Introducing the new Amazon kindle ebook reader...

The New Kindle 2
The Amazon kindle is, fundamentally, a portable e-book reader. It allows users to read digitally stored books or documents on an electronic screen. There’s nothing very novel about that – we’ve all enjoyed the ability to read e-books and text files on computers and other mobile devices for some time now. So what is it about the kindle that makes it so important?

In fact, whilst the kindle has many impressive features and functions, there is arguably no one single point which marks it for future greatness. It really is an example of the whole being more than the sum of the parts. So, with that being said, let’s have a look at the key aspects of Amazon’s new kindle 2.

Portable
First of all the kindle really is portable. It weighs 10.2 ounces and is just 1/3 of an inch thick. That’s about the same weight as a paperback book and about as thick as a glossy magazine. The overall dimensions are 8” X 5.3” X 0.36”. So it’s considerably more portable than even a small notebook computer, and the ergonomics make it a good deal easier to handle and read from on, for example, a plane or a bus.

Extended Battery Life
The kindle also enjoys a long battery life – up to a fortnight when used only as a reader with the wireless turned off. When downloading, especially in weak signal areas, battery life is reduced. Even then 4 days between recharges is achievable.

Easy To Read Display
The kindle uses a “paper like” display, about 6” across the diagonal, which avoids screen glare and reflection, allowing reading in brightly lit conditions – something which can be troublesome with a notebook PC. There are 6 font sizes to choose from, so you should be able to read quite easily even if you’ve left your bifocals at home.

Even if you don’t like the display or can’t quite decide on the perfect font size, all is not lost. The kindle 2 now has the capability of reading your book to you using its new audio playback facility called “read-to-me”. However, be aware that this feature may be turned off by the publisher’s of certain books – best to check before you download.

No Monthly Fee For Connectivity
The kindle connects to Amazon’s e-book store using 3G wireless technology. There’s no need for an internet connection or WiFi hotspot and there are no download connection fees or monthly subscription charges.

Choose From A Huge Range Of Titles
It takes less than a minute to download an e-book to your kindle and you can currently choose from 300,000 titles on Amazon. The list is growing daily. The kindle device itself can store up to 1500 books.

In addition to e-books, newspaper, magazine and even blog subscriptions are available. Apart from kindle books, the device supports various other file formats including .TXT and MP3. PDF files are not currently supported but a conversion service is available.

The kindle also has limited internet browsing capabilities.

Value For Money
 At $260, the kindle is not cheap – but considering that kindle books are cheaper since they don’t use any print consumables, the cost may be recovered fairly quickly for heavy readers. You can also find a good selection of free Kindle books - right on Amazon's website, and there's a lot more starting at just $0.01. You could recover the purchase price of your Kindle pretty quick with prices like that.

Over the piece, the kindle may prove to be the ideal product for Amazon. Fast, free and easy downloads coupled with Amazon’s huge selection of available titles will encourage even greater loyalty to the already trusted Amazon brand. Customers will return to Amazon for further book purchases and, as the kindle goes mainstream, economies of scale should be achievable.

All things considered, it looks like good business for Amazon and the kindle could very well change the way we all look at books in the not too distant future.