Kindle 2 Worth It for 'Serious Book Readers'

Amazon’s new Kindle e-reader offers vast improvement over the previous model, writes Walter Mossberg in the Wall Street Journal, and “is finally a pleasure to use.” Faster page-flipping, sleeker design, tons more memory, and a digital audio feature are just some of the advances. But hardware is only one part of the company’s plan; the upgrades, “while admirable, may pale beside Amazon’s next move.”

Amazon plans to make its e-books available on other devices, Mossberg writes, and “this makes perfect sense.” Comparisons to the iPod are misguided: “Apple offers content to sell hardware,” Mossberg continues. “Amazon offers the Kindle to sell content.” Still, don’t write off the reader: Improved battery, screen image, and other changes, including a dictionary, have finally made the Kindle a viable choice for “serious book readers.” (More Kindle stories.)