Amazon’s Kindle 2 coming Feb. 9

The gadget girl she is, my wife wants one of these. We do admit the original was a worthy stab at an electronic reader, and are intrigued by Mr. Bezos’ second go around with the Kindle. Therefore, I imagine one will end up in the home before the year is out.

A few days ago I wrote a column speculating when Amazon’s new Kindle might arrive, and I might have gotten the answer Tuesday morning. I just received an invite “to an important Amazon.com press conference” on the morning of Monday, February 9 in New York. I’m not going to say where it is (that’s not cool for Amazon’s PR people, who would have to deal with crashers), but let’s just say it’s in a location that relates to books. When the Kindle was first announced in 2007, Amazon held a very similar press conference (yes, in the morning), so I’d say there’s a good chance we’ll finally get some sort of official announcement on the next version–or versions–of Amazon’s popular digital reading device. – From CNET

Mark your calendars, e-book fans: Amazon.com will introduce the next generation of its popular Kindle reader in New York City on Feb. 9. The company sent out e-mails Tuesday announcing a press conference on that date at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York. And Amazon.com confirmed that its founder and chief executive, Jeffrey P. Bezos, will host the event. Amazon would not comment in any more detail about the coming announcement, but the Kindle’s detail page on Amazon.com tells the story. It now says the electronic book reader will ship in four to six weeks. It previously suggested a wait of 11 to 13 weeks. – From NY Times

As you gaze at this spy shot of the alleged Amazon Kindle 2 e-reader, read the tea leaves along with us: Amazon just announced a press conference at New York’s Morgan Library & Museum, scheduled for Monday, February 9th. Now what do you think the company will be rolling out at a library? Hmm? According to those in the know, the newest Kindle will lack that strange angular chin of its predecessor, and will be thinner but a bit longer. There’s also talk of a larger-screen version for students. The new Kindle’s going to shed some of the strange quirks of the Kindle 1, including accidental page turns, too. We have a feeling this is going to be great. – From dvice.com

The event will be at the lush Morgan Library & Museum which seems to suggest something to do with books. If our sources are correct, the new Kindle will be quite a bit nicer than the original model. – from Crunchgear