Kindle 2 !

So it appears that Amazon has initiated the next step in the digital book revolution by enhancing and evolving their Kindle product into the “Kindle 2”. A New York Times article, published today 2/24/09 entitled “The Kindle: Good Before, Better Now”, gives a fairly detailed evaluation of the product, its changes, and new features. At times the article appears to provide more of a raving advertising service to Amazon, but it is also pretty informative as to what has changed within the product.


Will Amazon’s upgrade attempts be in vain? Or will their second take on the Kindle spark a digital literature revolution for good?

This article can be found here, at the following URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/technology/personaltech/24pogue.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=kindle&st=cse

Judging by the pictures on the New York Times’ article, the first thing that really pops out to the consumer about the enhanced Kindle 2 is its new, sleek interface. The new look is definitely eye catching and appealing from the get go. Yet, the article suggests that this was done in an attempt to mimic apple’s appearance which has obviously been successful in the past. I would say this is a pretty accurate assessment of Amazon’s attempt to draw in more consumers to the product; the Kindle looks like it could easily have been manufactured by Steve Jobs himself.

However, the majority of the Kindle 2’s new features do not just revolve around appearance. It appears that Amazon’s idea of what truly enhances their product is its ability to simulate the feel of reading a real, physical book. This really does give me the impression that the concept of digital literature will breakthrough only after a proper meld of physical readership and digital convenience takes place. The New York Times emphasizes the product’s lack of screen illumination, battery consumption, glare, and eyestrain to make the reader/consumer feel more familiar with the Kindle as if it weren’t a screen to read from, but rather more like an actual book. The Kindle has been upgraded to further extend its reach towards physical books in other ways. The E-Ink feature, although not a new feature to the Kindle, comforts the user with its striking similarity to print ink found in physical books.

As previously stated, the Kindle is attempting to combine the comforting features of old, traditional books with the convenience that new, digital e-books have to offer. One of the more intriguing, convenient features the Kindle 2 has to offer is its free Wi-fi capability. Another feature that appears to rival with the I-Phone, the Kindle is able to connect to the internet and download books from anywhere. The best part? Its free, unlike I-Phone broadband service. The Kindle is also equipped with a useful web browser to optimize its convenience.

In the end, the Kindle 2 appears to be an extremely handy e-book reader that has many other convenient features to offer. If any product has the ability, or at least the momentum, to start an e-book revolution, the Kindle is it.