Comments on: New Amazon Kindle 2 coming February 9?

Amazon.com is scheduled to hold an important press conference on February 9 in New York. Could it be for the new Kindle?

[talkingfuture]

Hope this is true. It was in our predictions for this year, http://www.talkingfuture.com/search/label/Preview%20of%20the%20Year we aren't doing too well so far. I don't think these will really take off until you can get colour displays.

[swee2th]

I ordered my original Kindle in November and was told by Amazon it would ship in March. They are so back-ordered that I think this qualifies as a marketing disaster. I'm afraid to lose my place in line, so I'm going to see if I can switch my order to the newer model rather than canceling my order.

talkingfuture: I don't think this needs a color display to take off. It's for serious readers like me. Everything I read is in black and white, so color would not be much of an enhancement to me.

[talkingfuture]

Swee2th - you may enjoy reading without the colour screen, I read a lot of technical books with diagrams and books with great photography. I want the display to be like a piece of paper. I agree it is perfect as it is for reading the latest Malcolm Gladwell or James May have to offer.

[ibeetle]

You ain't kidding swee2th when you say this qualifies as a marketing disaster.

While Amazon does not release Kindel sales number it is estimated (realistically) to be in the 235,000'ish figure.

Sony, which does release its eBook numbers (all models sales combined) are well over 500,000 and Stanza a ebook software for desktops and mobile devices like the iPhone are closing in on 1 Million software downloads.
Even if you double the Kindle numbers its competitors are murdering it.

[AlanHub]

ibeetle where are you getting your data from, most analysts predict around 500,000. Your data must be a good year old. Reevaluate it please

[celticbrewer]

How is it a marketing disaster if they're sold out? Sounds like it was a marketing triumph and a manufacturing/supply disaster.

[ibeetle]

@AlanHub The analyst are wrong on this. They are making their best (educated) guess from a business stand point.
The information that I am reading is from ALA and the publishing industry. Friends who work at Workman and Random House.

Are you going to trust some analyst who tells you the iPhone is going to be a disaster, the iPod is done and AIG is a great company to invest in. All true from just about all "analyst" at one time or another.

When Microsoft and Nintendo had a hit game system on their hands they shouted the sales numbers from the rooftops. When the iPod was first released Steve Jobs lead every keynote speech with iPod sales numbers. When companies have a successful product they love to talk market share and sales. Amazon not only does not release sales figures but sends out false information to muddle any sales figure prediction.

[Perno13]

It's at the Morgan Library in New York City. Engadget let the cat out of the bag. They better reduce their electronic book prices. I've read prices have been steadily increasing.

[microlee]

AT LAST!

[towerpower914]

Cool news. Ordered a Kindle on 11/26 w/ shipping estimated at 2/18 - 2/26. VERY surprised when a Amazon "order shipped" email was sent on 12/14.

[Larry_Smyrna]

WHAT THE HECK! I just got the first Kindle and now they're chaning it already?

Will I have to shell out another $400?

I'm not too sure about this thing becoming a revolution.

I've been a book reader for 30 years and it was really hard in the beginning
to get myself adjusted to reading a Teleprompter.

I think the level of "entertainment quality" of the books one initially reads
decides how quickly and to what degree Kindle owners become "into" their Kindles.

I?ve had a Kindle for 6 months and the problem for me was finding outstanding books to get me
used to reading this way.

Two of my close friends, however, got "into" their Kindles right away--and they also admit
that a big reason for that was how much they enjoyed the first books they read on the Kindle.

I wasn't as lucky breaking myself into the Kindle.

I found two books, the autobiography of Osama Bin Laden?s mistress, Kola Boof (what A book!) and Stephanie Meyer's vampire book and both blew me away.

So when you have really strong material to read, the Kindle is a great device that makes you forget you?re reading a machine.

I actually snuggled up in bed with the Kindle when I was reading ?Twighlight? and ?Diary of a Lost Girl? (Bin Laden's mistress/sex slave) because they were so good, and once I actually found myself ENGROSSED in something I was reading on the device, I notice that I started purchasing a lot more books because there?s a huge discount on the Kindle Store books and also you start to feel funny if you don?t read something on this device for a long time. It compels you to use it.

