Comparison of Kindle 1 and Kindle 2

Today the Kindle 2 arrived a day earlier than Amazon had promised. Congratulations, Amazon—what an Apple-like thing to do! Also Apple-like is the sleek, thin body of the K2. The design difference between it and the K1 is amazing considering they are only a little more than a year apart. Gone is the bizarre scroll wheel, replaced by what Amazon calls a 5-way, really a tiny joystick. In the picture below, the K2 is on the left and the K1 on the right. It is hard to photograph them so that the difference in thickness comes through clearly and this and the next picture were the best I could do. The K2 is named Earl after a dear friend of mine who passed away a few years ago. He loved to read and would have wanted a Kindle had they existed at the time. He was kind of technophobic but this would have been a winner for him.


In the picture below, the K2 appears to be shorter than the K1 whereas the opposite is true. The K2 is a half inch longer than the K1 but the same width. However, this is a better picture for showing the thickness difference.



For a long time, I have wanted to try my hand at making a Kindle cover, but didn't want to tackle one for the K2 until I had it in my hand. I have a red M-edge cover for the K1 and like it very much so if I'm not happy with what I make, that's where I will go. Am thinking of the one that stands up and forms its own stand for reading at the table which is something I do all the time. M-edge has a purple leather version. Yummy! However, I wanted protection for it until I either made a cover or bought one so using the measurements which are in the specs at the end of the K2 manual (downloaded and read ahead of time), I made a slipcase to protect it. See below.