Smaller, Faster Amazon Kindle 2 Ebook Reader Coming Later this Month

Amazon.com has just unveiled the Kindle 2, the second generation of its ebook reader. This upcoming device will offer a slimmer design with longer battery life, faster page turns, more storage, sharper images, and a new text-to-speech feature.

It has a 6-inch, 600-by-800-pixel e-Ink display that looks remarkably like real paper. The new version will offer 16 shades of gray versus the 4 shades available in the original model, and pages will turn an average of 20% faster.

The Kindle 2 will be just over a third of an inch thick (0.36 inches) and weigh about 10 ounces, making it pencil thin and lighter than a typical paperback.

The upcoming model will include 2 GB of memory, allowing it to hold more than 1,500 books, compared with the 200 book capacity of the original Kindle.

And Amazon is promising 25% longer battery life, allowing users to read for four to five days on a charge with wireless on, and for over two weeks with wireless turned off.  The power charger has also been re-designed to be more portable.

Still Wireless

One thing hasn't changed with the Kindle 2: it still allows users to wirelessly shop for books on the device, and download new content in less than 60 seconds — all without a PC or Wi-Fi hotspot.

This is because the ebook reader can access Sprint’s national 3G data network all 50 U.S. states. But the cost of wireless access is included in the purchase price of books and magazines, so no data plans or service commitments are required.

Customers can choose from 230,000 books — New York Times bestsellers typically cost $9.99 — or magazines and newspapers.

"If you want, Kindle 2 will even read to you — something new we added that a book could never do,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. The device offers the experimental read-to-me feature that converts text on a page to spoken words. Users can choose male or female voices, and can choose the reading speed.

More Details

This ebook reader comes with the New Oxford American Dictionary and its 250,000 entries built-in, and definitions are displayed at the bottom of the page.

Overall, this device is 8 inches tall, 5.3 inches wide, and 0.36 inches thick, and 10.2 ounces.

It's display doesn't function as a touchscreen, but it does have a directional pad and a full QWERTY keyboard.

Coming Later this Month

Amazon says the Kindle 2 will debut on Feb 24, so customers who order the device with next-day delivery will receive it on Feb 25.

It sells for $360, making it slightly cheaper than the original model at launch. It can be pre-ordered now on Amazon's website.