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Amazon Kindle 2 - making a great gadget even better
It's no secret that I love the Amazon Kindle - the electronic book reader made our top 25 lineup of best travel gadgets for 2008, and despite several minor shortcomings, most readers picked it as their favorite gadget as well.The Kindle has been a massive success - and ever since it was released, it's been fairly hard to get, with shipping often taking about a month.
That is probably not going to improve any time soon, as Amazon just announced the new Kindle 2 - thinner, smarter design, and a host of other new features make this $359 device a clear winner.
In fact, I'd say the new design is so good, that we'll see the "iPhone effect" where many original Kindle owners upgrade to the new version.
The device has a better e-ink display, capable of displaying 16 shades of gray, a faster refresh of the screen, and the ability to convert text to speech for the new "read to me" feature. But best of all, they updated the page turning buttons, which were always a massive annoyance.
Needless to say, the new Kindle is probably going to be just as successful as the old one, and should help keep Amazon on top of the ebook market.
Filed under: Gadling Gear Review
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Brian M Feb 9th 2009 3:38PM
My wife and I are struggling to find a reason to spend such a Vast sum of money on something so specialized that STILL requires a monthly contract. We're library people (helps that I'm the IT director in one), cards are free, books too (for the 1~2 weeks it takes to read one). Ebooks are available on any computer, again for free, and a netbook (Dell mini 9, $249) is cheaper than the Kindle and does a lot of vastly more useful functions at the expense of battery life.
Needless to say, we haven't found justification for towing around yet Another gadget, especially when it's a one-hit-wonder. Even my MP3 player can play every audio file known to man, show movies/video and it acts as a small reader as well (Cowon D2).
So, for those who have one or are going to buy one, how did you make the justification? More money than you know what to do with? I'm honestly curious.
Brian
Scott Carmichael Feb 9th 2009 3:49PM
Brian - you make perfect sense, and it is indeed quite a lot of money to spend on a gadget.
To me, the Kindle really is not interesting for people who enjoy sitting at home and reading a good book the old fashioned way. Electronics simply can not replace the look and feel of a "real" book.
The power of the Kindle comes from the ability to buy a book anywhere you want. There are no monthly fees involved with the device, and the cost of downloading your book is included in the book purchase.
The Kindle is perfect if you are stuck at the airport, or in a hotel room and need a new book to read.
Yes; a Dell Mini 9 will do e-books, but good luck keeping that thing going for more than a few hours. The Kindle does not use any power except when you download a book or change pages. When the e-ink display is working, pages are static, and don't drain the battery.
Also, the device is easier to carry around than a normal PC or netbook, there is no reboot involved, no patching or anything else that takes the fun out of reading a book.
If you read a lot of books, then the $359 investment is fairly easy to justify, as it saves on shipping costs, saves on the price of overpriced books at the airport or local book store and saves gas which you'd waste driving to the library or book store.
The Kindle also offers newspapers, magazines and blog access.
Andrea Feb 11th 2009 10:11PM
quote: "....Vast sum of money on something so specialized that STILL requires a monthly contract."
Huh?? I didn't know the Kindle required a monthly contract? Please explain! Thanks!!
Jeanne Feb 9th 2009 8:23PM
I agree with everything Scott has said. I'm a University Library Director and I adore my Kindle. Getting a little older, I "rediscovered" the joy of reading for fun. The kindle is much easier on my hands/wrists than a printed book, the font choices make it much easier on my eyes that now require bi-focals. I LOVE to shop for books almost as much as some like to shop for shoes and now I don't have to use gas to drive into town. With the Kindle, I'm not taking up valuable "real estate" in my home with books that I somehow never get around to taking to a resale shop.
Craig Feb 9th 2009 8:46PM
It's still pretty chunky -- why is it so much bigger than the screen?
I'd like to see one of these in color so you could put guidebooks (with their color maps) on it.
Andrew Merrick Feb 11th 2009 7:23PM
I've seen the Kindle in action and was very impressed.
The main feature that separates this product from the traditional book is accessibility (before mentioned). One can purchase subscriptions to periodicals from all over the world.
I have an acquaintence here in Austin, Texas that reads the Dublin newspaper everyday while car pooling.
Perhaps in time we will see more of a morph between this item and the iPhone like technology, allowing interent capabilities on a larger screen but easily portable. Something simple.
The main issue as always will be digital security. But that's something we are always concerned about.
justaskgemalto.com
Tom Apr 16th 2009 8:26AM
Dear Scott,
I too love my Kindle - and yes, I sheepishly I have a perfectly fine Kindle I lying around because I ran right out and bought the Kindle II.
But I'm still confused why there is still one glaring omission from Kindle books that would make it great for travelers: there are almost no travel guides! True, Frommer's just came out with a cool 12-city guide, which I bought right away. But other than that, almost none of the major travel guide publishers have anything for Kindle. Do you know why travel publishers seem to be much slower than other major publishers in creating Kindle editions? I would think Kindle owners would be a natural audience for travel guide ebooks. I actually thought travel guides would have been among the first Kindle editions available. But obviously I'm missing something about the economics of publishing. Any thoughts?
Thanks! (In the meantime, I'm lugging lots of travel guides around with me - and every time I buy a new travel book on Amazon, I click the button to say I'd like to read this on Kindle.)
Best,
Tom