Amazon Kindle 2 Review
Here is the review for the new Amazon Kindle 2, Amazon's new e-book reader and the successor to the highly popular Amazon Kindle. This new e-book reader from Amazon is more lightweight, features more shades of grey and has a slightly different interface, better battery life and more memory for storing e-books. Price of unit is $359.00 and will release February 24th 2009. …
What Is The Kindle? Why Do I Want One?
The Kindle 2 allows you to download a book from Amazon and read it just like you would a paperback book. The features and benefits of the Kindle are just short of fantastic. I have shelves and shelves of paperback books that could ALL fit into a Kindle. You can have all your favorite books right at your fingertips! The Kindle 2 will hold up to 1500 average size books! 1500!!
A paperback book costs anywhere from $9.99 or so on up to $40 or $50 dollars – Most books for the Kindle cost $9.99 – even best sellers! There is NO cost to download you\’re books either. It works on a wireless network just like your cell phone, but there are NO contracts and NO monthly fees. It\’s perfect!
You can also get most major newspapers delivered to your Kindle so that it\’s waiting for you every morning – along with your coffee of course.
There are six different type sizes on the Kindle 2 – which means that many of just might be able to get rid of the darn reading glasses when using the Kindle! THAT\’S worth a whole lot to me – I hate these reading glasses!
The Kindle 2 will read to you! If you\’re driving or otherwise “hand occupied” you can easily have the Kindle read to you. I\’m thinking …. cookbooks! How cool would it be to have your Kindle read a recipe to you while you prepare the ingredients – no back and forth to the book! And YES – they are cookbooks available for the Kindle. In fact there are over 230,000 titles currently available with more being added everyday.
The Kindle weighs 10 ounces, which is less than most paperback books – and certainly lighter than a hard cover book. I don\’t know about you, but after and hour or so of reading my hands and fingers get tired. (I\’m old, okay? LOL) With the light weight of the Kindle 2, I can read for hours with no discomfort at all! This is a great boon for those with arthritis in their hands, fingers and wrists.
The new Kindle 2 has added more battery life too. You can go days of reading before you have to recharge your Kindle. It comes with a wall charger or a USB cable so that you can hook it up to your computer for charging.
I not only like to read – I love to read and the Kindle 2 is going to revolutionize they way we all enjoy our reading!
Amazon Kindle How-to Series: Replacing the Battery on Your Amazon Kindle
Since the Amazon Kindle is a fairly new innovation, most owners have not had their Kindle e-book reader long enough to require a new battery. However, if you use your Kindle frequently and charge it often then you may get to the point where the battery doesn’t seem to last as long as when your Kindle was new. This is not an usual phenomenon - most rechargeable batteries have a “life” measured in number of re-charges.
Another reason that you may wish to replace the battery on your Kindle is that you are going to be using it for a long period of time and can’t charge it. For example let’s say you are planning a trip with a long international airplane flight. In this case you can take two (or more) fully charged Kindle batteries with you and replace them as required.
To save battery life, the Kindle goes into a “sleep” mode if you have not been reading an e-book or listening to an audio book for a long period of time. You’ll recognize when your Kindle has entered “sleep” mode because a screen saver will appear on your screen in-place of the book you were reading. Kindle comes with built-in screen savers, or you can check the site in the resource box below to learn how-to create your own.
Your Amazon Kindle has a built-in battery power meter you will find at the bottom right-side of the screen. The battery power meter is right next to the wireless signal strength meter. It’s sometimes easy to get these meters confused. The wireless signal strength indicator appears as a bar graph with a small antenna in-front of the first bar. When your battery power meter shows nearly all white you know it’s either time to recharge your Kindle or replace your battery. If the power meter goes down quickly after a charge it may be time to replace your battery.
Here’s how you replace the battery on your Amazon Kindle:
1. Turn-off your Kindle
2. Find a soft cloth or other means to protect the face of your Kindle
3. Place your Kindle face down on a flat, secure surface
4. Slide the gray back cover off of your Kindle
5. You will see the gray battery in it’s compartment
6. Note the battery compartment has a rounded “notch” on one end
7. Using your finger (not a screwdriver or any other device that might damage your Kindle)gently push the battery to the back of the compartment then lift it out
8. The battery is attached to your Kindle by a white plastic connector and several wires
9. GENTLY pull the white connector back until the battery is disconnected from your Kindle
10. Attach your new battery by pushing the white wiring connector into the proper location in the battery compartment
11. Seat the battery into the back of the battery compartment - make sure the white wiring connector is attached properly
12. Press the battery down at the front of the battery compartment - note that the battery and the compartment have a small notch and grove to help you line-up the battery
13. Replace the cover
14 Turn on your Kindle and you’re ready to get back to reading your favorite e-book or listening to your favorite audio book
Congratulations! You have just learned how-to replace the battery in your Amazon Kindle.
While this is not a procedure everyone will do regularly it’s helpful to know either when your battery does not hold a charge or if you are traveling with more than one charged battery.
One more important point! The battery in your Amazon Kindle is made from Lithium Polymer. It should be disposed of properly - likely at a battery recycling center located near you.
Kindle Alternative – the Ectaco Jetbook
The Ectaco Jetbook is the smallest among the among the leading e-book readers. The screen size is at a mere 5 inches, which can be a great advantage or disadvantage depending on your personal preference. The small size compromises on its readability on one hand, but greatly enhances its portability on the other.
To make up for its size, this e-book reader has a great feature that enables you to rotate the text on the screen. You could either read your e-book straight up, or read it at landscape by rotating the device. The contrast and readability of the Ectaco Jetbook may not be as good as other models such as the Amazon Kindle or the Sony Prs 505, but it is good enough to provide a comfortable read in most lighting conditions.
Because of its small size, the Ectaco Jetbook seems to have a longer battery life compared to many other e-book readers. A single charge can last up to a week of constant use. This little device also boots up faster than many e-book models. There are three conveniently located page-turn buttons that allows for easy page flipping. The page turns on the Ectaco Jetbook are also smoother than many leading e-book models.
A feature that makes the Ectaco Jetbook stand out among the rest is its great built in file manager. Compared to the Amazon Kindle and the Sony e-book reader, the Jetbook has a great file manager that allows you to manage, delete and organize your e-book files. Browsing though thousands of files on this little device is also a breeze. Like many e-book readers, the Ectaco Jetbook has a built in MP3 player.