Not sure others will feel the same but heck, they're already introducing the 2.0!

[danconley]

I think you're all nuts ... anyone who placed an order since the Kindle went out of stock gets the Kindle 2. Period.

[antquin]

agreed. so sensitive, ready to jump off a bridge...

[molotov]

This has been confirmed by me again and again. Thank you for stating the obvious. Thank you. Thank you.

[CNetter23]

The big question is not weather they will anounce the Kindle 2 and tell everyone who has one on order to take the Kindle or buy a used Kindle, but weather they will talk about the Kindle 3 also.

[CNetter23]

Correction:
The big question is not weather they will anounce the Kindle 2 and tell everyone who has a Kindle 1 on order to take the Kindle 2 or buy a used Kindle 1, but weather they will talk about the Kindle 3 also.

[molotov]

Correction:
The big question is not weather they will denounce the Kindle 2 and tell everyone who has a Kindle 3 on order to take the Kindle 1 or buy a used Kindle 3, but weather they will talk about the Kindle 1 also.

[hrubinst]

The REAL big question is whether you people know the difference between "weather" and "whether" -- and the answer is: you don't. Odd that people who read enough to think about buying a Kindle would make that mistake; perhaps the built-in dictionary will be helpful for you.

[spark9991]

monochrome screen, hard to see words, clunky rectangle shape...the kindle is far from practical, elegant, or ready for mass consumption...and at $400 it's a overpriced brick.

For $10 I can buy any book in paperback and enjoy to my heart's content, including the smell of the paper and ink

And, I'm not anti-tech...far from it. I've been in computers for 25 years and have the latest *practical* and *elegant* gadgets across the board

Kindle just doesn't kindle any desire to me

Sorry, Jeff, Kindle ain't ready for prime time...despite all the Apple-like hype you're trying to surround it with...

My bet is within 6 months Apple has a book reader out...but then again, the iPod Touch/iPhone shows a book much better than Kindle...

John Wozniak

[BoManiac]

Apple is not getting into the ereader market. Jobs confirmed long ago. Can't wait for the Kindle 2.0. Will buy the second it's put up on the Amazon site. It's gonna be HUGE. This is one gadget many people like me have been waiting for the next-gen. It will sell out within hours.

[molotov]

Its already sold ouy. The current que for Kindle 1.0 is actually for 2.0. If you want to receive yours in 2009; you should order it now.

[oregon1996]

I'm with you, the only way I'm going to start reading electronic books on a regular basis is if the device is considerably less expensive and the content is at a deeper discount that I'm currently finding. I love the idea of Kindle, but considering it costs nearly as much as a decent-quality laptop computer, I can't see spending the bucks.

[alawson84]

This sucks. I just got my Kindle at the end of October because the Kindle 2 didn't come out by then and now three months later they will put it out. I know Amazon probably won't, but it would be nice if they offered a discount off of the new Kindle for people who recently bought a Kindle and are willing to ship it back or some kind of Kindle store credit. Something would nice. Anyway here is to wishing.

[ecolinv]

Not that you or anyone did this specifically but when I saw Oprah pushing it, I did some research online and saw that the Kindle 2 was coming. So, yep, sure enough Amazon must have been trying to push out inventory and had Oprah singing it's praises. Even though Oprah wouldn't know an mp3 from Halo 3, I'm sure she got a nice cut from having the Kindle inventor on her show.

[crispeto]

I know I'm going to get lambasted for this but I actually enjoy reading ebooks on my iphone. Really. My wife has the latest Sony Digital Reader but it's actually kind of dim for me. Maybe I got used to the backlighting. I can read for hours in the daylight and I turn down the brightness in dim or dark areas. I have read a book on my wife's reader but I like the iphone just as much. It's way more portable and I can take all my music movies and etc also. Anyone else read on their iphone? We got my wife's ereader on promotion for $150. $400 for the Kindle seems way too high.

[atulya97]

I just hope they release the new Kindle on Feb 9 as Steve speculated. I am not sure as to how others feel, but I myself have become tired of waiting for the new Kindle. Also, as for as my knowledge goes, rumors of a new kindle have surfaced since Augest last year. FIrst they said it was Thanksgiving then Chirstmas and now a date close to Valentines day . I feel Amazon should atleast come out with a launch date on Feb 9th or suprise everyone by launching the Kindle.

