Breaking News on the Amazon Kindle 2

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NOTE: Pre-order your Amazon Kindle 2.0 here.

This morning, Amazon officially announced its second-generation electronic book-reading device, the long-awaited Kindle 2.

Overall, Amazon's Kindle 2 is a significant improvement over the 1st generation. There is nothing drastically different with regard to the design or function, but the device has been improved in many ways.

What are the biggest changes? Let's take a look:

* The new Kindle 2 is a bit lighter. The first generation weighed 10.3 ounces. The new one weighs just 10.2 ounces.

* It’s much easier on the eyes. The new device is much sleeker and borrows a bit from the iPhone's look.

* The display is more impressive in that it will display up to 16 shades of gray (yes, that's a lot of gray), and it can turn pages up to 20 times faster.

* The Kindle 2 can talk! Amazon’s new Text-to-Speech feature uses a digitized voice to read any book at one of three speeds and in either a male or female voice.

* The controls are superior in design. No more awkward slider. There is now a 5-way joystick. The keyboard is also no longer split into two regions either, which is nice.

* The price remains the same at $359.

* The storage area has been increased to seven times the original size. The Kindle 2 can now hold carry over 1,500 titles.

* The download speed is much faster. Amazon is hyping a 60-second download time for books.

* “Whispersync Bookmarking” now makes it possible to start reading a book on one Kindle then continue reading it on another, right where you left off.

* It still comes in one color - white.

CrunchGear has an interesting video (below), however, showing that the Kindle 2 speed may not be that much improved. Still, this gadget will be nice when it rolls out...

Pre-order your Amazon Kindle 2 here

trans Breaking News on the Amazon Kindle 2