DJ Hero Bundle with Turntable

Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
DJ Hero Bundle X360

Amazon.com Product Description

Click image for Best Price variety of music across genres – tracks that you love and reflect who you are. Using an authentic turntable controller, you will spin and scratch more than 100 songs into unique mixes and become the life of the party. Get ready for a whole new phenomena in music. Become the ultimate DJ. View larger. Innovative turntable controller. View larger. Multiplayer challenges. View larger. Music and Gaming Via a Revolutionary Controller Like the music that inspired it, DJ Hero allows players to experience music in a new revolutionary way through through its game-specific controller. Included with the DJ Hero software, the DJ Hero controller is a combination turntable and mixer that immerses you into authentic DJ culture allowing you to scratch, cross-fade, and beat match. The turntable half of the controller features three color-coated buttons used to direct action during gameplay and a realistically rotating turntable. The opposite end of the controller contains the mixer controls in the form of a lateral fader allowing for switching between tracks and mixing, a knob for additional effects and a button for capturing “euphoria,” a star power-like point bonus.In addition, the mixer portion of the controller detaches to accommodate left-handed players and contains an out of the way compartment holding a D-pad and conventional controller buttons for easy console navigation. Taken together, both halves of the controller allow players to customize their mix with a variety of effects and samples transforming a face in the crowd into the life of the party. Gameplay Gameplay in DJ Hero is reminiscent to games in theGuitar Hero series. Musical prompts stream towards players on one of three color-coded ribbons; red and blue which correspond to the two tracks that the player is able to simultaneously or individually manipulate, as well as a red one between these two, used to insert samples. In addition to hitting individual notes and samples, players are also challenged to scratch on command by pressing the appropriate button for the track and sliding the turntable up or down as indicated on the ribbon. The game also provides players with a chance to turn back the clock on earlier action via its “Rewind” feature. This ability is monitored via the rewind meter that levels higher with successful play, and and when full allows the player to rewind the song to fix errors in their earlier performance. The reward for precision is the build up of points, which can be temporarily doubled via euphoria power with the push of a button on the mixer end of the controller. Rule the Hottest Parties In the tradition of Guitar Hero, which brought gamers into the world of rock ‘n’ roll, DJ Hero places players in the DJ booth at some of the hottest clubbing scenes from around the globe. Party in venues reminiscent of real world locales from around the globe including an ultra plush and sexy Hollywood Hills style mansion, to an open air beach club in Ibiza. Play Modes Although DJ Hero contains engrossing single player game options, including a career mode, much of the action in the game surrounds its wealth of multiplayer modes. These include both online and offline multiplayer competitive and cooperative modes: including DJ vs. DJ, DJ + DJ and DJ + Guitar. Set List The DJ Hero set list is constructed of 100 songs, crafted into more than 80 two-song DJ mixes. These mixes are the product of both the creative talents of internationally known DJs such as DJ Shadow, DJ Z-Trip, DJ AM and Daft Punk, and the game development team. All songs used are new to the Guitar Herofamily of games and are pulled from a wide array of genres, including pop, grunge, soul, R&B, techno, hip hop, and house.

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)

Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com Review
Readers beware. The brilliant, breathtaking conclusion to J.K. Rowling’s spellbinding series is not for the faint of heart–such revelations, battles, and betrayals await

in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that no fan will make it to the end unscathed. Luckily, Rowling has prepped loyal readers for the end of her series by doling out increasingly dark and dangerous tales of magic and mystery, shot through with lessons about honor and contempt, love and loss, and right and wrong. Fear not, you will find no spoilers in our review–to tell the plot would ruin the journey, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is an odyssey the likes of which Rowling’s fans have not yet seen, and are not likely to forget. But we would be remiss if we did not offer one small suggestion before you embark on your final adventure with Harry–bring plenty of tissues.

The heart of Book 7 is a hero’s mission–not just in Harry’s quest for the Horcruxes, but in his journey from boy to man–and Harry faces more danger than that found in all six books combined, from the direct threat of the Death Eaters and you-know-who, to the subtle perils of losing faith in himself. Attentive readers would do well to remember Dumbledore’s warning about making the choice between “what is right and what is easy,” and know that Rowling applies the same difficult principle to the conclusion of her series. While fans will find the answers to hotly speculated questions about Dumbledore, Snape, and you-know-who, it is a testament to Rowling’s skill as a storyteller that even the most astute and careful reader will be taken by surprise.

A spectacular finish to a phenomenal series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a bittersweet read for fans. The journey is hard, filled with events both tragic and triumphant, the battlefield littered with the bodies of the dearest and despised, but the final chapter is as brilliant and blinding as a phoenix’s flame, and fans and skeptics alike will emerge from the confines of the story with full but heavy hearts, giddy and grateful for the experience. –Daphne Durham

A stunning and thoroughly satisfying conclusion July 21, 2007
T. Burger (Chicago)
596 out of 666 found this review helpful

This is arguably the most “hyped” book in history, and if J.K. Rowling had to sneak down to the kitchen for a glass of red wine to calm her nerves while writing The Goblet of Fire (as she said she did), one wonders what assuaged her while writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The collective breath of tens of millions of readers has been held for two years…and now…was it worth the wait? Did Ms. Rowling live up to the hype? (For that, amongst hundreds of questions, is really the only question that matters.)

