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!
I looked at all of the photos (they are a little blurry) but I could not tell what they have done with the two slide switches that are on the back of the current Kindle…one turns off the device and one turns off the wireless communication. They are kind of a pain in their current location, especially if you are using the current book cover.
Can anybody tell where they went ?
The design looks better, but I won’t be upgrading to it. Here are my 2 reasons:
No SD card slot
No user replacable battery
A built-in LED backlight would have been a nice plus, but not a necessity for me.
And, since the WAN on/off button is missing, does that mean the EVDO will always be on? I’m thinking probably…
I adoubt it is really kindle 2.. the design is not good as the first generation.
There has to be a way to turn off the EV-DO on request otherwise the unit cannot be used on airplanes or anywhere else that cell phones cannot be used. The ninja ‘claims’ that the swtich has been folded into the software.
Oh Lord…. what are they doing? I hope that this IS a prototype and someone will come to their senses. No SD card? Buried battery? Please don’t mess up like that.
Is it possible that the lack of a wireless switch implies that wireless will automatically turn on when you attempt to contact the Amazon store… and that possible the experimental web access may no longer be an option?
Removing user switches and capabilities is not a good sign. Dumbing down your box is NEVER a good sign.
Ditto on the backlight question? Does it have it?… would need for reading on airplanes, etc.
Loved reading books on my old Palm with the backlight!
I have about 3 months experience with the old Kindle. It works exactly as advertised. I enjoy the email feature to get heavy text docs I’m working on listed on my Home page. I have mastered the onerous “How do you hold the darn thing?” to my satisfaction and the size and weight are super. Love it. Please don’t fix it.
Mac
I’m not sure I like that design at all. Bigger is a BAD thing for me, my little asian girl hands are on the edge of comfort with the width of the current version. I mean sure, it LOOKs like an ipod, but is that what I want?
Plus although the buttons dont’ bother me personally (I only had trouble when I first got it, after a few reading-hours I had no issue with it and actually enjoy the ease of page turns a LOT). But either way, that design doesn’t solve the button placement issue at ALL.
Also, a pouch? What on earth? That makes no sense – the binder thing isn’t very stylish but it mimics a book. I kind of think these may be fake anyhow, but if they aren’t then please go back to the design board amazon team. Yuck.
this Looks better but probably a step back in usefulness.
Wow! What’s the deal? You must work for Amazon.
No e-book readers have a backlight! The key word here is “book”. Do any of your books have a backlight? C’mon people, do your research first.
If you couldn’t figure it out, there’s probably no point in you reading it.
Those of us that have the first Kindle and Love it can only hope that this is a planted dummy design to mislead the other e book reader companys.
How is the transition between pages? Is there still a lag/flashing between pages, or is the load time faster on the new model?
Thanks,
JRG
I have a kindle and its awesome. Who cares if it not the best looking device. The functionality and usefulness is what is critical. My son reads it and his in grade 4. I’ve used the Sony version and the kindle is far better. The key placement lets me turn pages easily and I can easily access the web…with no fee! This beat my cell service, cable, and dish.
This has to be a plant … to see if the loyal Kindle users are really alive and well. No SD card? Larger? Can’t access the battery? Please … this may have been a prototype of long ago = not for the Kindle of the future!
The design is ok, but more importantly did they fix the problems with the limited formats the kindle reads now, will the 2.0 be able to read PDFs, or will the same problems progress?
What they really need to do is ad WiFi support to the Kindle, so it can update when you’re on the road. At the very least, they should add a way to synchronize your Kindle when you connect it via USB to an Internet connected PC or Mac. Ev-Do is just not available in enough places that I travel.
Though I found it annoying that the current model slips too easily out of the flip case, the case does make it feel more like a book and made it much nicer to hold.
This thing will look too much like an iPhone on steroids and will have too few of the iPhone features for it compete in that market.
The closer an ereader can mimic the look and feel of a book, I suspect the better it will be.
I would gather from reading most of these postings that those who are complaining the most are not true avid readers as your spelling and grammer are atrocious.
The Kindle was designed to let you forget you are reading on a machine. Everyone who complains about the Kindle wants a machine you can read on. We who love our Kindle’s just love to read. We dont to think about email, games, colored ink, ect.
I saw a posting of what the new Kindle 2 may be with a discription. I do not want a larger model, would not like having to rely on an USB connection to charge the battery, having to have a tech replace the battery, and not having a memory card to store different types of books on separate cards. I went ahead an ordered the current model (which my wife already has)as the protype appears to be a step backwards or an early design never implemented.
Is this a joke, it’s bad enough that Amazon don’t sell the Kindle to Australia and UK now they’re are trying to pass this effort off as an upgrade before we even get the chance.
Look! You really need to go back to the basics when designing something like this and the simpler the better. For example have a double page e-ink ebook reader the size of a standard paperback novel, where there is on button, usb slot and a mmc / sd slot at the top of the unit. Everything else is on the touch screen menu, and the back light is actually an led that folds out on the top of the spine of the pages, bloody simple isn’t it!
Wifi and being able to write on it is a must, as too is being able to read and download any format of the written word.
It’s not rocket science, I believe the apple Newton got as close as too did the ipod on turning pages without using buttons, so take the hint and go back to the drawing board. Or I hope Steve Jobs will.
I intend to buy not only products that I want and need, but items that are environmentally friendly and by companies that are not soaking the consumer while they–company originators and marketeers–walk/run away with billions.
Make a good product, friendly to the environment, and make a reasonable profit so the average consumer can purchase it without going broke. Am I too unreasonable here?
I’m waiting out the Kindle and Sony wave. When will Ben & Jerry branch out to develop an e-library unit for the masses? Ha!
Backlight—absolutely! And what about ability to change font size? Hopefully this is a no-brainer. All of us are getting older and need larger font with more light.
Oh you guys….
Many of you seem to be just jabbering away with no clue. (sorry.) Font size can ALREADY be changed… There is no need for WiFi because there is cell phone technology already in place and you can check the internet and download books and update blogs already in a car, in a bar, don’t need no stinkin WiFi.
No back light guys… a back light uses energy and can produce eye strain… E-Ink allows you to go days and days without recharging. Very legible and able to be read right anywhere… just turn on a light or use a little clip-on thingy.
If you’re in the market now, check out the Oprah web site… she loves it and you get 50 bucks off the price if you purchase one with her discount code before 11/1.
I’m drawn to this from an environmental perspective it seems to save on book production (trees, energy, etc) in the long run. Yes, it probably contains non-green components but it seems like a better option to lugging around books that killed off a tree or two.