Amazon Kindle 2 Video
Amazon Kindle 2 Video Transcript
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>> I'm David Conoway, executive ed for CNET.com, and we're here at the Kendall 2 [assumed spelling] launch event to give you a first look at the Kendall 2. This device is a lot thinner, that is one thing about it, it's also zippier, it has sixteen shades of gray instead of four, so that means you're gonna get a little bit better contrast ratio. And the other thing about it is it comes with two gigabytes of memory now, so you can store fifteen hundred books on it. On top of that, Amazon says that you can get 25% more battery life from the Kendall 2, and there's a new experimental feature called the read to me feature, that actually reads the text to you, so you don't even have to read it yourself. Amazon's whisper net, that's the wireless feature, remains on this model, so you can get books delivered wirelessly to the device, in the United States at least it uses a Sprint EVDO network. All in all this is a really nice upgrade for the Kendall. A lot of people complained that the first one wasn't sleek enough, this is definitely sleeker. The thin factor is a big deal. It goes on sale on February twenty fourth for three hundred fifty nine dollars, that's the same price as the current Kendall. Another important thing to mention is that Amazon did make a big design change to the buttons. The buttons on the side are much smaller. A lot of people complained about the button accidentally turning the page without meaning to. Now the buttons are much smaller, so you can say this is a better ergonomic design as well. And it appears that they have also improved the protective case that comes with it. I'm David Conoway, and that's the new Kendall 2 from Amazon.
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Amazon Kindle Wireless Reading Device (U.S. Wireless) Review
The good: Slimmer and sleeker looking than the original Kindle; large library of tens of thousands of e-books, newspapers, magazines, and blogs via Amazon's familiar online store; built-in free wireless "Whispernet" data network--no PC needed; built-in keyboard for notes and navigation; a faster processor speeds up the device; with 2GB of internal memory, it's capable of storing 1,500 electronic books; font size is adjustable; improved battery life; displays image files and plays MP3 and AAC audio; compatible with Windows and Mac machines; new Text-to-Speech feature allows you to have text read aloud.
The bad: No expansion slot for adding more memory or accessing files; files such as PDFs and Word documents aren't natively supported and need to be converted at 10 cents a pop by Amazon; no protective carrying case included; battery is sealed into the device and isn't removable; hardware and content is still too expensive; lacks the support for electronic library loans and free ePub public-domain books available on competing Sony Reader models.
The bottom line: While it's short of perfection--and remains fairly pricey--the Amazon Kindle 2's improved design, built-in wireless capabilities, and user-friendly interface keep it atop the e-book reader heap in the U.S.
Amazon Kindle Wireless Reading Device (U.S. Wireless) Specs
Manufacturer: Amazon.com
Part number: CNETKINDLE2