The answer, most assuredly, is YES.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is told in a strikingly different style than the previous six books – even different from The Half Blood Prince, and, I daresay, it’s a better written, better edited, tighter narrative. And while the action is lively and well paced throughout, Rowling found a way to answer most of our questions while introducing new and complex ideas. What fascinated me was this: Some people were right, with regard to who is good, who is bad, who will live, who will die – but almost nobody got the “why” part correct. I truthfully expected an exciting but rather predictable ending, but instead was thrown for a loop. We’ve known that Rowling is fiendishly clever for years – but I didn’t think she was *this* clever.

Not since turning the final page of The Return of the King twenty-eight years ago have I felt such a keen sense of loss. My love affair (indeed, everyone’s love affair, I imagine) with all things Harry began somewhere in the first three chapters of The Sorcerer’s Stone, and has lasted, on this side of the Atlantic, three months shy of nine years. For all that time we have waited and wondered – was Dumbledore right to trust Snape? Will Ron and Hermione get together? What’s to become of Ginny and Harry? What really happened on that tower, when Dumbledore was blasted backwards, that “blast” atypical of the Avada Kedavra curse as we’ve seen it when used throughout the series. So many more questions than those listed here, and so many devilishly well-hidden hints. The answers, as I hinted above, will shock and awe you.

When first we met Harry Potter, he was “The Boy Who Lived”, with an address of “The Cupboard Under the Stairs”. Who could help but bleed sympathy for Harry, treated abysmally – abused, really – by the only blood relatives he had, and forced to live under said stairs by those awful Muggles, the Dursleys? It was a sensationally brilliant introduction, one that ensured that our heartstrings would be plucked and enchanted to sing. He was The Boy Who Lived.

Since reading that first book, we have enjoyed Rowling’s spry sense of humor – portraits that spoke, stairways that moved at any given moment, Hagrid jinxing Dudley so that a pigs tail grew from his behind, Fred and George’s fantastic creations, etc, etc., etc., and more etc’s. There was a sense of wonder and magic in Rowling’s writing, so thoroughly captivating that the recommended age group of 9-12 in no way resembled the book’s actual audience. It was common to see adults walking about with hardcover copies of the latest book, sans dust jacket (to hide the fact that they were reading a “kids” book, I suppose). It was also common to hear of eight year olds sitting down with a seven-hundred-plus page book! By themselves! If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.

As for Harry, we admired him. He wasn’t afraid to stand up for what he felt was right, even if he found himself in detention for it. He was brutally honest, and immensely courageous and loyal. Harry came to embody, at times, who we would like to be. He wasn’t perfect, of course. He suspected Snape of being the one who was after the Sorcerer’s Stone, and in The Chamber of Secrets, he thought that Malfoy was the heir of Slytherin. This didn’t diminish Harry in our eyes – it made him more human, more real, and even, perhaps, more enviable.

Endless fan sites have been erected. For an adult to go to any of them, and find that thirteen year olds are having an easier time parsing out the books plots, subplots, and mysteries, was (for me at least) humbling, but yet also a testament to Rowling herself, and her remarkable creation. She encouraged an entire generation of young readers to read and to think for themselves.

But the time has come to say good-bye, for this is truly the end.

So good-bye, Harry. Good-bye Hermione, Ron, Professor Dumbledore, *Professor* Snape, Professor McGonagall, Professor Hagrid, Ginny, Fred, George, Neville, Dobby (and all the house elves), even Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. We will miss all of you, every character we encountered, from Muggle to Mudblood to hippogriff and owl, and everything about the world you all so vibrantly inhabit. And to Ms. Rowling: know that you have brought immeasurable joy to millions and millions of Muggles worldwide, and know that we cannot possibly thank you enough. What a tremendous gift you were given. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Nice CD set! July 21, 2007
Julie Neal (Sanibel Island, Fla.)
86 out of 101 found this review helpful

This 17-disc audio version of the final Harry Potter book is a worthy way to experience the story without reading it. It features the rich baritone of narrator Jim Dale, who tells the tale with just the right understated touch, supplying all of the characters’ voices.

As for Dale’s accent, it’s appropriately British but not at all too thick. Each word is clear and easy to understand. If you’ve bought any of the earlier Potter audio CDs you know what to expect: Dale narrated all of those, too.

By the way, note that this is an UNABRIDGED audio book. Listening to it all takes 21 hours!

The story is dark, and too violent for younger kids, but overall one of the best in the Harry Potter series. Nothing seems forced or thrown together. Author J.K. Rowling wraps up her many plot points and reveals the fates of her characters in ways that almost always surprise you, but afterward seem inevitable.

And how she does it is so inventive! Many throwaway moments and whispered remarks from earlier books foreshadow what happens here, and devices that had little importance before, such as Sirius’s flying motorcycle, now play key roles. While creating yet another gripping tale, the author also ties her entire epic together with the skill of a true literary master. As a writer myself, I really admire her skill. (Last time I checked, Rowling was outselling me by about, oh, a billion to one.)

In addition, the book treats its title character with the complexity he deserves. It portrays the (now) young man as disillusioned, full of doubt, overwhelmed — a tortured soul who, though a responsible leader in an all-out war, often seems to yearn to do nothing more than sweet-talk Ginny Weasley.

