screen, priced at 250$ and available world-wide. BOOM!
But what we consider "sexy" these days is so impractical.
And how can you say that without even holding the thing at least once? Right, you can't.
Really, this "too thin!!!!" bitching is beyond me. Get a damn case if want it to be thick and be done with it.
True I haven't held this device specifically. But I have help enough devices with about the same thickness. And even devices that are a tad thicker, such as the Sony PRS500. The story is always the same: My hands start to cramp after a few minutes!
Manufactured cases generally don't add a whole lot of thickness to the device.
Would it kill them to make one in black? I'd rather focus on the text instead of the screaming white frame when reading, were I to get one of these, of course.
Unlike a regular display on a computer or a PDA, it's e-ink and it's not back lit. I don't think the white bezel would distract you at all. On the other hand, a darker colored bezel might actually be worse.
The Amazon Kindle 2.
So thin that it can be used to cut cakes!
Two words: Nice, Pricey.
Do want.
However, a touchscreen would be nice. That way the screen could be much bigger. For the occasional time you need to type something, you can use a touchscreen keyboard.
A touch screen, at least using the conventional technology, would cut down on the contrast of a strictly reflective display such as this.
But making it an option would open up huge possibilities for academics amongst us to read pdfs and annotate them. Give me that, and the option to send the results back to my PC for archiving, printing etc. and I'll be very, very interested.
@Rlkf
I do believe that the current Kindle allows you to highlight and annotate text.
However, will it make an appearance in the land of OZ?
I agree, how about it Amazon, make it available in other countries starting with OZ.
Thin is nice but the front is still ugly as hell IMO. There should most certainly not be a keyboard. The whole device is begging for a touch screen, then it wouldn't need any buttons. Many buttons on the side are bad enough but the text on them indicates that somebody didn't think through the user interface of this device.
An ebook reader needs to do two things: Display the list of books I have. And act like a book when I am reading.
Agreed, the thin is nice. But it looks like something Leap Frog would have made, a colorless Leap Frog I guess.
I dont understand the fascination with that thing.
How can you not understand? What other device allows you to download books (that are almost always cheaper then paperback or hardcover) and Amazon has the cheapest selection out of all e-Book retailers, and have a vastly better collection. It has an always on connection so you can buy a book anywhere you are (you don't need to be in a WiFI hotspot). Somebody could say to you "You should read this book" in a random hotel lobby and in seconds you've downloaded the book and you're reading it. I apologize for sounding like a salesman, but I don't see how you cannot be excited for this.
It's the large eInk display, which is both easier on the eyes and the battery life, and the fact that you can download books from anywhere in the US that has Sprint Data Service.
I will bet you one million dollars that portable e-ink displays with over-the-air (and automatic, with regards to newspaper subscriptions et al.) content delivery will COMPLETELY revolutionize and change the industry the same way that digital music revolutionized the music industry.
In the coming years, when this thing costs less than $100, and includes 10 free books, I'm sure you'll change your tune.
In the coming decade, these things will also be available with full-color 10+ inch touchscreens.
Leaving price out of the equation, I don't understand why you WOULDN'T want to make the switch to e-ink.
Oh yeah. Anyone bitching that it's too thin should STFU. You guys are such queens when it comes to aesthetics. Not to mention that I can't recall the last time anyone bitched about a device being too thin. I think you're just doing it to be contrary. Cool.
@crawdad689
It has absolutely nothing to do with aesthetics. It's a matter of ergonomics. Human hands are not flat.
Can I buy used eBooks? How about share eBooks with friends? Get the paperback version at 30% of the cost of the hardback? Check them out from the library and read them on the Kindle for free?
When I can do all these things legally then we can talk. Until then the Kindle is a niche technology for people that have too much money to spend or just love getting the newest technology (eink). Open up the platform and promote sharing (like what happens with real books) and you have will have a winner.
You know, I can swear I saw the front as a 'mockup' of the Kindle2 months ago all over the net.
I wonder if this thing will have some sort of email (gmail, yahoo, etc) app?
WTF is up with that keyboard? Why do you need a keyboard to read a book? I used my Palm PDA's (when I had them) to read books without a keyboard. Give me a smaller e-book reader without that monstrous keyboard!
Thin and light would be for portability and reducing fatigue.
The big bezel is for holding the device without putting finger prints on the screen (we are all different so some of us will hold the device differently).
The size of the device is perfect and the screen size even more so. I think the keypad was added because they had the space to fill.
This is gonna be good..
colour OLED screen, touch screen gesture area, virtual keyboard, wifi, GSM...etc... please...oh hang on, I seem to want a giant iPhone!
OLEDs are still a pain to read in daylight.
remove the keyboard, the internet connectivity and sell it for $200 and I will definately buy it. I don't need to type or download books off the air. i just want to read books dammit!
What's it like to read a Kindle in low light situations? What's the real battery life (as opposed to the stated)?
It's basically the same as reading a book, there's no backlight. The battery life is very good. As long as I'm not using Whispernet I can go several days or longer without worrying about charging it.
am i the only person that prefers real books? my not so local library never had what i wanted so i joined bookswim (netflix for books) and for the cost of 2 downloads i can read a dozen book a month. i tried a kindle and really disliked it. there is something about being able to flip thru actual pages that makes my day.
Yes, you're the only one who prefers real books ;-)
I mean, of course you're entitled to your opinion, but your preference is probably just due to familiarity.
...says the person who, undoubtedly, reads hundreds of pages of text per week on a display without so much as w whimper.
Ars had a piece on the whole "eBook" friction thing awhile ago, and the utter silliness of it.
Really people...we read tons of crap everyday...in the form of "not books".
Are we really going to continue to piss and moan about the inferiority of eInk/screens for another 5-10 years?
