Kindle 2 Announcement on Amazon Front Page - Page 4

=X= · 02-09-2009, 01:15 PM

Text to Speech built in, that is awesome!

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

RWood,......this 'text to speech' How does that work?

Personally I like text to speech, but it takes a little to get use to the voice sound very robotic. Just like reading an eBook for the first time it takes a bit to get use to, but then they are great.

What I think is great about text to speech is it works on any text base book. So if you are really into a book, but cant read because a commute our your working out. You can listen to the book while you are driving, etc.... Then you can pickup where you stopped listening to it.

Man amazon really gets it. They will end up crushing sony because they continue to add features that consumers really use. Dictionary, wireless connectivity, huge selecting of books, at a great price. Now text to speech a sleek design.

=X=

Strether · 02-09-2009, 01:18 PM

According to the Kindle manual, the battery is user-replaceable. Don't know why people think it isn't.

Jim

desertgrandma · 02-09-2009, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strether

According to the Kindle manual, the battery is user-replaceable. Don't know why people think it isn't.

Jim

You are correct. But how do you get the back off? I don't see where that is shown.

Alisa · 02-09-2009, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strether

According to the Kindle manual, the battery is user-replaceable. Don't know why people think it isn't.

Jim

I think it's likely since there's not a readily apparent way to do it. I'm guessing there's a way to pop off that back cover.

RickyMaveety · 02-09-2009, 01:25 PM

The lack of an SD card is the big turn-off for me.

Also, I don't see anywhere that they show you HOW the book attaches to the cover. I don't care that they are selling it separately so much (I immediately tossed the original covers for my Kindles in a box in the garage and replaced them with zippered covers).

But, I would like to know exactly the mechanism for attachment.

As for TTS, note that that is listed in their "experimental" section ... which means they might drop it if it doesn't pan out. So, I don't think I would be likely to purchase a Kindle specifically for that.

It might be nice for commuters, but not really all that helpful for the blind or visually impaired simply because the menu still has to be read .... there's no non-sighted option for that.

I'm also not all that impressed with the design. Making the product larger simply so it could be made thinner isn't all that much of an improvement.

The 16 shades of gray is nice, but if that was key for me, I would have purchased something other than a Kindle. I bought this thing to read, and the text is crisp enough for me at 4 shades of gray.

So .... I guess what I'm saying is ... no sale for me.

Over · 02-09-2009, 01:30 PM

It would be fun if those people that ordered the K1 and will receive the K2 instead... Asked for a refund for receiving a product they didn't order.

pilotbob · 02-09-2009, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Over

It would be fun if those people that ordered the K1 and will receive the K2 instead... Asked for a refund for receiving a product they didn't order.

It might happen in a few places. But, are we to assume that there are ZERO K1's in the pipeline? Is it a new K2 a used K1 or nothing at this point?

BOb

Over · 02-09-2009, 01:35 PM

Well, if Amazon had a few reserve K1s, they would state this:

Quote:

If you have previously placed an order for Kindle 1, and have not yet received it, your order will automatically be upgraded to Kindle 2. You need to do nothing.

I can imagine some folks:

- Hey, the Kindle I ordered had a SD slot. Where is it?!

Nate the great · 02-09-2009, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slayda

It appears that Amazon followed in the footsteps of Sony - i.e. didn't listen to (and abandoned) the first adopters.

As to why TTS and not folders - TTS has more "Wow gee whiz" than folders. They don't care about supporting their customers (as Sony doesn't) they just want to sell more new users a Kindle.

Can't say I'm surprised.

The K1 just got an update so it can do most of what the K2 can do. How is this abandoning customers?

TallMomof2 · 02-09-2009, 01:41 PM

From what I read at Amazon if you have an order in for a Kindle 1 you will get a Kindle 2. I'll go see if I can find it...

Over · 02-09-2009, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TallMomof2

From what I read at Amazon if you have an order in for a Kindle 1 you will get a Kindle 2. I'll go see if I can find it...

I quoted it two posts above yours. :P

tompe · 02-09-2009, 01:48 PM

Why do people need a user replaceable battery? Since you do not have to charge it every day it will probably last for years and if you want to have a spare battery for reading it is better to get an USB battery that can be used to charge other devices also.

Alisa · 02-09-2009, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tompe

Why do people need a user replaceable battery? Since you do not have to charge it every day it will probably last for years and if you want to have a spare battery for reading it is better to get an USB battery that can be used to charge other devices also.