Parents should know, however, that this one is a real creepfest, with the most explicitly violent scenes of any book in the series. It’s way too brutal for grade schoolers. Also, unlike the earlier Potter tales, the far-reaching vocabulary requires about a 6th-grade education.

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Toshiba Satellite L515-S4925 14.0-Inch Laptop – Black/Grey

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Taxcut Software is the thing to use.

TaxCut 2008 Federal+State+efile [DOWNLOAD]
enlarge	From: H&R Block Rating: 41 reviews Sales Rank: 4 Format: Download Platforms: Windows XP, Windows Vista Media: Software Download Operating System: Windows Vista Model: 1318800-08 ASIN: B001O5CHVU Release Date: December 15, 2008 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Features: • TaxCut includes up to 5 free federal e-files and H&R Block expertise in every version • Get extra assistance and money-saving advice to maximize deductions; plus, turn your donations into big tax savings with the included DeductionPro • Receive live tax advice from an H&R Block tax professional via one-on-one phone or e-mail consultation • Save time and reduce the chance for error by quickly and easily importing last year’s tax and financial data from TaxCut, TurboTax, Quicken, Microsoft Money, and H&R Block DeductionPro software, as applicable • In the event of an audit, receive personal assistance from an IRS-licensed Enrolled Agent with audit representation expertise–not a self-serve Web site or FAQ page
Similar Items: H&R Block TaxCut 2008 Premium Federal + State + e-file The Scruffs [Game Download]
Editorial Reviews: Amazon.com Product Description Conveniently prepare both your federal and state returns. Federal program and 1 state tax preparation program, plus up to 5 federal e-files–all in 1 place, at 1 price. Worry-free Audit Support included when you e-file. A simple interview quickly walks you through the return process to automate your return. Click to enlarge. Get the tax savings you’re entitled to, including deductions related to home ownership and education. Click to enlarge. Additional help figuring cost basis for investment income. Click to enlarge. Prepare next year’s federal and state returns with 1 convenient program. Our best value! Get our Premium Federal and state tax preparation program, plus up to 5 federal e-files–all in 1 place at 1 price. One Ask a Tax Advisor session is included and get Worry-free Audit Support when you e-file.With TaxCut Premium Federal + State + E-file, you can: Maximize Deductions: Get extra assistance and money-saving advice to maximize deductions. Plus, turn your donations into big tax savings with the included DeductionPro (a $19.95 value). Get Comprehensive Assistance: Receive additional guidance for complex tax situations to give you the confidence and assurance that your return is accurate and complete. Auto Import: Save time and reduce the chance for error by quickly and easily importing last year’s tax and financial data from TaxCut, TurboTax, Quicken, MicrosoftMoney, and H&R Block DeductionPro software, as applicable. Get Real Audit Support from a Real Person–Really: Worry-free Audit Support included when you e-file. In the event of an audit, receive personal assistance from an IRS-licensed Enrolled Agent with audit representation expertise–not a self-serve Web site or FAQ page. Product Info Easy Interview Our simple interview walks you through the process to automate your return. Seamless Imports Quickly and easily import last year’s tax and financial data from TaxCut, TurboTax, Quicken, Microsoft Money, and H&R Block DeductionPro software, as applicable. Error Check Our program automatically double-checks your return for errors. Get Your Refund Fast E-file your return, and get your refund in as little to 8 to 15 days. Customized Tax Advice Receive situational tax guidance, including marriage, having a baby and home ownership. Charitable Donation Help DeductionPro is included at no additional charge to help you get the most out of your charitable donations. Maximize Itemized Deductions Don’t miss out on common deductions, including those related to home ownership and education. Schedule C Support Extra deduction help for the self-employed, including home office, rental property and depreciation assistance. Business Expense Assistant Help claiming all deductible business expenses, including advertising costs, meals and travel expenses, and office supplies. Investor Guidance Additional help figuring cost basis for investment income. IRS Publications Quick access to IRS Publications for further explanation of specific tax situations. Tax Tip Videos Real H&R Block pros explain how changing tax laws affect you. Guarantees Worry-free Audit Support You can rest easy knowing H&R Block is there to help in the rare event of an audit. Included when you e-file your federal return with us. Accurate Calculations Guaranteed If TaxCut makes a calculation mistake, we’ll pay resulting IRS penalties plus interest. See the license agreement for details. 100% Satisfaction Money-Back Guarantee. If you are dissatisfied with the software for any reason, H&R Block will refund the full license fee you paid H&R Block or its authorized reseller for the software, exclusive of shipping and handling charges, taxes, and less any rebate you receive on the software.
Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 41 1 2 3 4 5 6 …9Next » I don’t understand the low reviews April 7, 2009 Julia Kovac (Oxford, CT USA) 2 out of 2 found this review helpful I’m trying to understand why there are so many low ratings for this software. First of all, I’ve been using Tax Cut software for years (switched over from Turbo Tax which was always more expensive). The software is easy to install, easy to use and very intuitive. I’m not an accountant so I love the step by step interview that gets your taxes done without any pain, if there’s such a thing for filing taxes. As for the installation – what is the problem? This is the LOWEST price I’ve found for online download of this software and lower than ordering the box CD. Installation was a breeze. You do have to install the Amazon game installer software first but the link was right on the page after I ordered and I just followed the instructions from there. I have my software installed and last years taxes loaded all in a matter of minutes. I love ordering from Amazon and have never had a problem with ordering or service. Great Software, Easy Download April 7, 2009 Peter Spencer (Kenwood, CA) 2 out of 2 found this review helpful I had no problems with the download. It was complete in less time than it would have taken me back out of my driveway. Saved gas money, time, and no boxes and plastic for the landfill. I have used Taxcut for about 15 years and it has always made taxes easy and educated me about many tax issues. Yes, the price has gone up a lot, but so has the price of the competition. No problems with TaxCut Software or Downloader April 1, 2009 Richard P. Borage III (St. Louis, MO) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful This is the 8th year I have used TaxCut. For $36 I was able to do my fed and state return, which does seem a little higher than last year but still not higher than the other *Tax software. Downloader works fine, both for Amazon and TaxCut. I have seen issues in the past with the TaxCut updates not working through my company proxy server but none this year. If you are CompTIA A+ Certified (blah, blah, blah) and can’t figure it out, maybe you are in the wrong line of work. Easy to download, easy to use. April 5, 2009 V. Rodas (Charlotte, NC) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful I used TaxCut and had NO issues downloading the software and installing. It did take me a minute to figure out where to get the keys so I could file my taxes. You have to come back to Amazon to look for the product keys. It was a pretty straightforward process to file, and since I had a change in employment status I actually tested with another CD I had gotten in the mail from another company, and got the same result with both. Having used both TurboTax and TaxCut, I have to say I prefer the interface and style of questions with TaxCut. And appreciate the e-filing options and notices TaxCut sends. I’ll probably use TaxCut next year as well. Some Minor Problems w/ Download & Install But U Can Do It! April 6, 2009 C. Gabat 1 out of 1 found this review helpful Some minor problems with the download & installation but worth it considering April 15 is around the corner. Most people should be able to download and install this in about 15 to 20 minutes. I used Microsoft Vista Basic OS. Expect to see several error messages on the two (2) separate downloads/installations; One for Amazon’s software downloader and one for the TaxCut08 software w/ bonus software. Take a Deep Breath and DON’T Worry! Amazon’s website CLEARLY walks you through the error messages. Once the compressed TaxCut software is downloaded, it could be tricky finding the installation file. It’s located in the folder C:\Program Files\TaxCut08\Setup. To wrap up, I’m sure installing from a physical CD is EASIER if you already have the CD. But if you don’t, take the extra 15 minutes to save you 2 to 5 days of waiting for it in the mail or paying upwards of $20 more w/ sales taxes & gas to buy it at your local store.

