Amazon Kindle 2 e-books its way to BGR
Yes, people. You’re looking at the first shots of Amazon’s Kindle 2. The follow-up to their popular e-book reader. Our ninja sent us a ton of shots, and we have to admit, they look pretty good. The unit didn’t go down too much in size which is unfortunate, but then again, you want something pretty large so it’s comfortable to read on. He says that the unit is a little wider and a little longer, but it should help those that thought the first unit was a little too awkwardly-shaped. What’s even better is that with the new unit, while holding it, you won’t accidentally flip the page like the old one. Hit the jump for the rest!
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 pf the back. One more plus? They’ve finally ditched their own charger. The Kindle 2 is able to be charged with a miniUSB cable.
Our ninja didn’t have a pocket ruler, but he said that the size of the display is approximately the exact same as the original Kindle even though at first glance it looks a little smaller. What might be a little troublesome is the fact that the battery does not look to be user-accessible, and there’s no more SD card slot. In the top left corner of the device, it gives you a display of how much memory is left, and our guy’s unit showed 1403 MB. Lastly, it still uses EV-DO for downloads, and it comes with a leather pouch as opposed to the binder-style piece of nonsense that would constantly let the unit fall out. All in all, the unit is thinner, has a slightly heavier feel, and it feels much sturdier. Mr. Badass Ninja doesn’t like the metal back, and he’s not convinced on the joystick yet. That’s all for now, folks! Thank our ninja in the comments, and let us know what you think. Shots are of course in the world-famous BGR gallery
Thanks, BCU1!
Click on over to our Amazon Kindle 2 gallery!
Wow, so many people saying it’s ugly. I think it looks good. Anyways, you don’t want the design to be too flashy because it disappears in your hands while you’re reading. Obviously the ugly comments are coming from iphone users who like to suckle on Jobs designs. Get over it.
Ugly and expensive. A convergence touch device makes far more sense to me, especially for the money. The iPhone, for instance, has eReader. It makes more sense to be able to make calls, listen to music, watch movies, take pictures, get on the internet, listen to the radio, watch tv, play games (even 3D), and read books, etc.. all on the same device. Unfortunately, a larger device that has all the same functionality as iPhone (except the phone) seems unlikely. The rumored Apple tablet seems to be eternally MIA. I think Apple has come to the conclusion it’s unnecessary or the market is too small.
bg this is soo cool you really leaked this thing! thanks to your ninja as well now i can get my sister to buy me this for xmas
@tom:
Does the iPhone have two weeks of battery life? I think not. Does the iPhone have a direct wireless connection to an online store? I think not. Finally, does the iPhone, like every other device with a brightly backlit LCD, cause eyestrain after long periods of time? Abso-frickin-lutely.
E-books are just that: books. They’re made to be read for hours and hours at a time. I own a Kindle 1.0, and I read it practically the whole flight from Los Angeles to New York and back again. Can you do that with an iPhone?
That said, this Kindle 2.0 looks to be a step back from the Kindle 1.0. People who actually OWN a Kindle seem to be reacting negatively to it because of that, and I find it hard to believe Amazon’s Kindle designers would not react the same way. This is either an early prototype or a fake.
No SD card slot? What are they thinking? I have an 8 GB card in mine, and I’m busy filling it up. Back to the drawing board, folks. I ain’t buying the new Kindle.
no user-servicable battery and/or no SD slot = no sale for me. the look of the device alone isnt enough to make me not get it, after all the original kindle is as ugly as homemade sin but… geez, this one is even worse… i honestly wouldnt have believed it possible to make the kindle uglier than it already is…
> You’re looking at the first shots of Amazon’s Kindle 2.
So, which one is the old and which one is the new Kindle? Article too long, didn’t bother to read after introduction-fail.
I am so happy this was posted. I was hedging on buying the Kindle on eBay. With the 30% discount from Microsoft’s cashback program I was really tempted. But I kept wondering what the next Kindle would look like. What would its features be? One look at those pictures and I was certain that the second edition would be merely an evolution over the first and not a revolution. The mere existence of the joystick, whether useful or not, told me that there would not be a touchscreen on the next device. That surprised me.
Better yet, by waiting an extra day, someone but another one up for auction on eBay that was even cheaper. Score!
this has got to be a fake casing on a current kindle. amazon wouldn’t be so stupid as to design a kindle that’s got a larger form factor with the same screen size. i think that current users of the kindle like myself would find many of the things that are convenient about the current kindle missing from this. i for one LOVE the big buttons.
I have those counter tops in my kitchen.
Hi everyone. Interesting posts. First, the pics are not fakes. I love seeing that in these comments. BG would not put up pics he could not verify. Second, the plastic on the back of the unit does slide off with a little effort, but there is not a battery or SD slot under it. Also, there are slots on the edges and you probably could pry off the metal backing, however, i would prefer not damaging the device I am testing. Next, the device is comfortable in your hands. It has some wieght, and the buttons, noticebly smaller, require you to press in towards the screen, preventing the accidental page turning. Fourth, the wireless function is indeed a software selection; no switch. The device goes to sleep with non-use, and the only switch on the unit brings it out of sleep; or sends it intentionally to sleep if you are done reading. Lasty, I like the comments that the unit is ugly, or boring, or whatever. It is a book reader, and if you actually have one or have tried one, you would realize that the screen is what you are looking at, not the sides, not the edges, not the back, etc. The joystick is also pretty cool. After playing around with the unit, it is easily more functional than the scroll wheel on the first version. Also, there is no price announced for this version, so speculation of $400 is just that: speculation. So there you have it. Any other questions?
