Amazon introduces Kindle 2 with text-to-speech feature
Amazon today revealed its Kindle 2 wireless reading device that will go on sale later this month with a thinner design, longer battery life, faster page turns, more storage, sharper images, and a new text-to-speech feature.
The new Kindle is virtually identical to the photos leaked last year and with features very similar to last week's predictions.
In a press event at New York's Morgan Library, Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos told attendees that Kindle e-books now make up 10 percent of the online retailer's unit sales, and he was quick to point out the new Kindle is thinner than the iPhone by 0.12 inches, or 25 percent.
"Kindle 2 is everything customers tell us they love about the original Kindle, only thinner, faster, crisper, with longer battery life, and capable of holding hundreds more books," he said. "If you want, Kindle 2 will even read to you -- something new we added that a book could never do. While we're excited about Kindle 2, we know that great hardware is useless without vast selection. That's why the Kindle Store offers customers over 230,000 books."
During the press event a slide outlined Amazon's vision to make "every book ever printed in any language all available in less than 60 seconds" with the Kindle.
Design
New buttons on the "pencil thin" Kindle 2 make it easier to turn pages with either hand. Usability and clumsy navigation was a major complaint about the original Kindle (review), and Amazon is addressing those concerns with its latest design.
A new "5-way controller" is intended for more precise note-taking and highlighting as well as faster jumps between articles and sections of newspapers. Unfortunately, the "official Amazon.com cover", with an integrated attachment hinge and leather cover, will be sold separately for $29.99. This is probably a concession to third-party suppliers, as Amazon also said that Kindle 2 covers will be sold by Patagonia, Cole Haan and Belkin.
New Features
Amazon calls "Text-to-Speech" an "experimental" feature that will convert text on the page to spoken words, and also save the spot on a page in case a reader wants to switch back and forth between reading and listening. Users can choose between male and female voices and specify the reading speed. Anything that appears on the device's screen, from newspapers to blogs to books, can be read aloud.
Meanwhile, Amazon's new "Whispersync" technology promises to sync Kindle 2 and the original Kindle automatically for easy transitions. Users can pick up a Kindle at home, read a chapter or two, then drive to work where they have a Kindle 2. Wherever you left off will be synced to the other device with no flipping forward and backward to find your place. Amazon says Whispersync will make it easier to transition to the new Kindle from the old model or to use both together. Eventually, support for "a range of mobile devices" will be provided, presumably smartphones, but no specifics are yet available.
The New Oxford American Dictionary is also built in with 250,000 word definitions that appear instantly at the bottom of the page.
Display, Battery Life, and Connectivity
Whereas the Kindle 1 offered only 4 shades of gray on the display, the Kindle 2 is capable of showing 16 shades on a six-inch, 600 x 800 electronic paper display. There is no backlight, helping provide 25 percent longer battery life. Amazon claims four to five days of reading on one charge with wireless turned on, two weeks with wireless off. The company also claims pages will turn 20 percent faster.
The national 3G delivery network called Whispernet remains unchanged in a continuing partnership with Sprint that keeps the service available for no extra charge to Kindle owners. Amazon says it has been expanded to cover all 50 states with no PC, Wi-Fi hot spot, or syncing necessary.
Storage
The Kindle 2, with its 2 GB of memory, can hold more than 1,500 books compared to the original's 200. Books bought before are backed up to an Amazon.com account, so customers can wirelessly re-download previously purchased titles as necessary.
Selection
The original Kindle launched with 90,000 available e-books, while Kindle 2 owners will have more than 230,000 from which to choose. New authors added include John Steinbeck, C.S. Lewis, Beverly Cleary, Martha Stewart, Terry Goodkind, and Spencer Johnson.
Author Stephen King has also written a plainly promotional novella, "Ur", whose protagonist "can't seem to get his ex-girlfriend's parting shot out of his head." The parting shot? "Why can't you just read off the computer like the rest of us?" The lovelorn college English instructor then places an order for a Kindle, and, we assume, lives happily ever after. Pre-orders will get the novella automatically downloaded to their device.
Amazon has also rolled out support for more magazines, newspapers, and blogs. Newspaper subscriptions range from $5.99 to $14.99 fees per month, magazines are priced at $1.25 to $3.49 per month. Wireless blog delivery starts at $0.99 for each per month with a free two-week trial.