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Kindle 2: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation)

Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
At 10.2 ounces, Kindle is lighter than a typical paperback and

as thin as most magazines. Barely a third of an inch in profile, you’ll find Kindle fits perfectly in your hands. Kindle is as easy to hold and use as a book.

We designed it with long-form reading in mind. When reading for long periods of time, people naturally shift positions and often like to read with one hand. Kindle’s page-turning buttons are located on both sides, allowing you to read and turn pages comfortably with one hand from any position. The page-turn buttons now flex inward to prevent any accidental page turns when picking up or handling Kindle. Kindle has a new easy-to-use 5-way controller, enabling precise on-screen navigation for selecting text to highlight or looking up words. Kindle is completely wireless and ready to use right out of the box–no setup, no cables, no computer required. With Kindle’s 25% longer battery life, you can read on a single charge for up to 4 days with wireless on. Turn wireless off and read for up to 2 weeks. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as shopping the Kindle Store and downloading content. In low coverage areas or in 1xRTT only coverage, wireless usage will consume battery power more quickly. Whispernet utilizes Amazon’s optimized technology plus Sprint’s national high-speed (3G) data network to enable you to wirelessly search, discover, and download content on the go. Your books and periodicals are delivered via Whispernet in less than 60 seconds. And unlike WiFi, you never have to hunt for a hotspot.

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Customer Reviews:

Kindle 2–many things to love. February 24, 2009
Kacheek (Chicago, IL)
1360 out of 1449 found this review helpful

As one of the original Kindle’s biggest fans and an owner for over a year, I can speak to the Kindle from two perspectives–the benefits of owning a Kindle, and Kindle 2 improvements (as I’ve now had it for half a day)

