Kindle 2 - International Version

The Kindle 2 is a great device… If you read story-books, but for books with illustrations, the screen is just too small.

Kindle 2 is the second incarnation of the electronic eBook reader sold by Amazon.com. I recently received my Kindle 2 and I am overwhelmed and underwhelmed all at the same time...

E-Ink Display
The E-Ink display is brilliant. Text is easy to read and the form factor of the device lends itself to easy reading. Most people, when they first see the screen, are genuinely impressed with the crisp print-like text. Also very interesting to me was that many people tried to navigate the device as if it had a touch screen (thanks Apple).

"Whispernet": Free 3G Cellular Data
The international version of the Kindle has a built-in 3G data connection and Amazon pays the data connection for you. All purchased books are wirelessly and automatically delivered via this 3G connection.

The Kindle 2 does not natively support normal documents (PDF, Word, etc). Instead, you have to email the documents to the Amazon Cloud for it to be converted to the special Kindle format. These converted documents can then be sent to the Kindle in one of two ways:

• Direct 3G Wireless Transmission (pay per megabyte).
• Manual transfer via the USB cable (free).

By utilising the FREE Mobipocket Creator software you can convert many documents (including, Word, PDF, etc.) to a format that the Kindle understands.

Sample Books
A very nice feature is the ability to wirelessly download the first chapter of books (for free) so you can read them before deciding to buy the rest of the book.

Dictionary
Highlighting any word in a book gives you immediate access to a detailed definition via the built-in dictionary.

Audio & Text to Speech
Having the device read the text to you is a nice novelty and probably very useful if you’re blind or unable to read (e.g. driving your car). The ability to play Music and Podcast / Audiobooks is useful but I suspect these functions will deplete the battery rather quickly. 2GB of storage is also pretty skimpy when you want to use these features.

Disappointments:

• Local internet access restrictions:
  This was the biggest disappointment. Wikipedia is available to browse but all other Internet-features are disabled. If this gadget gave me access to my blogs and RSS it would be the ultimate reading device.
  
  
• File Support:
  Files such as PDF/Word aren't natively supported. This is a huge letdown for me. I'm not going to pay every time I want to send a document to the device (cheapskate - I know), and manually converting the documents is too much of a schlep. It also lacks support free ePub public-domain books.
  
  
• No local content:
  Although there are rumours of talks with local content providers (newspapers and magazines), I am currently unable to use any local content.
  
  
• DRM:
  The content bought from the Amazon Kindle Store is protected by Digital Rights Management and you will most likely be unable to transfer these documents to any other device in future. You’ll probably have to re-purchase all your books for any new device (or stick to Kindle forever).
  
  
• No way to expand the memory (SD card slot).
  
  
• Replacement battery:
  Like Apple, they make it very difficult (and probably very expensive) to replace the battery.
  
  
• Kindle iPhone application is not available in SA.
  
  
• Kindle Mobile Store does not work in SA.
  
  
• Average Book Prices are $11.99 to $13.99 instead of $9.99.
  
  
• No protective carrying case included in package (buy separately).

Kindle DX
Amazon says it plans to release the DX to international customers soon. Kindle DX is about double the size (and price) of the normal Kindle and natively supports PDF documents.

Barnes & Noble "nook"
The B&N nook is not yet available internationally, but it looks like a much better version that any of the Amazon Kindles.

Apple Rumours
Rumours are circulating from many sources that Apple might be designing some sort of colour-screen "tablet device" which might also support eBooks.