Totally agree, this one is at least as ugly and uninspired as the first one. Did they not read ANY of the press or feedback last year?
How is it possible they are not hiring better industrial designers? Many of the best firms in the U.S. have offices in the Bay Area. Ideo, Pentagram, Whipsaw, Ammunition, Astro, Fuse, Frog, etc.
*yawn*
Give me an iPhone/iPod touch with eReader from eReader.com installed (for free!) any day of the week. Cheaper, already has wi-fi, and costs less. Well, the touch does, anyway. Not to mention you can actually fit the bloody thing in a POCKET, which I always thought was the whole point with a portable eBook thingamabob…
Dan S, why don’t you spend 2 minutes at wikipedia understanding what an e-book reader actually is before you make a stupid uneducated comment.
I wonder how much Amazon is going to lower the price of the original Kindle?
If they lower it by a factor of say, 25-30% i’ll be on board for that.
If the licensing hasn’t changed, it’s still a looser product. Not worth nothin’.
Before purchasing my Kindle, I contacted Amazon customer service and asked about a Kindle 2. They stated that they didn’t have any plans in releasing a new model in the next year…Are we sure the pictures aren’t fake, as I just purchased on October 3, 2008. I do a lot of buying on Amazon and hope they weren’t lying to me.
before purchasing my Kindle on Oct 3,2008, I wrote to Amazon customer service regarding Kindle 2. They informed me that they had no plans to release anything in the next year. So maybe these photos are fake..I’d hate to thing Amazon lied to me..I do a lot of shopping there.
“the size of the display is approximately the exact same as the original Kindle”
Ummm, huh? Is the size exactly the same or approximately the same?
I own the first Kindle and love it. Purchased the new leather cover which is much better than the original cover that kept falling off.
There are two changes I would like for a new Kindle. The on-off switch for power should be on front not the back as you have to take the cover off each time you move the switches.
Color would be a wonderful addition to any pictures within a book or dust covers.
Positive:
1. The mini-USB charger should have been available from the beginning! It’s about time they got with the program.
2. The sleep button is a major plus! I’ve been saying all along that they needed a HOLD switch, and here it is. A great addition!
3. The curved edges make this unit seem cleaner than its predecessor.
Negative:
1. The new Kindle is too big and awkward.
2. The keyboard, while a better format (thank you!), is too large and takes up too much space.
3. There is too much wasted space around the screen and below it, although this may have been in response to the need for more places to hold the device without pressing keys. I still don’t think this is the solution, however. The keyboard should be able to be hidden so that space is created without significantly increasing the size of the entire device
4. The metal back is a terrible idea. Even iPhones and iPods have a coated backing, making them more comfortable to hold. How cold the Kindle will be when you are reading!
5. And what about functionality? Have we talked about whether there are options to organize your files on there? Or the PDF support? Or if you can transfer books to share among other kindles? How’s the track ball work with their menu? All questions left unanswered….
Why is there NEVER any mention of COLOR support? If anyone EVER expects ANY textbooks to become available on the Kindle, it damn well better support COLOR.
Or is this a throw back to the 1980’s where “color is not necessary or appropriate for business use.” ???
What about ART books what about books with color graphs in them?
If you ONLY, EVER, want to read things with NO pictures at ALL, fine, keep the Kindle BW only. In he long run, it’ll be a forgotten, aborted, TOY.
AND, it DOES need to have a touch sensitive screen, so that people can make their own annotations, in their own handwriting OVER the text – IF you ever expect ANY version of the Kindle to make it out of the ENGLISH Department ONLY!!
What about Science text books? What about Economics textbooks – gee, I NEVER saw any COLOR in those kind of books, no sir. Gee, and I NEVER wanted to make margin notes or anything STUPID like that!
What is everybody thinking – or NOT thinking????
I guess I can forget about seeing Organic Chemistry reactions animated in a text book, I sure wouldn’t want something that actually caused anybody to LEARN some difficult concept more easily!
It’s a GOOD thing to make college students carry 50 pounds of books on their backs EVERYDAY!!! I wouldn’t want a 10.5 ounce Kindle instead! I sure as hell wouldn’t want to buy all my textbooks from my dorm room, instead of standing in a 50 yard long line, with the sweat of 500 people in the air.
Excuse me while I go puke-
Just turn the design work over to Apple, this would be great, if it had the iphone or ipod interface. Having been waiting for the next release of the Kindle, now will have to take a serious look at the Sony ebook.
Color support for any e-ink reader is not in the immediate future. It’s not a decision made by Amazon or Sony but rather that the technology required to make evey 16 color e-ink has not reached the level which allow it to be used commercially yet. E-ink currently relies on a small electrical current ‘flipping’ a two sided (black/white) bead so that the correct side is facing up. Even a 16 color unit (and every bead would have to have this capability in order for pictures to be available in the appropriate places in the text) would require a 16 sided bead and a much, much more complex ‘flipping’ mechanism. If you really, really want a color unit then you’ll have to, at least for the present, stick with the LCD screen readers and not count on a e-ink book.
guys can u tell me what is this?