Kindle 2 - Hip Or Hype - What You Should Know

The way that the Kindle 2 looks compared with its family is just amazing! It is so much better designed than the original Kindle. It is extremely smooth while also being far easier to use. Some people knock the K2 but there really is no comparison. Any reader will tell you that the Kindle 2 is both stylish and functional.



One of the largest issues with both the Kindle 1 and 2 was centered around the battery length. The original Kindle had a very short and inconvenient battery life span. The Kindle 2 has seen some improvement. There may not be a replacement battery with the K2, but the battery charge life is a great deal longer especially when you turn the Wi-Fi off when not using it.



You can travel anywhere you want in the US and still be able to download almost any book you want. That is truly convenient.



What about the improvement of button placement over the Kindle 1? It was all too easy to hit the page button. Now with the Kindle 2 this has been greatly improved. Another improvement is in the weight of the unit. The Kindle 2 is much lighter than its predecessor. It weighs less than many typical paperback books and sits very easily in the reader's hand.

Previously the Kindle1 was a bit difficult to read due to the lack of contrasting shades. The Kindle 2 has 16 different shades of gray. This can help sharpen up the picture which makes it easy to read. Also the Kindle 2 can actually hold more than 1,500 books.



A point of contention among some is the Text-to-Speech function offered by the Kindle 2. The voice is not nearly the same as a person reading aloud. You can choose whether you want a male or female voice. You can also pick the speed of the reading.



With these pluses I feel that I must point a couple negative points out as well...



When I said that the Kindle 2 was light I did not exaggerate. It can be almost too much so. A nice Kindle cover can help to fix this though. It will add enough weight to give you the feel of actually holding a book.



Another issue has to do with people with big fingers. The size of the Kindle 2 keyboard is very restrictive. It is too easy to punch wrong letters when typing. We hope that this will be fixed by the addition of touch-screen to the next member of the Kindle family. There was a possibility of this capability on the Kindle 2 but it would have affected the screen quality.



We will just have to wait for the perfect combination of touch-screen and the e-ink technology. Just think of the increased screen size that could be on such a device!

Another issue for some, although I cannot see why, is the Kindle 2's lack of an SD card slot. This should not be much of an issue though considering Amazon allows you full access to any materials that you have bought. This means that you can leave your books on Amazon servers and keep space on your Kindle 2 free for other things.



Perhaps the disadvantage with the Kindle 2 reader is the fact that you cannot buy one outside the US. Some of the current rumors are saying that the Kindle family is going to start being released in Britain in time for Christmas so we shall wait and see.