Amazon has announced that version 2 of the Kindle has been completed and is due to be released at the end of February ‘09.  I have already heard positives reviews about the changes from a few people who had the chance to give it a testing.  You can check out the product specs here for the Kindle 2! 

So let’s talk about what is new in the Kindle 2 from the original Kindle…

- The Kindle 2 is a tiny bit lighter weight 0.1 ounces less then the original Kindle (10.3 oz vs 10.2 oz)

- There is a new text-to-speech feature that will blow you away.  You can have the Kindle 2 read the book to you if you’re getting sleepy and your eyes are tired.  You also have the option of if you want a man or woman’s voice reading to you… pretty neat!

- The screen is now more “colorized”…  Ok, it still does not have color, but there are now 16 different shades of grey.

- The controls are redesigned to be more user friendly and there’s a 5-way joystick.

- Amazon is not charging you any extra money for the Kindle 2, the price will still be the same as the original Kindle’s price at $359.

- The battery lasts 25% longer. 

I’m excited to try out the Kindle 2.  I already own the original Kindle so I’m going to test out someone else’s Kindle 2 before deciding if it is worth upgrading and spending more money.  If you don’t have any Kindle then the Kindle 2 is definitely the way to go based on what I’m hearing.  Don’t forget to get your preorder in so that you don’t get stuck waiting for months if they sell out (like what happened with the original Kindle).