Hmmm, I wonder what could be in that Amazon box?
So dark and mysterious. It is all about presentation.
And here is little Kindle nestled in its packaging.
And here is Kindle plugged in and charging up with the user manual displayed on the screen.
First impressions. It is incredibly light and weighs about the same as your average paperback book. The print is marvelously sharp and clear, better than a computer screen and actually better than some older books I have read. It is pretty and wafer thin. Kindle 2 does not come with a cover which made me grumpy because we had to spend another $30 to get something decent. Of course the cover has not arrived yet and until it does, traveling with Kindle is out. I have not downloaded anything yet (I’ve already been checking out the free book sites), wanting to wait until it is charged and I have read the whole of the manual. But things are off to a good start. I’ll let you know how the test drive goes.
I have had the first edition Kindle since Thanksgiving and truly love it. I have downloaded numerous free books – which I love because they are the classics. I have also used the “download a sample” option at Amazon quite a bit.
I am anxious to hear your review once you have had a chance to play around with it. It is fascinating to me to know that I can carry around 100s of books for the same “weight” as an average paperback.
Aww…that looks way cooler than I thought! I heard it’s equipped with anti-glaring screen so the print is extra sharp. I’m tempted now as I’m thinking about something so light and portable for traveling.
Very cool. I hope you enjoy it!
The screens on the Sony Reader and the Kindle always look pretty dark (grey) to me. If they were brighter, and could handle regular email, then I’d really be tempted.
Great unboxing. That’s a whole lotta packaging, though. Tsk tsk Amazon! Looks lovely, though. When you say it weighs about the same as a paperback, is that trade or mass-market?
Very pretty! I’m looking forward very much to how it goes on the road test. I’d particularly like to know whether it’s weird not being sure how far through a book you are.
Jealous. I am so very, very jealous.
I’ve got to admit to my jealousy over such a nice piece of kit – will lighten your bags on holidays substantially I should imagine. I’ve read loads of debates on e-books and the like lately… but I’m still heartily undecided! And none of my friends have one to try out. They do look cool…
Having said that – do e-books not mess up your eyes a little? And you can’t leave them out in the rain! And isn’t there something great about having a nice dog-bitten, tattered old paperback lying aroun in the lounge?
I would be worried that if I lost it, there goes a whole library. Like Litlove, I wonder how it would be not to know what kind of progress I was making on a book. But what do I know? I finally broke down and got a cell phone for the first time two months ago, so I’m hopeless. Hope you have lots of fun with it. Am interested to see how you like it. You may convert me.
The comments about not knowing how far through a book you are were amusing. I’m sure there is some sort of page count on the screen, but now I’m having fond memories of looking at bookmarks to see heuristically how far through I was.
I was a little shocked that one reader would consider leaving any kind of book out in the rain: electronic or otherwise. But, that’s my strict Scandinavian upbringing, I guess.
Curiously and anxiously awaiting your reviews.
HOw cool!!! It’ll be a while before I get one. ;-(
I love adding new words to my lexicon. I had to look up the word “heuristically.” It is going to be my word of the day tomorrow and I’m going to find 3 ways to use it. :>
Funny. In one day, I’ve gone from knowing no one who has a Kindle to knowing 3 people who do (four, actually, if I count both you and your Bookman). One of my other friends noted it’s lighter and smaller than she expected. Hope your cover arrives soon, so you’ll have it for your commute.
I’m enjoying my Kindle 1, and am jealous that you have the next generation! I hope you have fun with it. Let me know what you think. I think I’ve mentioned that the only weird thing for me is not knowing physically where you are in a book–a bit disorienting
It looks pretty cool! I’m curious too to see how you like it, and how you work it into your current reading patterns.
Molly, I have already been looking over the free book sites and nearly hyperventilating over all the books to choose from. Which one will be first?
Matt, you are indeed correct about the screen. And it can even be read without a problem in full sunlight.
wil, haven’t tried email on it yet. But the screen background is actually a light gray and not dark at all.
Sylvia, the packaging is not as much as it looks. The box is about the size of a hardcover book. There was a paper sleeve holding Kindle in it’s protective “nest” and that was all the packing. I’d say the weight is that of a small to medium trade paperpack or a chunky mass market.
Litlove, on the bottom of the screen there is actually a little progress bar that tells you visually and percentage-wise how far you are in the book. The little bar even has dots on it to indicate chapter breaks.
Meg, I am a lucky girl
Bob, the text on Kindle is so sharp that my eyes are having not problems at all. It is nothing at all like reading a computer screen. And since I’m somewhat obsessive about keeping my books looking nice, I will not miss dogeared and tattered
Grad, everything on the Kindle is backup on the Amazon servers (except personal documents you might load up on it). So if it should get lost, when you get new one you can just download everything from your Amazon account with nothing lost. And have fun with heuristically. It’s a good word.
Bikkuri, Amazon provided for the reader’s need to know where in the book one is reading and how much one has read. I don’t think it’s strictly Scandinavian. The good Germans have instilled in me the same shock!
Beth, you never know, you might find you can’t resist.
Emily, that’s funny. Perhaps you will find yourself with one of your own one of these days.
Gentle Reader, I was very jealous of you when you got yours, especially since we ordered ours at the end of November and have been waiting so long. I don’t think the 2 is that much different. There is no slot of a memory card though like yours has. I wish they’d left that feature.
Oh, this is very exciting! I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing more about it.
I love the unveiling of the Kindle 2. But more importantly – what will be the very first book you will read on it? That is such an important decision!
Given that I’m in the UK and we haven’t even seen the Kindle’s first incarnation, I’m not jealous at all with your fantastic mouth-watering shots of your shiny, desirable Kindle 2 Stefanie…[groan!]
Seriously though if this is your first foray into dedicated ereaders then enjoy the experience! I’m sure you’ll love it (and I’m kind of speaking from experience because at least I’ve got a Sony Reader
))
Warmest
Bloglily, so far it is a fun gadget. Only time will tell if it becomes a useful book reader.
Dark Orpheus, important and slightly stressful, there is so much to choose from!
Rob, I’m not sure why Amazon is keeping Kindle limited to the US. It seems like an odd business decision to me. I saw an internet petition the other day for getting Amazon to sell Kindle in Canada. I am glad you have a Sony Reader though. I looked at those and thought long and hard before making the final decision.
Ack Dorothy, how did I skip you? It will be interesting to see how it fits into my regular reading and what I choose to read on it as opposed to paper.
It does look pretty spiffy. My library has a few of this first Kindles, and this one does look much more streamlined. Do you think you’re going to be tempted to buy/load lots of new books? I was just thinking today if I had one I would probably go crazy on new e-books. At least they won’t take up shelf space.
I got way behind in my blog reading, so I am just now catching up. I am oohing and aahing over here at your new Kindle. It looks wonderful.
It looks so cool but sadly they are only bringing them out in the States which is rubbish. I have a Sony eReader which I love, but the idea of it sending downloaded books straight to the Kindle would be very very cool. Enjoy your new toy.