Kindle 2 vs Kindle 1,
By Jared Casner (Denver, CO USA),February 26, 2009

This review is from: Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6″ Display, U.S. Wireless) (Electronics) After 6 months with the first Kindle, I was stoked when I saw gen 2 coming out. After hearing me rave about my Kindle, my wife was more than happy to take the “old” one off my hands so that I could buy the latest gadget. She’s nothing if not tolerant of my gadget addiction!

Anyhow, I wanted to share my impressions of the old vs. the new.

First of all, the things that the Kindle 2 did better than the original:

1. It’s a lot thinner. I travel frequently, so the smaller, the better. This is a noticeable change from the first to the second version and one that I love.

2. The page turn buttons are better. With the Kindle 1, I was constantly at risk of accidentally bumping the next page buttons. They are extremely sensitive and very large. With the Kindle 2, the buttons have been scaled down to a much more manageable size and are a lot less sensitive.

3. I love the 4-way directional button. It took a little getting used to after having used the Kindle 1, especially since the context menus that I was used to in the first gen have changed due to the new directional button, but for any Kindle user, this change is a god send.

4. Power charging via USB. Having a single cord for the Kindle is great. The little USB->Socket converter is great to have, too.

There are a few things that I will miss about my Kindle 1, too.

1. The power buttons. I really liked having control over the power with a simple toggle. Yes, it’s great in the Kindle 2 that you can easily put the Kindle to sleep, however, if you want to turn the 2nd Gen off, you have to hold the power slide for 4 seconds. I am going to miss being able to wait until the last second to just flip a switch as I’m putting it away. I’m sure I’ll get used to the change, but it will take some time.

2. The location of the headphone jack. In the Kindle 1, the headphone jack was conveniently located on the bottom of the Kindle. This kept the headphone cord out of your way. On the Kindle 2, it’s top-center. Now, I don’t use audio on my Kindle much, but when I do, it’s because I forgot my mp3 player and want to listen to music while I read. Having the cord coming out of the top means I have to adjust it to keep it out of my way when reading. Really, this is just a minor annoyance, but I felt like it was worth sharing.

Finally, the one thing that I still feel like the Kindle is missing (and I knew this going in, so I can’t ding the Kindle for it) is global wireless support. It has 3G capabilities, so technology is not the problem, it must just be cost. My hope is that they will allow international access at some point in the future, even if it comes with a small delivery surcharge – although of course we’d all like to see it cost the same!

One last thing to mention… I’m an avid reader and was somewhat concerned that losing the feel of true books would take away from my enjoyment of the Kindle. After having used it for 6 months, I went back to a standard paperback book and found myself getting a little frustrated with the more traditional format. I find that it’s easy to get lost in the book with the Kindle. The one thing I miss about the traditional format is the ability to peek a page or two ahead to see when the next good stopping point will be.

All in all, I am very pleased with my Kindle(s), and definitely had no hesitation in buying a second.

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