Update: Hello, Kindle 2!

[x-posted from First Edition]

At 10 a.m. this morning, my last Friday review became outdated - along with Elinor, my trusty Kindle 1.0! During a press conference at the historical Morgan Library, Amazon unveiled its newest creation - the Kindle 2.

A lighter, thinner version of its predecessor, the Kindle 2 seems to have all the great features of Elinor & co., but in a sleeker package with a few new bells & whistles. Here are just a few of the differences:

• More storage: Without an additional memory card, the Kindle 2 can store over 1200 ebooks on its memory. Like I said, I'm never going to need thousands of books at my beck and call, but it's a solid update.
• Better design: Slightly lighter, the Kindle 2 is less "clunky" than the original. Press photos show that Amazon has done away with the wedge shape, so that the K2 is a sleek rectangle that's only 1/3 of an inch thick - about the width of a pencil. Also gone are the oversized page turn buttons that some users complained were too easy to turn - the new ones are still on the side for that intuitive "book-like" feel, but they're smaller as well, so the reader can be held more conveniently.
• Faster page turns: I never had a problem with the original Kindle page turns (except the rare times publishers chose that awful Topaz format), but the K2 is boasting 20% faster page turns.
  
• Longer batter life: One of my favorite things about the original Kindle is its amazing battery life, which is even more impressive on the K2. With an exciting 25% more battery life, Amazon is saying the K2 can be read for two weeks without a single charge.
  
• Improved screen: Again, I loved the original screen, but somehow Amazon has topped themselves and bumped up the resolution on the E-ink screens, so it's even sharper and crisper for the reader.
• Text-To-Speech: Like the built-in dictionary before it, this is the new feature that really has me buzzing. The K2 has the ability to turn any book, blog, readable personal document, or newspaper available into an audio file - what they are calling "Text-To-Speech" capability. Okay, I know that sounds silly at first, but think about it - how many times have you gone on a long solo road trip and just wished you had your current read in audio book form? How many times have you had to stop reading to go cook dinner? Or work out on the treadmill? This is a brilliant addition, in my opinion, especially for writers. If it truly works for Word documents as well, this is a great way to proofread a manuscript - testing it for flow and phrasing. I'm coveting, Originals.
  

Not only is this a significant improvement on an already phenomenal product, but they haven't upped the price any either - the Kindle 2 is holding steady at $359. Amazon is being smart with this one by offering current Kindle owners priority ordering and shipping out the Kindle 2 to all the people still waiting in the Oprah backorder line. Now we know why the estimated ship date for those backorders was so far away, no? Personally, I'm definitely digging this new and improved Kindle and am almost convinced to trade up to the 2.0.

What do you think about the improvements, Originals? And can we discuss how lucky Kelly is that she's automatically getting sent the Kindle 2? I can't wait to hear how she likes it!

Also: If you want to weigh in on a lively discussion about E-Reader merits, the fabulous pirates over at Romance Writer's Revenge are also discussing Kindles today!