Away I go, chuckling at the wackiness of it all...what advantage does a shelf full of paper books have (assuming NO DRM) over a 10 ounce device that can carry a library of search-able books and pull more on demand over the air again?
I mean...are we not carrying 1000+ songs in our pockets now? Are you "real books" people ever going to let it go? :)
Next thing, you'll be telling us that the Web is stupid* and it was way, way better when ya had to make a trip to the central library and pull crap up on microfiche.
*OK, OK the web IS STUPID but you know what I mean ;)
Okay, so now imagine your current situation, except:
- You can now have any of your books available, anywhere you go. You can have a milk crate full of books in your hands at any one time.
- Add newspapers and periodicals to the mix.
- You can get the books you currently do without waiting in a Netflix-like lineup.
IMHO having to pay for paperbacks suck. I, like you, prefer to borrow my books instead. However, I'm not at all opposed to buying the Kindle if I can get a subscription plan with it.
You're not the only person. In fact, you're in the overwhelming majority. I know, it's surprising that sites like engadget aren't an accurate representation of the general population.
E-books are a solution to a problem that doesn't really exist. You cannot compare it to the digital music revolution for some very simple reasons. Having thousands of albums available instantly has obvious benefits, due to the fact that songs are an average of 3 minutes long, and CD contains an average of 10-11 songs. I could listen to dozens of songs during my commute. A book, however, is a much different medium. You read one book at a time. Why would I possibly need to have every novel I own on my person at once? I'm not actively shuffling through pages of different books. I'm not talking about books that are uniquely formatted, or have color illustrations, because I assume that technology will someday solve those problems.
I'll admit I've never used a Kindle, but I haven't really run into problems with physical books. I can underline, bookmark, carelessly toss it into my bag, hand it to a friend, take it off of my bookshelf and flip through it when I'm bored, it never runs out of batteries and losing it would not be the end of the world.
Then again, I still buy CDs so what the hell do I know.
Can you download books (non-copyrighted, of course) in pdf from bit torrent and read 'em on this thing, or do you have to buy them from Amazon?
Yes, you can download a PDF document, and then email it to your Kindle. In fact, I have done that with articles colleagues have sent me that I wanted to read on my Kindle. Every Kindle gets two email addresses, for example, mykindle@kindle.com and mykindle@free.kindle.com
If you send a txt, doc or PDF file to the first one, it would be sent (for 10 cents) to the Kindle. If you send it to the other address, you get an AZW file returned, you can transer to your Kindle.
I like my version one kindle, by the way. Amazon has many, many public domain books available for free, now. I downloaded two different translations of the Bible, loads of Mark Twain, various Roman writers (in English translation) and tons of 19th century classics for free.
I still like books! But I would rather have a Kindle. Real Books + Kindle = perfect world!
OK who wants to lend me $359?
are those speakers?
Yes, it is expensive- but so are the other eBook readers; 'e-ink' is still pretty niche so the prices haven't come down much. I would say it is still an 'early adopter' item in spite of Ophra's endorsement...
Amazon Kindle (orig); introduced at $399, currently $369
Sony eBook; introduced at $399, currently $299
JetBook Reader: introduced at $299, currently about $199 (6" screen)
There are other models with comparable prices: http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix
One thing the Kindle that sets it apart is that it has an integrated EVDO radio (Sprint, I think?) to allow direct purchases/downloads from Amazon and direct delivery of a newspaper/magazine (i.e. it can e used without a PC).
The newer Sony PRS-700 reader has a touch screen; hopefully the Kindle 2 will incorporate this (and maybe WiFi and SDHC support as well?)
I would much rather it be $200 or so, but that isn't going to happen for at least another few years- unless these devices start flying off the shelves and the 'economy of scale' kicks in.
Actually, the price isn't that unreasonable...when you consider that for a college student, that's about a semester's worth of books.
The only problem is that it doesn't seem textbooks are universally available on the Kindle. If I could reasonably hope to never have to buy a book, and instead download it for a quarter of the price (maybe?) this would pay for itself in a single year.
359 is a little steep for a semester of books ... maybe a years worth ... but the kindle isn't suited for college or academia anyways because there is no way to mark the book or write notes in it. I love the idea of a kindle, but as a college student moving on to a masters degree I would only use it for 'light' reading ... which I do very little of. Any book being read for the purpose of study would have to be a real book (as it stands now).
Cool, but what`s with the small display? I hate the big space around it.
It's still a 6" display. But that's a big as most hardware makers have dared to go. The larger ones are apparently too brittle at the moment. (The switch from glass substrates to plastic ones later this year is expected to change this)
The empty space is probably to address complaints about not having a place to hold the original model without hitting buttons. Though one could always grasp by the keyboard area, since most of those keys don't do anything while you're reading.
But is the screen any larger than the current model?
My wife has one, and that is my only complaint with the present Kindle - too small a screen.
to me there is something wrong with not actually having the book
Grrrrr - FCC & UL Marks - looks like only the US are getting the thing. :-(
All it needs, in my opinion, is a bit larger screen. PDF's suck on a 6" screen. Even a 7" screen would be significantly better - surely it wouldn't add that much to the price.
$350 sounds a bit too much. I guess I'll wait for iteration #3.
looks awesome, wish the price was lower, that is a lot for a book reader...
If this is legit, I'm so happy I got my order in last month. This looks great. Actually it looks like it will look good next to my white 3G iPhone : ) So, Monday will confirm or deny this article.
I understand the buzz around the Kindle. I mean half of America can't even read.
I don't understand the desire for black, especially in this instance. White text on a black screen is really tough to read, so the screen has got to be white. The whole thing is supposed to simulate a book, which except for the cover, is white. So, if form follows function, it seems to make sense that the bezel should be white.