It's not the biggest deal to me but, while most batteries will last years with this kind of use, it's nice to not have to send your device in when you do need to change it. I think many people have a negative gut reaction to this left over from the iPod. Those batteries were failing after a year for many people. Still, it's not as bad the lack of a user-replaceable battery in the iPhone. As much as I would hate going without my Kindle for a week, it would be a deal-breaker for me to go without my phone.

CCDMan · 02-09-2009, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Dumb. Really really dumb. Not your remarks, the concept.

(re the non-replaceable battery)

I kinda agree in the sense I like the K1s ability to swap the battery but I am sure they looked at costs and form factor and the success Apple has had with their no removable battery approach and decided it was the way to go. Hard to argue with the economics and as I have said way too much <g>, that is what they are in business for.

Quote:

From what I read at Amazon if you have an order in for a Kindle 1 you will get a Kindle 2. I'll go see if I can find it...

Yes, and K1 owners get priority as well. Now I hope that means that folks that BOTH have a K1 AND have one on order get double priority (that would be me <g>). Prolly doesn't :-(

seamusfp · 02-09-2009, 02:05 PM

To the person who suggested that the Sony was thinner, you are half correct.

The PRS-505 is .3", while the PRS-700 is .4", Kindle 2 lands pretty much in the middle of those.

With regards to the battery, the handful of people saying there is a manual that talks about user replaceable battery, where is it? I just went through the Kindle 2 user guide and saw nothing about user replaceable battery (http://s3.amazonaws.com/kindle/Kindle2_Users_Guide.pdf) just talks about charging.

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02-09-2009, 01:18 PM	#47
Strether Guru Posts: 765 Karma: 2825929 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fresno Device: Kindle 1; iPad Air; iPhone 7; Kobo Libra; Kindle Oasis 3	According to the Kindle manual, the battery is user-replaceable. Don't know why people think it isn't. Jim

02-09-2009, 01:25 PM	#50
RickyMaveety Holy S**T!!! Posts: 5,213 Karma: 108401 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: San Diego, California!! Device: Kindle and iPad	The lack of an SD card is the big turn-off for me. Also, I don't see anywhere that they show you HOW the book attaches to the cover. I don't care that they are selling it separately so much (I immediately tossed the original covers for my Kindles in a box in the garage and replaced them with zippered covers). But, I would like to know exactly the mechanism for attachment. As for TTS, note that that is listed in their "experimental" section ... which means they might drop it if it doesn't pan out. So, I don't think I would be likely to purchase a Kindle specifically for that. It might be nice for commuters, but not really all that helpful for the blind or visually impaired simply because the menu still has to be read .... there's no non-sighted option for that. I'm also not all that impressed with the design. Making the product larger simply so it could be made thinner isn't all that much of an improvement. The 16 shades of gray is nice, but if that was key for me, I would have purchased something other than a Kindle. I bought this thing to read, and the text is crisp enough for me at 4 shades of gray. So .... I guess what I'm saying is ... no sale for me.

02-09-2009, 01:30 PM	#51
Over Wizard Posts: 1,462 Karma: 6061516 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Cascais, Portugal Device: Kindle PW, Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2", OnePlus 6	It would be fun if those people that ordered the K1 and will receive the K2 instead... Asked for a refund for receiving a product they didn't order.

02-09-2009, 01:41 PM	#55
TallMomof2 Kindlephilia Posts: 2,017 Karma: 1139255 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Snowpacolypse 2010 Device: Too many to count	From what I read at Amazon if you have an order in for a Kindle 1 you will get a Kindle 2. I'll go see if I can find it...

02-09-2009, 01:48 PM	#57
tompe Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,452 Karma: 7185064 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Linköpng, Sweden Device: Kindle Voyage, Nexus 5, Kindle PW	Why do people need a user replaceable battery? Since you do not have to charge it every day it will probably last for years and if you want to have a spare battery for reading it is better to get an USB battery that can be used to charge other devices also.

02-09-2009, 02:05 PM	#60
seamusfp Enthusiast Posts: 43 Karma: 432 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Connecticut Device: Sony PRS-500	To the person who suggested that the Sony was thinner, you are half correct. The PRS-505 is .3", while the PRS-700 is .4", Kindle 2 lands pretty much in the middle of those. With regards to the battery, the handful of people saying there is a manual that talks about user replaceable battery, where is it? I just went through the Kindle 2 user guide and saw nothing about user replaceable battery (http://s3.amazonaws.com/kindle/Kindle2_Users_Guide.pdf) just talks about charging.