Review of Kindle II ebook reader (US only)

Amazon in the US has just announced the launch of its Kindle II ebook reader. This is a replacement for the original Kindle ebook reader, the first ever ebook reader to hit the mass market.

The Kindle has never been available in the UK, and neither is the Kindle II, but it’s interesting to see that the changes to the original ebook reader are more or less cosmetic.

The 6 inch e-ink screen is exactly the same as on the original Kindle, the identical screen used on the Sony PRS505 and the Cybook Gen3.

Amazon has increased the internal memory to 2GB, but taken away the SD card slot – a move which limits your options for loading books to the reader. The wireless “whispernet” allows users to download purchased books from Amazon in the US as on the original Kindle and there is still a USB connection too. Also, for some strange reason, the battery, which was user-replaceable on the Kindle I can no longer be replaced by the user. A new feature is the option for the device to read ebooks aloud in a Satnav type voice, which may be useful to blind people.

The Kindle II is slightly thinner than its predecessor, but still thicker than the Sony PRS505, and MUCH thicker than the Cybook Gen3. But the body is slightly wider and longer than on the original to allow repositioning of some internals.

This ebook reader still has the ugly keyboard below the display and I for one think it is still the ugliest ebook reader available today. Thank goodness it’s only available in the US.