The benefits of owning a Kindle (these do not change)
- Absolutely, Jeff Bezos is right that the Kindle ‘disappears’ as you read it…as I read other reviews (and non-user critiques) about the Kindle, this point is often lost. Once you have the Kindle in your hands, you forget everything and become immersed in the content of what you’re reading. Isn’t that really the whole point?
- I read more now that I have my Kindle, 10 years out of college than I did when I was in school, and I really enjoy it. Books look a lot less intimidating when they aren’t sitting on your bookshelf and 3 inches thick. I recently finished Team of Rivals, and I am sure that if I had to read it in book form, I would never have gotten through it because it would have felt so intimidating.
- Heft and weight is a complete non-issue with the Kindle. I like to read in odd positions (in bed, on the couch, on a plane, poolside, shifting around in a lounge chair) and I’ve always had trouble with real books because unless you are in the absolute middle of the book, it always is weighted to one side or another and frankly, my arm and pinkie finger gets tired holding it up. The Kindle is balanced and portable, and entirely usable in any situation.
- I can be in the middle of a lot of different books at once…not much more to say here. You never run out of space on the Kindle, and though it may be a little bit hard to maneuver around a lot of books in your library, it’s still better to have access to all your books at any time.
- I now read newspapers. I always found physical newspapers to be clumsy and take up too much space to actually subscribe to. They are great for short content pieces, but terrible for reading in transit because the pages are so big. I also read some articles on my BlackBerry, but find myself scrolling a lot and waiting a long time for page loads. On the Kindle, you have wireless delivery, easy navigation, no ads, no need to flip to page D17 and find the place where you left off. You also have a searchable/annoted/bookmarked archive of all your newspaper articles if you ever need to find something again.
- All of these things can probably be accomplished with any eBook reader. The difference with the Kindle is that you have wireless delivery of content. This means, literally, that I can be sitting on the plane, start talking about what good books the guy sitting next to me has read recently, look it up on my Kindle, read the reviews and download it before the rest of the passengers have boarded and the plane doors close. This has happened.
- My biggest complaint, which I’m sure will be addressed in due course is that the entire wireless benefit does not exist outside of the US. I have taken my Kindle to Canada, Mexico and China, and I found that I had to (gasp), decide what I wanted to have on my Kindle before I left the US. Foreign language support would also be a plus, but again, I see why this might come later.

Now, onto improvements with the Kindle 2
- There are the obvious ones: sleeker look and feel (it feels solid in your hands), sharper screen, no longer accidentally depressing the next page button by accident and having to find your place in the book again…you can read about these from various sources)
- The 5-way button, though a bit small, allows you to select left and right, and not just up and down like the original version. This is very helpful when you want to select and highlight.
- There are now two layers of interaction…before when you were reading a paper, you could only go back to the previous screen to select the next article. Now, there is an option at the bottom of the screen to skip to the next article when you tire of the current one.
- Page loads are much faster. I can feel that the delay between pages is much less. Only issue is I need to recalibrate now–in general, I try to anticipate how much time it will take the next page to load, and when I’m two lines from the bottom, I would hit the next page button. Now I need to push the button later.
- Text to speech is cloogey, but fun. I’m not sure how useful this will end up being. I tried to have the voice read the user’s manual to me and it paused at commas and periods, but skipped right over hard returns. It also scrolled the page as it was reading, so if you are trying learn English and don’t mind developing a metallic accent, it could really help. You can also choose, male/female and speed. I think this could be a nice feature, though probably won’t be using it all the time.
- Managing your books is much easier. It’s easy to see what is in your archive and re-download onto the Kindle. Also easy to delete and manage your books. That 5-way button is magical…though a bit unintuitive–you need to train yourself to think that there might be something useful if you scroll to the right.
- Dictionary is improved. Now you can highlight a word and it automatically gives you a definition at the bottom of the screen. It also lets you look up words (that are not in the text), which is an improvement since the last version.

I’m sure there are still a bunch of things that I haven’t yet discovered about the Kindle 2. I don’t really bookmark/annotate/highlight that much, but for those who do, I think this has also been improved upon.

Overall, the Kindle is an amazing product. It did the basics well in the original model, the Kindle 2 has improved on a lot of dimensions, and I look forward to seeing what new bells and whistles are still to come.

If you are considering buying one, and need to see before you order, find someone in your city who has one and can show you. There is now a special board for this on Amazon. Kindle owners (at least this one), are always happy to talk about it, and you will be delighted with the screen and the possibilities in such a compact package.

263 Kindle 2 Reviews – Why Read Another? February 27, 2009
Doug Near Seattle
558 out of 596 found this review helpful

As I type this message there are 263 Kindle 2 reviews on Amazon’s web site. Why bother with another? I’m not one inclined to writing reviews but I do examine them carefully before I make a significant purchase, here on Amazon.com and on other seller web sites. So on the chance that I might say something that helps a potential buyer make up their mind, particularly someone who has not owned the first Kindle, this is my small effort to give back to the process.

First of all, I loved Kindle 1 although I noted several shortcomings due primarily to the design of the hardware. I’m glad to learn that every shortcoming(except one) has been fixed beyond my expectations. When I received my Kindle 2 yesterday, I eagerly removed it from the shipping container, plugged it in and began to download my library. As I did I marveled at the new Kindle’s fresh, sleek design. It is a beauty!

The main issue I had with Kindle 1 was the navigation button design and placement. My original thought was that I wanted to use my Kindle 1 without a cover but I quickly learned that doing so wasn’t practical. I like to read holding the Kindle with one hand and it just didn’t work well because I kept bumping the next, previous and back buttons. So I began to use the cover it came with so I could hold the Kindle by the cover, only to learn that this cover did not keep the device securely in place very well. So I bought an m-edge cover, which is bulkier and the front does not fold back easily. I was stuck reading using two hands and I didn’t like that at all.

