The Kindle 2

[cathyr19355]

The updated version of Amazon's e-book reader device, the Kindle 2 is out.

So far as I can tell from a quick look at the website, the major differences between it and the original Kindle are: 1) it's thinner (only 1/3 of an inch!!!); it can talk to you (text to speech feature!); 3) longer battery life (by about 25%); and 4) a faster refresh rate (by about 20%).

And only $359.00!

Somehow, I think I'll continue to pass on e-books for awhile--for at least as long as new books on Kindle continue not to be price-competitive with paperback prices.

Comments

[brandyeileen.livejournal.com]

I think the Kindle edition prices are fairly competitive. Well, some of them. I think those prices are not wholly up to Amazon, though. I've seen new Kindles at half the price of new hardcovers and up to two or three bucks cheaper than just-released paperbacks. I've also seen some that are the same price as just-released paperbacks...

Pretty decent review of the changes is here: http://news.cnet.com/amazons-kindle-2-leaked/

From an email they sent me, after their press conference:
"With a new sleek design, Kindle 2 has seven times more storage and carries over 1,500 titles. An advanced display provides even crisper images and clear text for an improved book-like reading experience. Page turning is faster, the battery life is 25% longer, and our new 'Text-to-Speech' feature means Kindle can even read to you."

I actually preferred the look of the old design, but didn't order mine before they stopped shipping. So, I'll tell you what I think of the Kindle 2 when I get mine next month. And, if you're in Austin and want to play with it, let me know. I'd be happy to let you fiddle with it. Also, it's thinner, but longer (taller).

[pmat.livejournal.com]

New books from Amazon in Kindle format are typically cheaper than list price for the paper edition, and generally cheaper than either Amazon or Barnes and Noble. The paperbacks aren't much of a savings; 10% or so. Newly released hardbacks are mostly $10, which is a significant discount. If a lot of what you read is from Baen, their prices are considerably lower for e-format. And then there's manybooks.net and www.gutenberg.org, which between them have provided Shakati with a year's worth of free reading.

Of course it still takes a lot of discount or free books to add up to $359.00. And the technology isn't perfect. And the DRM is a royal pain. But I found myself buying a book for the Kindle that I already had in paperback because I liked the reading experience so much more. And you really can't beat the "It's midnight, I'm awake in a hotel in a strange city, I need something to read" availability or the "going on vacation for 2 weeks, bringing all my books" capacity.

The differences between the Kindle and the Kindle 2 aren't enough to persuade me to get another, but I'm definitely glad I have mine.

[kallisti.livejournal.com]

I once was a dead tree book snob...I used to have a collection of some 1500+ SF & F plus some science, tech, and misc stuff... First editions, rare books like the first two Myth Books by Bob Asprin, both Starblaze editions with the Kelly Freas and Phil Folio covers respectively...autographed copies of books by Keith Laumer, Gordon Dickson and such, And they were stored in a room at my sister's farm...in nice vermin proof containers. What they weren't were fireproof. The barn burned down under suspicious conditions...one of a rash of them over the past 10 years in the Ottawa Valley. No one has been able to connect them to anyone...but all of my books were destroyed in the fire. Since then, I've been more interested in the words, not the physical printout of them. Thus I have bought and downloaded many books. My first reader was a palm pilot...today, I use a Nokia N800. it's about the size of a paperback book, and being a small Linux tablet computer, it will do all sort of other things, too.

Baen books has a lot of free ebooks you can download, and reasonably price ebook as well. They also sell ebooks from TOR and a few other publishers. I would much rather give my money to them, as more if it goes to the publishers, editors and authors than happens when you go through Amazon.

ttyl

[cathyr19355.livejournal.com]

See my reply to pmat above. The question for me is not paper books versus e-books, it's being able to get the books I want, in whatever format, at a reasonable price (and with photographs of sufficient quality, in the non-fiction books I purchase where photographs matter). You are very right about ease of storage/protection from fire issues re: e-books.

I really should do my big post about the Kindle's sales model, sometime.