February 9th, 2009
Live from New York: Amazon's Kindle 2.0
10:59 a.m.: That’s it! The official press release is out.
10:51 a.m. If you’re a Kindle 1 owner and order in the next 24 hours you are moved to the front of the line. Translation: Amazon will still have a line and hasn’t figured out its manufacturing issue.
Press conference over going to demo outside.
10:49 a.m. Ur has some creepy aspects to it. The New Yorker, Gizmodo now available on Kindle 2. Bezos said the price is the same: $359.And ships on February 24.
10:47 a.m.: King notes that the character in his book. The Kindle can go to other worlds. Talk about product placement.
The novella is called “Ur.” Bezos back on stage.
10:39 a.m. Reads a scene from his Kindle book.
10:31 a.m. Stephen King comes on stage. Got a call in early January. Amazon people got in touch with me. Quips that offering a book was a good way to get a new Kindle.
10:28 a.m. Showing video of Kindle 1 customers talking about Kindle 2.
10:26 a.m. Showing new features with Gettysburg Address. With Kindle 2 you have built in text to speech. Any document can be read aloud to you. The voice sounds a little robotic, so it’s not exactly an audio book replacement. (Think having the customer service robot reading to you.) It does keep your page though.
10:22 a.m. Demo time. The five way controller looks good. And the one-hand thing can work. The little knob allows you to click to the right. “This is a dramatic improvement on newspaper navigation.” You can push down and scan sections more easily.
10:21 a.m.: Adds new feature. Whispersync transfers to other mobile devices and will keep current page wirelessly.
Amazon releases Kindle 2.0 (Click image to view gallery)
10:19 a.m.: Kindle shaved an 0.1 off of the Kindle at 10.2 ounces. Page turning buttons turn inward. There’s a 5 way controller button. Can use one-handed so you can change your hand. Longer battery life. Can read two weeks on single charge.
10:15 a.m.: Top objective was to make Kindle disappear.
10:14 a.m.: “E-book sales haven’t worked–until 14 months ago.” However, he showed a chart that still lacked figures.
10:13 a.m. “Long form can teach things that can’t be taught any other way.”
10:12 a.m. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos takes stage. Says short-form reading has been revolutionized by blogs and mobile devices. He goes into a long-form reading riff. Subtext: Kindle is still about the book.
9:57 a.m. EDT: Amazon’s Kindle announcement is about to kick off and we’re in. Here’s a look at some shots of the venue.
Many of the details are known about the Kindle 2.0 unveiling, Stephen King’s novel and potentially more outsourcing of manufacturing. That’s a rumor at this point based on some chatter in the crowd. If true, the outsourcing thing may be the most notable.
The event is about to start at the Morgan Library Museum at Madison and 36th.
Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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