Kindle 2 solves all these problems. I’m not going to bother with a cover at all now. I love the way it feels in my hand without a cover. It is easy to navigate without any risk of accidentally changing the page I’m on. I will probably buy a Belkin sleeve to protect it when I take it out but that’s all. Now my reading experience is complete! [Note added 3/5/09: instead of buying a Belkin sleeve, I did made my own protector. See the discussin thread and photos here: [...]

The Kindle 2’s redesigned features are fantastic. The display is better and the 5-way button is a major improvement. I do a lot of highlighting and this design fix is huge. Looking up words is much easier and many times faster. One improved feature I haven’t notice any comment on is the progress bar at the bottom of each book page. Now it shows the total number of locations and the percent already read. This is so much better than the old way of determining how far I’m into a book. Thank you, design team!

The fact that Kindle 2 has no SD card capability and the battery is not user-serviceable is not an issue with me. Even with a few hundred books in my library, it will be a long time before the 2 gig memory starts to be a limiting factor and when it does (if it does) I’ll just archive what I’ve already read. Amazon’s design team has made it simple to pull archived books back to the Kindle 2 without having to go to a computer.

The only item on my wish list that was not addressed in Kindle 2 is the lack of an improved file storage system. It would have been nice to have that but it doesn’t take away from my enjoyment. [Note added 3/5/09: Bufo Calvo came up with an inovative method of catagorizing books on Kindle that works great so this item is no longer on my wish list. [...]

Page turns are significantly faster and the page reloads are less intrusive to the reading experience. On/off buttons are repositioned to be easily accessible. The home page is easier to navigate. There are other improvements that many others have already noted so I’m going to stop here without repeating everything that’s been said already. But the biggest thing about Kindle (both 1 and 2) is the Amazon store and how simple it is to browse and buy books from. I’m so impressed with the way they have seamlessly brought the store together with the reading device via Whispernet to make the digital reading experience such a wonderful thing to enjoy.

Soul of the e-reader; Kindle 2 gets closer to delivering the promise. February 24, 2009
Joshua G. Feldman (New York)
651 out of 701 found this review helpful

I’m a great believer in the e-book concept; having been reading e-books since the Apple Newton (and down through various Palms, Sony Reader PRS505, and Kindle 1). The dream has always been a portable electronic device that could hold a ton of reading material, automate subscriptions and facilitate quick easy downloads, and be as portable, as easy on the eyes, and as intuitive as a book. The Kindle 1 was the first really practical device to get close to that dream. The combination of the reflective e-ink screen, effortless Whispernet wireless cellular connection to Amazon (and the Internet – without requiring hooking up to a computer, ever), and Amazon’s tremendous ability to rope in a critical mass of book and periodical content made the promise of the e-reader real for the first time. But the Kindle 1 had some rough edges that got in the way of effortlessly reading. Things like the buttons that made it easy to accidentally turn pages; the separate cursor on the side that could only select lines and was sometimes hard to see; the occasionally awkward menus; the case which practically forced you to remove it to use it and sometimes pulled the battery door off. With the Kindle 2, Amazon has addressed all these issues and more. Each of the differences looks superficially subtle, but they collectively combine to make the Kindle 2 feel polished and comparatively effortless to use. It comes closer than any other device yet made to getting out the way and leaving the reader alone with the text, like a book.

The first thing that grabs you about the Kindle 2 is how elegantly thin it is. The Kindle 2 is THIN. It positively disappears in your briefcase. The second thing is the buttons. They are smaller, but well placed and critically pivot from the edge inwards towards the screen. This means that when you handle the Kindle 2 by the edges, the pages don’t change even if you grab by the buttons. Yet changing pages is effortless when you do – the buttons are right between your thumbs and the slightest pressure on their faces is enough to activate them. The problem with the case was addressed by using a post-in-slot locking arrangement reminiscent of recent Palm organizers. The fact that you must buy the case now is disappointing but the silver lining is that you can opt to individualize your Kindle. The issue with the battery door opening is thus solved, but Amazon went further, eliminating the door altogether and wrapping the back with sleek stainless steel. It is tactile and elegant, but doing away with the door means doing away with the SD memory card slot that the Kindle 1 had, as well as the ability to change batteries. This is, undoubtedly, the most controversial aspect of Kindle 2. Frankly, I never used either the card slot or changed the battery on my Kindle 1 but I liked that they were there and I miss them on the Kindle 2, even though, I have to admit, I don’t actually need them. In practice it’s no hardship to live within a 2GB (1.4 GB available) limit, especially if you are willing to trust Amazon to archive items you are done reading. The screen is incrementally improved. 16 shades of gray is WAY better than 4. They say it’s faster, but only a tiny bit. I notice the snappiness of Kindle 2’s performance, but it’s certainly not a dramatic difference. The e-ink screen’s text quality is basically unchanged from Kindle 1. 40% white is pretty good, but the Kindle 2’s screen looks just like the one on Kindle 1. Where the improved e-ink screen really shines is dynamic update – which is fast enough to allow a live cursor within the text area. This does away with the scroll wheel and side cursor of Kindle 1. In Kindle 2 this has been replaced with a 5 way joystick (4 directions plus click down to select). The joystick does plenty more than just allow you to actually select a word to get a definition on. It lets you quickly navigate periodicals – moving to the next article with just a click right or left, or up to the section or article list with a flick up or down. Losing the side cursor gives Kindle 2 a cleaner look – but it’s the greatly improved navigation that’s the real benefit. This ease of navigation is one of the most compelling new features of Kindle 2 for me. As for the text to speech feature, it is probably invaluable to some – but not me. I like Stephen Hawking a lot but don’t want that voice to read me a book. Talk to me later and maybe I’ll have changed my mind.