[ADA_Section_508]

Has anyone ( Amazon or independent compay) done a American with Disabilities Act Section 508 Voluntary Product Accessibility Template assessment on this new one ?

If so what were the results, how did it fare with independent accessibility user testing with screen readers or other Adaptive (assistive ) Technology tests for users with mobility and cognitive delay disabilities?

Section 308 is a Federally mandated measure that notes that all Electronic and Informational Technology be Section 508 compliant -pertinent to State and Federal jurisdictions.

[pacardullo]

I just got my father's hand-me-down Kindle, and I'm loving it. Honestly, I'm too cheap to buy too many electronic books, until the price drops a bit more compared to "real" books. But, grabbing books from Project Gutenberg and other Gutenberg-like sites has been great. And, my teenage son is having fun using the Kindle to read Jules Verne.

[TomMariner]

If you ever doubted who the most powerful person in the country is, look at the Kindle. No, not Jeff Bezos; the woman with one name -- Oprah!

Oprah had Jeff on her show and was going through a speech about what an insanely great device the Kindle was, even though the sales were just OK. When she said that there was a discount if we mentioned her name, we instantly got to the Amazon site and ordered the electronic device (with a $50 discount). It arrived in two days.

Literally by the time the show segment had ended, the things were on back order. Now that's power -- Just think what would happen if she got behind a Presidential Candidate! Wait a minute.

[sbmeirow]

The Kindle 1 and 2 are junk!!! The screen is too small and the resolution is too low!

Articles:
http://www.slashgear.com/plastic-logic-demo-video-hands-on-versus-amazon-kindle-1216036/
http://www.slashgear.com/plastic-logic-ebook-reader-still-on-track-for-2009-video-interview-1619396/

Videos:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eWRpkIQrjYo
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=50x8h7fF4DU

[Notoapplefanbois]

You do realise the 2 that has been shown already may be just a concept, it did come out a few months ago after all

[Michael Fish]

I have owned a Kindle for almost a year and have read severl books on the Kindle. I have found it convenient in that I can carry multiple books with anywhere I go. I have no trouble with reading for extended periods of time and find that the battery lasts for days on a single charge. I have not found it to be clunky and holding it is easier than holding a paperback book open to he page that I am reading. I never lose my place as it opens to where I left off. I also have the convenience of a built in dictionary. However, I would have found it helpful if there is a way to save the definitions of unfamiliar words into a file so that I can learn them to build my vocabulary, Having the Kindle has significantly reduce book clutter in my house, between the pile of books to be read and those that I have already read and are just laying around as I cannot throw a book out and don't have the time to donate them to the library.

The drawbacks I have found is that there are books that friends have recommended to me that I cannot find in the Kindle store. You cannot flip through different parts of the book as you can with a book. The cost is a deterrent, especially since it may break in a few years and I would then have spend another $350 on a new Kindle.

All in all, I am happy to own the Kindle although I initially had reservations whether I would acclimate to using electronic books and readers. For those of yu who are into the "greening" craze, having the Kindle reduces paper production and waste.

[Alteration802]

If you have an outstanding order for the kindle, don't cancel it. You'll very likely be pleasantly surprised.

Trust me.

[BenzTech]

I've had a Kindle since last April and have fallen in love with it. Wasn't sure I would be at first. Something about that whole having a physical book in your hand thing. But after several months I've found that I just read more often when I have the convenience of taking one device with me in my bag everywhere I go.

While I have some gripes about my current device, I really hope the new and improved version isn't the one in the photos BGR released. I guess they're making the bezel larger to help you hold it from the sides, but then even though they minimized the buttons they still put them right where I want my hand to be! For me, my palm should touch the left bezel right where the new buttons are so the weight is balanced, and then my thumb can reach up above that to hit the page button. Even though my first generation buttons are even more cumbersome, there's no way I'd pay money to upgrade to the new unit just to face the same problem.

Hope they release it, though. Then maybe I can find a first gen cheap on eBay to replace mine since my cat knocked it onto the floor and cracked the casing...