Pricing and Availability
The Kindle 2 will sell for the same price its predecessor most recently went for, $359. (The original device launched at $399.) Customers still waiting on unfulfilled Kindle 1 orders will be automatically upgraded to Kindle 2, with the devices scheduled to begin shipping February 24. Current Kindle owners are also invited to pre-order before midnight tonight to receive priority.
For everyone else, it's available for pre-order today.
The new Kindle is virtually identical to the photos leaked last year and with features very similar to last week's predictions.
In a press event at New York's Morgan Library, Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos told attendees that Kindle e-books now make up 10 percent of the online retailer's unit sales, and he was quick to point out the new Kindle is thinner than the iPhone by 0.12 inches, or 25 percent.
"Kindle 2 is everything customers tell us they love about the original Kindle, only thinner, faster, crisper, with longer battery life, and capable of holding hundreds more books," he said. "If you want, Kindle 2 will even read to you -- something new we added that a book could never do. While we're excited about Kindle 2, we know that great hardware is useless without vast selection. That's why the Kindle Store offers customers over 230,000 books."
During the press event a slide outlined Amazon's vision to make "every book ever printed in any language all available in less than 60 seconds" with the Kindle.
Design
New buttons on the "pencil thin" Kindle 2 make it easier to turn pages with either hand. Usability and clumsy navigation was a major complaint about the original Kindle (review), and Amazon is addressing those concerns with its latest design.
A new "5-way controller" is intended for more precise note-taking and highlighting as well as faster jumps between articles and sections of newspapers. Unfortunately, the "official Amazon.com cover", with an integrated attachment hinge and leather cover, will be sold separately for $29.99. This is probably a concession to third-party suppliers, as Amazon also said that Kindle 2 covers will be sold by Patagonia, Cole Haan and Belkin.
New Features
Amazon calls "Text-to-Speech" an "experimental" feature that will convert text on the page to spoken words, and also save the spot on a page in case a reader wants to switch back and forth between reading and listening. Users can choose between male and female voices and specify the reading speed. Anything that appears on the device's screen, from newspapers to blogs to books, can be read aloud.
Meanwhile, Amazon's new "Whispersync" technology promises to sync Kindle 2 and the original Kindle automatically for easy transitions. Users can pick up a Kindle at home, read a chapter or two, then drive to work where they have a Kindle 2. Wherever you left off will be synced to the other device with no flipping forward and backward to find your place. Amazon says Whispersync will make it easier to transition to the new Kindle from the old model or to use both together. Eventually, support for "a range of mobile devices" will be provided, presumably smartphones, but no specifics are yet available.
The New Oxford American Dictionary is also built in with 250,000 word definitions that appear instantly at the bottom of the page.
Display, Battery Life, and Connectivity
Whereas the Kindle 1 offered only 4 shades of gray on the display, the Kindle 2 is capable of showing 16 shades on a six-inch, 600 x 800 electronic paper display. There is no backlight, helping provide 25 percent longer battery life. Amazon claims four to five days of reading on one charge with wireless turned on, two weeks with wireless off. The company also claims pages will turn 20 percent faster.
The national 3G delivery network called Whispernet remains unchanged in a continuing partnership with Sprint that keeps the service available for no extra charge to Kindle owners. Amazon says it has been expanded to cover all 50 states with no PC, Wi-Fi hot spot, or syncing necessary.
Storage
The Kindle 2, with its 2 GB of memory, can hold more than 1,500 books compared to the original's 200. Books bought before are backed up to an Amazon.com account, so customers can wirelessly re-download previously purchased titles as necessary.
Selection
The original Kindle launched with 90,000 available e-books, while Kindle 2 owners will have more than 230,000 from which to choose. New authors added include John Steinbeck, C.S. Lewis, Beverly Cleary, Martha Stewart, Terry Goodkind, and Spencer Johnson.
Author Stephen King has also written a plainly promotional novella, "Ur", whose protagonist "can't seem to get his ex-girlfriend's parting shot out of his head." The parting shot? "Why can't you just read off the computer like the rest of us?" The lovelorn college English instructor then places an order for a Kindle, and, we assume, lives happily ever after. Pre-orders will get the novella automatically downloaded to their device.