All in all, Kindle 2 feels like Amazon is getting to the soul of the e-reader. Most of the annoying things about Kindle 1 are gone, but almost all the strengths remain, or are accentuated. The trouble is, the differences are subtle. At first glance, Kindle 2’s enhancements look very incremental; almost trivial. Clearly the future will hold color, and better contrast than 40% – but these enhancements are in E-ink’s court, not Amazon’s. I have other items on my wish list for the future – like being able to fold out a larger screen to better display bigger books. I’d like the content manager to allow me to create folders so I can organize my growing collection of titles. I really really want Kindle to be able to read PDF files natively (you still have to e-mail in your PDFs for conversion with Kindle 2). These thing will come, I’m sure, in time. Meanwhile, the Kindle 2 is currently the best e-reader on the planet. In terms of in-the-hand usability it blows Kindle 1 away.

Some of my colleagues and I at work have been talking lately about the implications of the Kindle on the future of the book. Kindle eradicates page numbers, loses the physical form, forces all books into a common size and shape, and homogenizes the typeface. Clearly something is lost compared with a printed book. Yet, what is gained is undeniable and as impending as the weather. The ability to carry whole libraries (like the iPod did for music), and the ability to get the daily paper, magazine, or a new book automatically – practically instantly – at a savings – is literally a dream come true. There’s little doubt that Kindle has utterly transformed the book distribution model. The big divide seems to be Amazon’s .azw, Kindle’s file format, and .pdf, Adobe’s Acrobat format which has become almost universal. PDF’s universality has the feeling of almost being open source (which it is not) because the there’s no copy protection or copyright features built into it. While .pdf-only format readers are around, and tons of .pdf titles are available, they tend to be composed disproportionately of public domain, technical libraries, and other arcana. That’s because mainstream publishers don’t want to sign on to a format that doesn’t protect them. Amazon’s .azw format does, and thus Kindle has that awesome selection of content. In the modern economics of increasing returns, early critical leads in technology tend to become dominant trends. Kindle’s .awz format seems to be on the verge of having an unsurmountable lock on the e-book market as a result. When it comes to the actual book titles (and periodicals) you’d like to read, Amazon’s Kindle has no competition. For me, the dream of a workable e-book is realized.

Kindling a Revolution February 25, 2009
T. Burger (Chicago)
211 out of 231 found this review helpful

When the first Kindle was announced my Christmas list was immediately complete. It was populated with one request: Amazon Gift Certificates. My excitement was difficult to measure and probably difficult for people to tolerate. A device that carried 250 books? With an “onboard” dictionary? That’s all I needed to know. What surprised me, though, was that none of my family or friends knew what I was talking about. “What’s a Kindle?” they would ask, to which I would squint my eyes and reply, “Huh?”

How so many people could be unaware of what was to me a revolution – many of whom were avid readers – was puzzling. Even after receiving the Kindle (finally – after months of waiting) people who saw me with it would ask, “What is that?” When my answer, “It’s Amazon’s Kindle!” succeeded only in deepening the creases in their foreheads I was dumbfounded. This is the Kindle! Hello?

Apparently Amazon’s website, one of the most heavily trafficked web sites on the internet, wasn’t enough marketing. The Kindle wasn’t close to being a household name, even a year after its release. And people to whom I showed the Kindle often weren’t that impressed.

That has all changed with the release of the Kindle 2. Big change in the so-called impression department.

The Kindle 2 arrived about an hour before I left for a class and I took it with me intending to explore the Kindle 2 during the break. I arrived at class early and with the extra time started familiarizing myself with the new device.

I didn’t have it out for more than ten seconds before someone asked, “Is that the new Kindle?” Another, “Is that the one that talks?” All seven classmates were keenly interested in this second generation Kindle, and all had heard of it – the Kindle 2, that is, not just the Kindle. They all knew that a second had been unveiled, and at least one wasn’t aware of the first until they became aware of the second. Class started, and I had to put the new Kindle away.

When break time came, I thought I’d have a bit of time. Nope! People stayed in the room, demanding that I,”Make it talk!” or “Show me the dictionary!”

While I understand that there’s been a good deal of time for word-of-mouth to advertise the Kindle, there’s something else at work here. This device has caught people’s attention; it’s a head turner. The design is slick, attractive, thin and, I would say, sexy! That it doesn’t have the quirky, clunky, annoying buttons that filled ¾ of each side of its predecessor, buttons that caused dozens upon dozens of accidental page turns makes it that much sexier. I found that the Kindle 2 is immediately appealing to the eye and once described in the barest of terms people want one for themselves. And I mean everyone. Every single person that has seen my Kindle and heard my thirty-second advertisement of its features has expressed a desire to own one NOW. That wasn’t the reaction the first Kindle had, and my thirty-second advertisement was roughly the same.

