Amazon Kindle 2 Review

Our friends at Brighthand have reviewed the new Amazon Kindle 2 and their opinion is that it is the best eBook reader out there in the market:

The Amazon Kindle 2 is an impressive piece of technology, and Amazon should be proud. Much like Apple’s success with the iPod, Amazon is crafting a successful brand by not only offering good hardware, but by supporting it with a software backbone.

It has succeeded where others have failed by sheer effort; even though Sony has been at the effort a longer time, their store doesn’t offer as much content, and it’s typically more expensive. Moreover, no other e-reader can offer such expansive wireless connectivity, at least at this point in time.

Despite the overall positive tone of this review, the Kindle 2 isn’t perfect. I’m not a huge fan of the 5-way joystick, as it’s slippery and at times difficult to use, and there are still some user interface bugs that need ironed out. Moreover, when you flip the power switch to turn wake it from sleep mode, it can take up to thirty seconds before it’s fully responsive; until then it can take more than a second for pages to refresh.

Although the idea of having many of my favourite books on one gadget is appealing, I’m so time-starved at the moment that I just don’t have any time to read a lot of books. Trying to plan my year around the goal of releasing time for more leisurely intellectual activities. At that time I’ll definitely consider grabbing one for moi. Hopefully by then the cons will have been addressed.

Pros & Cons of the Amazon Kindle 2:

Pros

* Awesome e-ink display is easy to read and causes less eye strain over backlit devices
* Thin form factor makes Kindle 2 easy to carry around
* Can buy books anywhere there’s Sprint coverage
* Three words: FREE. CELLULAR. INTERNET.

Cons

* No user-expandable storage
* No user-replaceable battery
* Five-way joystick slippery at times

Specifications of the Amazon Kindle 2:

Platform: Linux-based OS (2.6 kernel)
Processor: 532 MHz Freescale ARM-11 CPU
Memory: 2GB moviNAND (1.4GB available for user content)
Display: 6-inch 800×600 e-ink display with 16 shades of grey
Formats supported: Amazon proprietary (AZW), TXT, Mobipocket, PRC, Audible, MP3
Wireless connectivity: 1xRTT/EV-DO (machine-only MVNO on Sprint’s wireless network)
Audio: 3.5 mm audio jack, rear-mounted stereo speakers
Size: 8 in x 5.3 in x 0.36 in
Weight: 10.2 oz
Battery: 1530 mAh Li-poly
Warranty: 1-year limited warranty and service

Via Brighthand