Amazon has also rolled out support for more magazines, newspapers, and blogs. Newspaper subscriptions range from $5.99 to $14.99 fees per month, magazines are priced at $1.25 to $3.49 per month. Wireless blog delivery starts at $0.99 for each per month with a free two-week trial.
Pricing and Availability
The Kindle 2 will sell for the same price its predecessor most recently went for, $359. (The original device launched at $399.) Customers still waiting on unfulfilled Kindle 1 orders will be automatically upgraded to Kindle 2, with the devices scheduled to begin shipping February 24. Current Kindle owners are also invited to pre-order before midnight tonight to receive priority.
For everyone else, it's available for pre-order today.
Comments
Kinda pricey but, but looks better than version 1.
Actually, I do like the idea of an electronic book, I look forward to flexible displays and protected rain forests, the e-book may very well save us all.
Users can pick up a Kindle at home, read a chapter or two, then drive to work where they have a Kindle 2. Wherever you left off will be synced...
Does this fall into the 'solution in search of a problem' category?
Why would I buy an ultra-portable device, and need to have one at various locations?
There is a big world out there!!!
Does it come in black?
I suppose you could always use your eyes to find out, or would that be to easy?
I would absolutely buy one if it allowed for highlighting/annotating of text. That would be a true killer feature. Looks like we are going to have to wait for a Table device for those kind of features...
The Kindle allows you to do that, that's why it has a keyboard of sorts on it.
Personally I think that $359 is a hell of a lot of money to pay for a device, especially when the eBooks on Amazon are often more costly than the paperback edition of the book. In addition you can't lend the books to someone else so easily! Never mind a book just has that feel to it.
I think they could have made it more oval to make it look smaller. 6" screen is probably too small even to match a paperback. Will wait for the next edition, which really needs to be $199. I can't believe that the hardware in this device is more than that in a mid-range phone to be honest, so Amazon are making out like thieves. I guess if there's a market at that price...
I would absolutely buy one if it allowed for highlighting/annotating of text. That would be a true killer feature. Looks like we are going to have to wait for a Table device for those kind of features...
I don't own one, but I believe the Kindle does allow highlighting and annotations. From the article: "A new "5-way controller" is intended for more precise note-taking and highlighting..." Amazon's website also mentions annotations, so it seems it you might want to hop over to Amazon.com and preorder one...
The Kindle allows you to do that, that's why it has a keyboard of sorts on it.
Personally I think that $359 is a hell of a lot of money to pay for a device, especially when the eBooks on Amazon are often more costly than the paperback edition of the book. In addition you can't lend the books to someone else so easily! Never mind a book just has that feel to it.
I think they could have made it more oval to make it look smaller. 6" screen is probably too small even to match a paperback. Will wait for the next edition, which really needs to be $199. I can't believe that the hardware in this device is more than that in a mid-range phone to be honest, so Amazon are making out like thieves. I guess if there's a market at that price...
The price also pays for a wireless connection, so it's just not hardware that is driving that price. I doubt Sprint is providing the network connection for free.
I suppose you could always use your eyes to find out, or would that be to easy?
I suppose you could be a JERK-OFF....
Pretty obvious you havent seen Batman....so keep your stupiid suggestions to yourself.
I'm guessing the Kindle has one more generation left before an ultraportable netbook/PDA with the same screen size (not a mobile phone) takes over this functionality as its own. There may still be a market for a separate ebook reader, but it will get marginalized as future technology takes over.
So the real issue to those who want to buy this is the long-term viability of Amazon's ebook DRM. I don't think Amazon is going anywhere, but what will their software department look like in 5-10 years?
So the real issue to those who want to buy this is the long-term viability of Amazon's ebook DRM. I don't think Amazon is going anywhere, but what will their software department look like in 5-10 years?
Aside from the fact that the e-books are more expensive, this is the big issue. I work with several 900+ page code and reference books that are painful to lug around. I have a print version at my desk, but for travel it is silly to push people into purchasing an additional copy.
We really need books to go into the public domain in less than 30 years for these things to make sense long term.