So, it came out as it was expected; Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com unveiled the Kindle 2 at its much hyped press conference in New York. Kindle 2, the next generation digital reader is fresher, thinner, lighter, and smarter than the first Kindle that was introduced in November 2007.

Weighing 10.2 ounces, the svelte 0.36 inches thick device, Kindle 2 features a 6-inch, 600 x 800 pixel display providing 16 shades of gray, instead of 4 that its predecessor provided.

Kindle 2 is 20 percent faster that its predecessor and it has 25 percent improved battery life. What is more, in Kindle 2, Amazon has cleared the issue with page-advance button. The original Kindle had extra long page-advance button that could accidentally turn pages, but the page-turn buttons are smaller in Kindle 2.

Amazon has also improved the onboard memory to 2GB (from 256MB) in Kindle 2, which can store up to 1,500 books or assorted newspaper and blog subscriptions, as well as JPEG images. But regrettably the device has not slot for additional memory. Yet, Kindle 2 can play MP3 files. Furthermore, the maker has also made a lot of design improvement in Kindle 2.

In the press conference, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos particularly highlighted Kindle 2’s two new features – “Whispersync” and “Read-to-me”. According to Amazon, “Whispersync gives you the ability to sync two or more Kindle devices and allows you to seamlessly switch back and forth between your Kindle devices while keeping your reading location synchronized and pick up in a book where you left off. And, Read-to-me, a new experimental feature allows you to have text read to you, and you can choose between a male or female digitized voice. The feature will be helpful while you are driving.”

Overall, Kindle 2 is a nice upgrade over the original. It is available for preorder and costs about $360. It’s important to mention here that the Kindle 2 will come with a protective carrying case, and thus its price may include addition $20-$30 for a protective case.