Amazon's Kindle 2 leaked
After rumors surfaced on the Web a few months back that a new Kindle might be on the way, Amazon.com did its best to shoot them down, saying a new Kindle was not coming this year. Well, Boy Genius Report has gotten a hold of some photos that appear to be the Kindle 2, so we're curious what Amazon has to say now.
From the looks of the new device, Amazon has tried to address some of the criticisms of the Kindle, most of which revolve around its somewhat homely design and a few poorly placed buttons. The shape has been modified to make the new Kindle more attractive, but it appears Amazon is sticking with the same off-white color scheme--for better or worse.
The Boy Genius Report's mole or "ninja," has some comments about the new Kindle. First, ninja says the device is basically the same size as the older model, but is thinner and has "a slightly heavier feel, and it feels much sturdier." The source indicates the new model uses the same cellular EV-DO network for downloads (it's Sprint's network in the current model) and a metal back is visible in some of the pictures. I particularly appreciated the look of the new leather carrying pouch for the device, since I don't like the existing Kindle's protective case. There are more photos here.
Boy Genius Report also notes:
As far as buttons go, on the right side, the bottoms from top to bottom are: Home, Next Page, Menu, a joystick, and Undo. On the left side, there's Previous, Page, and Next Page. We're told the buttons are significantly smaller, to avoid accidental page turning. The joystick takes the place of the scroll wheel and it "takes a little getting used to." As far as the redesigned keyboard...it "has a good layout, but lettering on the keys could be darker." Continuing our tour around the unit, next to the sliding sleep button, there's the headphone jack, and on the right-side edge you've got the volume up/down buttons. What's interesting (and you can see this in the photos) is that the backside of the unit is mostly metal, with the speakers at the bottom of the back. One more plus? They've finally ditched their own charger. The Kindle 2 can be charged with a miniUSB cable.
No word on when the next-generation Kindle will arrive, whether there will be a European model, or how much it will cost. However, I have a feeling we'll soon get an announcement from Amazon--if indeed this turns out to be a real product that will go up against the upcoming Sony Reader, the PRS-700, which features a touch-screen display and will hit stores next month in time for the holiday buying season.
As always, feel free to post your comments. What do you think of the design of the alleged Kindle 2? And how much do you think it will cost?
Hunkered down in New York City, Executive Editor David Carnoy covers the gamut of gadgets and writes his Fully Equipped column, which carries the tag line "The electronics you lust for." He's also the author of "Knife Music," a novel. E-mail David. Follow David on Twitter.
Anyway, like an iPhone, it still is the hottest device out there. Amazon has put it for pre-order:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00154JDAI?ie=UTF8&tag=g1ca-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00154JDAI
"In addition, Steve Haber, President of Sony's Digital Reading Business Division, reported that there will be a major update to their ebook store by the end of October, including a better look and a vastly improved search function. He said that there are currently about 50,000 books in the store and he is going to have about 100,000 by the holiday season. (Note the publishers I mentioned above.)"
"Last year Sony had about 700 outlets for the Reader, this year they are expecting to have about 3,000 in the holiday season. Further, they have hired 1,000 people to do in-store trials and demos and to introduce the public to the Reader."
"Two further things. The new Reader is fast, fast and faster. Compared to the older Reader and the Kindle it is like a Ferrari vs. a bicycle. It is amazing how quick it is. Also, there is no flicker or "blink" when you change pages. This is a major ergonomic improvement over earlier versions. A representative of E-ink, who makes the screen, was at the event and I cornered him and asked him how Sony accomplished this. He said it was a combination of Sony proprietary technology and some small improvements in the E-ink screen. Primarily, he said, this is a result of Sony's expertise in writing an optimized driver and in designing the display chip and optimizing timing issues. This, I would guess, is going to be extremely difficult for competitors to do for themselves."
"Finally, there will be a wireless version. Steve said this is down the road because they want to launch wireless on a open platform. That is one that will have different bookstores and book suppliers, not just the Sony store. This will take a bit of time to set up. No target date was given."
http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/10/03/new-sony-reader-and-a-renewed-commitment/
The cost has been made up, in my case by the 24/7 wireless access to the web, klunky though it be. I can show people webpages anywhere I am, as long as they're not whiz-bang pages filled with graphics and animation.
It recognizes javascript. 24/7 access with no monthly or per-minute charges is nice.
They have been selling a very nice ebook reader for a couple of years now.
Works great.
Much less expensive than Kindle and Sony too.
Your Palm is "Half VGA." 320x240 is actually 1/4 VGA.
The sample feature (for books) offered by Amazon is excellent. It provides a preview of the the writers style and storyline and prevents buying books already read.
Do you see the illustrations or plates on a Kindle book?
From your comment here I assume that you cannot see them. That just kicked the Kindle down a notch for our family. My husband reads books that have drawings and plates in them and would find his books useless without them.
Add that it's bigger and heavier and has no room now for an SD card...
The first thing that sticks out is that there is no apparent way to turn off the wireless EV-DO (unless that is now buried in the software). You need that function to use the unit on an airplane or anywhere else where cell phones are prohibited.
Secondly, I find it very difficult to believe that Amazon would remove the SD card option and limit memory. Although you can store books purchased through Amazon on their website you have only limited ability to store magazines and cannot store articles/papers you've sent yourself. I use my SD card to warehouse those items.
come to think of it downloading books to read wont really take off until its available on ipod/itunes anyway, lol
-
by Understarsidream
October 5, 2008 3:12 PM PDT
- Until the reader is under a hundred dollars and the files have no DRM I'm not interested. I can go to a used book story by my house and for a half the price of a kindle get hundreds and hundreds of books because of trade ins. And I can lend them to friends, keep them if they are really special or trade them back in for more books. As it is now, a kindle is only a very expensive way to rent books.
-
Reply to this comment
-
-
-
by geneven
October 6, 2008 5:13 PM PDT
- And if you are going to take a train or a plane and are not sure what you want to read, will you take 50 or so with you? I do that all the time with e-books.
-
-
-
by make_or_break
October 24, 2008 10:04 PM PDT
- Something tells me that you're EXACTLY the type a person Amazon has ZERO interest in selling to. Ya think?
-
-
Showing 1 of 2 pages (55 Comments)