Chicago (IL) – It appears that Boy Genius Report is first to be out with a number of pictures that provide a first impression what Amazon’s new Kindle ebook reader may look like. It is obvious that the Kindle is much nicer, but its design is a far cry from the most recent products we have seen and it does not look like there will be a touchscreen.

If the article on the Boy Genius Report is correct, then you will soon be able to say good-bye to the oddly-shaped first generation Kindle. It seems that Kindle 2 will not shrink in size, but retain the overall functionality of the first version. There is still a keyboard, which has been slightly redesigned, there is a joystick that replaces the scrollwheel and keys have been redesigned to avoid accidental page-turning. The article also indicates that the new Kindle uses a standard mini USB cable to charge the reader’s battery – instead of the previous external adapter.

It looks like a solid evolutionary redesign, but there are no surprising new features. In fact, if we compare the new Kindle to the recent changes introduced by Sony and if we recall Plastic Logic’s fantastic reader, one clearly has to wonder whether the updates for Kindle 2 will be enough. Especially a touchscreen feature would have been nice.

However, as the current Kindle, the new device will have the advantage of connecting to a massive library of content, including continuous updates from newspapers and blogs. Boy Genius said that Kindle 2 will also be using EVDO for downloads.        

The current Kindle sells for $360.

still competitive and some

Oct 06, 2008 07:47     

I think what sells the Kindle is not necessarily the features of the device but the service and how one can get ebooks without having to have a computer. With the improvements, I think it is more appealling; IMO.
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