From Boing Boing Gadgets: "Amazon's follow-up to the Kindle rounds the corners and smooths the keyboard, dropping the "crushed origami hat" look of the original for something that looks (sort of) like it came out of Cupertino." - Mark Trapp from Bookmarklet

I'm buying this. Glad they got the design right finally. - Robert Scoble

Its too bad they need that lame keyboard. I would love to see a multi touch keyboard on this. Can you blog on it? - David Jacobs

It looks cheaper than the original, but BGR says it feels sturdier than the original and has a metal backing. For the little I read magazines, and the convenience of books (also given that I only read or reference one book at a time), I still haven't figured out a personal use case for the Kindle. - Mark Trapp

Bah - where's the larger form factor version? - Internet's Tad

I'm not sure this is something that'd make me think about upgrading.. - Internet's Tad

MUCH BETTER! gen 1.0 looked lame to me, so old school looking - Susan Beebe

I'm bummed... I thought it was going to be bigger (the screen). I don't know if I like the redesign much better than the original... and why the heck did they get rid of the SD slot?? That doesn't make sense. - Fa La La La Lindsay

I am surprised they left out the SD slot...bummer - Susan Beebe

I'd have to disagree with what was said about it looking worse then the original. I think it looks better. Although, the screen does seem smaller to me. - Mathew™ one of a kind

meh. did the screen actually get *smaller*, or is that an optical illusion from the larger bezel? the next sony reader has a touch screen + onscreen keyboard. the Plastic Logic device will blow them both away. assuming anyone can afford it :-) - Karim

Where's the LCD side strip from the original? It was a brilliant way to compensate for the update latency of the main display. And the rubberized back of the original seems like it would be more comfortable to hold than the metal back. And no SD slot? I was waiting for 2.0 but I think I'll be getting the first one after all. - invariant - farewell FF

I'm anxious to see if Amazon will do a decent trade-in deal. I bought the Kindle earlier this year and love it. But the 2.0 looks way better - clearly they took in all the feedback and improved the model. - Mari Smith

I still don't see why - I can read books on my iPhone if I need to. Why do I need a Kindle? - Jesse Stay

i love my kindle but the one problem I would really have with this model is the loss of the SD card. I have an SD card on mine and the thing is chock full of books right now. - Justin Long

Invariant, the LCD stripe is the menu selector. When you rotate the dial a little light goes up and down the LCD stripe to pick the option from the menu or select the line of the text you want to highlight. - Justin Long

I'm not fully convinced about switching to e-book readers in general (a larger selection of books would help with that), but this does look like something I could buy. It is a big improvement. - Roberto Bonini

The loss of the SD slot is a real deal breaker for me right now with this version. The only thing that would change this is if this new reader was much cheaper. Unless there are also major software overhauls on Kindle 2 I'll watch for deals on Kindle 1 as 2 comes closer to launch - Bryan

I don't know. Design is ... rounder, a bit sleeker. Still don't see a mainstream business for this though. A solution to a problem that doesn't exist. http://usedbooksblog.com/blog... - AJ Kohn

Well, it's a solution for MY problem, which was how to get access to books where I live in Southeast Asia without having to buy and paying to have them shipped out here. Also, how to carry around a stack of books on planes. I love my Kindle. I rarely go anywhere without my Kindle. :) - Justin Long

you guys should look into the sony reader. it's pretty nice - Cee Bee

I love my Sony Reader. - dkb

Yeah this "upgrade" is all kinds of terrible. That joystick seems flimsy and the design is super ugly but that isn't the really big deal. Loss of the SD card slot is the killer here. I'd like to see how Amazon will explain that one away. - EricaJoy

Save the books! - Jen

IPhone Steals Lead Over Kindle http://tinyurl.com/4rmqdt "It's official: The iPhone is more popular than Amazon.com's Kindle. And not just in the obvious categories like listening to music, browsing the Web or the other applications where Kindle barely competes. Now, the iPhone is also muscling into Amazon's home turf: reading books." - Sean McBride

Love/Hate situation here hahaha.... I like the redesign but it just looks bigger and has a smaller screen, why Amazon ..why? - Gadiel Rivera

while the iPhone I'm sure is a great and capible device for e-books, the battery life I would think would make it hard to use it for reading, music, and as a communication device. I see the iPhone handy for notes and quick reference, but a e-book reader as a chance to move from paper to digital - Bryan

Are we sure this is real? Is it a final version? Cuz I'm just not seeing the value-added here over the original. - Eric P

Eric: there are a couple usability improvements (like the rounded corners, redesigned pager, keyboard, and charger), but the biggest benefit is probably that it's cheaper to produce, which would lead to cheaper prices. If they came back with a Kindle that cost $50 to $150 less, that may be the biggest value-add feature of all. - Mark Trapp