This morning Amazon announced the next generation of it's popular e-book reader Kindle, the Kindle 2. Internet rumors have swirled about the device since Amazon originally announced the press conference a few weeks ago. Last week some alleged pictures and details about the device leaked, indicating it will be priced at $359 and will be available for purchase in just a few weeks on February 24th. The New York Times indicated Amazon was working on making Kindle titles available on a variety of mobile phones, and this morning the Wall Street Journal indicated that the Kindle 2 would be offering an exclusive title from Steven King.

From the press conference we learned that the Kindle 2 will in fact be shipping February 24th, for $359. You can pre-order the device now, with shipment priority going to people who own an original Kindle and place their order by midnight tonight. The Steven King book is called "UR" and is actually a book written specifically for the Kindle 2, about the Kindle 2, which may make it less than interesting to the majority of the population.

The new Kindle will be .36-inches thick, has 7x more storage than the original, and a 25% longer battery which will allow you to read for close to two weeks on a single battery charge. Other updates include a new text-to-speech feature that will allow you to have any book or blog read aloud to you, 20% faster page turning, and a new display with sixteen shades of grey. Amazon already has a product page live on it's site along with a video of the Kindle 2 being dropped from 30-inches, as well as a video demo of the device, and customer testimonials.

You can check out a full spec list and read the real-time event coverage below:

 

9:50am: Amazon has let press into the building and is putting up book related quotes on a screen at the front of the stage:

"How many a man has dated a new era in his life from reading a book" -Henry David Thoreau

“The book should be a ball of light in one’s hand.” -Ezra Pound

"It is no more necessary that a man should remember the different dinners and suppers which have made him healthy than the different books which have made him wise. Let us see the results of good food in a strong body, and the results of great reading in a full and powerful mind" -Sydney Smith

..Looks like we're going to definitely see a new Kindle, or Amazon is pulling a really elborate joke on everyone.

10:10AM: Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, has taken the stage and is talking about the history of books."We've been selling ebooks for years, and guess what -- it didn't work... until fourteen months ago....More than 10% of the units we sell are Kindle book sales -- that's astonishing. So what happened? 230,000 things happened, and that's Kindle books. Even the best device without selection is useless."

10:18AM: Kindle 2 officially announced

Spec Details:

• The Kindle 2 will be .4-inches thick. In comparison, the iPhone is .48-inches.
• 7 times more storage than the original kindle. The Kindle 2 can hold over 1,500 books.
• Automatic magazine and newspaper delivery
• 3G wireless connectivity allows you to download books in less than 60 seconds with no monthly subscription fee
• 25% longer battery
• 2 weeks of reading on a single charge
• Whispersync: sync data between Kindle, kindle 2, and other wireless devices
• New 5-way controller
• 16-shades of gray in display
• 20% faster page turning
• Built-in text-to-speech: any document on the device can be read out loud
• Over 230,000 books available
• Addition of new blogs and newpapers, including Gizmodo and US Today

10:45AM: The product page for the kindle 2 has officially gone live on Amazon, you can also check out a video demo of the kindle 2 here, and Jeff Bezo's letter to Amazon customers to your right (or if that's too small to read on Amazon's homepage).
 

 

 

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