Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Kindle 2

The Kindle 2 was announced recently and it’s on sale at Amazon, starting shipping Feb 24, 2009.

I’m glad I didn’t wait to buy one as I’ve probably read 30-40 books since I got mine in early September and I’d have spent probably $60 or so more on books than I’ve spent so far.

What do I think of the new design? It’s better, but it’s an incremental improvement, not an evolution. Kind of like iPod 1st gen to iPod 2nd generation, not the evolution that the iTouch brought. Here’s another analysis from CNet

That’s OK, I like the smaller page change buttons, which still occasionally cause me issues. I’ve learned to get around them by switching to the home screen every time I stop reading. Keeps me in my place.

Faster page turns is good, should reduce some complains. More storage is a non-issue, I think, for most people. Maybe for heavy readers, but I read 50-60 books a year, used maybe half the internal storage. Not sure how a daily newspaper or mag subscription might change that.

The better battery life is good, as is the change to a more normal adapter. At least I assume it’s more normal. We should be able to charge from zero with a computer. Tying tightly to a specific adapter. especially when so many things use a mini-USB port, is dumb.

The 3G connection may mean something if it’s more widespread. A big thing in my mind is Amazon needs to get this working more globally.

Read to me, not sure I’d ever use it, but accessibility is always good.

Smaller is better, sharper is better. I’d definitely buy another one if I had the need. I can see this perhaps working better with college kids and I wonder if it will be a good option when my oldest goes in 2 years.

I love my Kindle, if you’re interested in my experiences, here’s a list of them:

Keep an eye on my Kindle tag as I’ve got more coming.

Posted by Steve Jones at 4:58 AM
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