Photos of Kindle 2.0
A site called the Boy Genius Report claims to have pictures of the second generation Kindle. While Amazon hasn’t announced anything yet, the photos appear real, and the device itself doesn’t look like a fake.
Assuming the pictures are real, however, there seems little reason to buy the new one if you already own a Kindle. It’s approximately the same size as the original Kindle, maybe even a smidge bigger. The buttons are all pretty much the same, except the keyboard is now one continuous keyboard (rather than having the break in the middle) and the scroll wheel has morphed into a joystick (what for?). The back of the thing is awful - it looks like the back of an iPhone: silver, fingerprint-attracting, and probably really cold while waiting for a train in the middle of December.
The one improvement that I do appreciate is the addition of rounded corners. Sometimes when I’m reading my Kindle outside of the included case, the corners poke into my palms. It wasn’t enough to hurt, or to dissuade me from using my Kindle, but it is enough to annoy me. However, I won’t be buying a second generation Kindle just for rounded corners.
While the pictures appear legitimate, I am worried about a slight smudge that appears just to the left of where the Amazon Kindle logo appears on the current Kindle. Check out the bottom row of pictures in their gallery to see what I mean.
Check out the article and the photo gallery for yourself.
As a current Kindle owner, would the changes entice you to upgrade? If you don’t currently own a Kindle, are the changes enough to convince you to buy one?