Congratulations, Amazon. You’ve just invented the equivalent of the iPhone for e-books.

The biggest selling point for me is still the onboard dictionary. If you’re a true reader then you know the value of having a dictionary at hand and the frustration you experience if one isn’t. My vocabulary is better than average but I still run into unfamiliar words (too often for my comfort!) and I’m one of those people who want to know the meaning of every single word I read. But who wants to go to the doctor’s office with their favorite book AND a dictionary? Well, I did. I wanted to bring a dictionary along when I went places where I’d have to wait forever, but I rarely did. Now I don’t have to. Everywhere I go I’ll have the book I’m reading and a dictionary with which to lookup any words whose meaning I’ve either forgotten or never knew.

What I like most about the Kindle 2 is the placement of the buttons and their inversion. It’s very difficult to accidentally turn a page (a far too frequent occurrence with the first generation Kindle), yet simple and effortless to purposefully turn a page. Page turning is quicker and the text and pictures are crisper. The reading experience, already an excellent one, is greatly improved. I’ll miss the scroll wheel, even though it wasn’t exactly the height of design innovation and was vaguely Coleco-esque, and it’s replacement, the 5-way controller will take a bit of getting used to. It has the feel of the mouse button in the middle of a laptop keyboard and I never liked those. Manipulating that button reminded me of something I’d rather not think about when trying to get work done. (I’ll leave that to your imagination since this is a family show.)

Another huge plus for Amazon is that plugging the Kindle into your computer via the USB port no longer drains the Kindle; instead, it charges it. They were smart and designed a USB cable and wall adapter that work together so that you don’t have to keep track of two cables. It’s also easy to charge the Kindle in the car if you have a battery charger with a USB port (some Bluetooth speakers come equipped with those). Though I wouldn’t recommend using the Kindle while driving.

If you were hedging on the first Kindle and decided to wait, now is the time to pounce. This is the real deal. You’ll love it.

If you have the first Kindle and are deciding whether to upgrade, do it now while you can still get a good price for your old Kindle on Amazon’s Marketplace, craigslist, wherever. This I promise: if you don’t upgrade, you will regret it every time you accidentally hit one of the obscenely large buttons and advance or retreat one, two, three, or even four pages. And the longer you go, the less you’ll get for selling your old Kindle, and that, without question, will be frustrating. Another tip for selling: if you bought a cover to replace Amazon’s ridiculous original cover, sell it packaged with the Kindle. You’ll sell it quicker and for more money.

My only complaint is that the Amazon looked a bit too much to Apple when designing this. It’s like a large iPod with a keyboard, sans the 32gb storage. (They could only get 1gb of storage into that, and Apple gets 32gb into the much, much smaller iPod Touch? Then again, I’m not an engineer so this issue may be moot.) You can’t carry an extra battery – though with the extended battery life and extra charging options it’s almost a non-issue – and you can’t replace the battery because of the iPod-like fixed backing. They also took out the memory slot, and the SD card was a big selling point for people who liked to carry their entire library around with them. While I do understand that concern, 1500 titles is a LOT of titles.

I’m a book lover. The smell of old books is almost an aphrodisiac. The feel of a book – it’s difficult to describe. Even the word itself has some magic to it. I’m old school when it comes to books, and I love this device.

You will too.

A Modest Rebuttal to Hands-On Review Critiques March 3, 2009
totallychicken (Cupertino, CA)
128 out of 140 found this review helpful

I’ve had my Kindle 2 for about a week now and it certainly something to behold. I did not purchase the 1st generation, although, I did get to briefly use one owned by a friend.

My Backstory: Before purchasing, I was obsessed with the reviews and predictions I found online and reading about some of the critiques such as the thick border, the lack of touchscreen, lack of battery/SD slot, lack of a back light, awkward/difficult keyboard layout, minimally faster page flipping, and the super-high price. All these issues worried me and I was on the verge of canceling my order, but I am SO glad that I had enough faith to stick with it! As a user, here’s what I have to say in RESPONSE TO THOSE CRITIQUES:

THICK BORDER: I am glad that the border is thick, because when I go to pick it up, it gives me ample area to grasp it with. I don’t know many people who would feel comfortable picking up electronics by their screen (potentially mashing up the pixels/e-ink wells, smudging the screen, or scratching the surface) but I would NOT feel comfortable risking that with a thinner border. For me, the border is a plus.

TOUCHSCREEN: While a touch screen would make things a lot faster, particularly in the Basic Web function, I’ve read that a touch screen would reduce the screen’s clarity which would not be favorable in my mind. Also, if it were to be a touchscreen, the chore of having to wipe off fingerprints would not be fun.

BATTERY/SD SLOT: Meh, I don’t miss them. The Kindle comes with a mini USB cable that can connect to your PC, and although I haven’t used it, I think it’d be very easy to just store your unused books on your hard drive. As for the battery, Amazon’s explanation was that it’d thicken the Kindle, so I’m fine with it b/c the slenderness of the K2 is such a plus. The batter lasts a LONG time, too. I bought the 2 year warranty just in case, plus, it covers accidental damage!

BACK LIGHT: So…where would you need a back light in this day and age to read? Maybe in a movie theater, but it’d be just as distracting as those incessant texters, so why be a bother? On a camping trip? Maybe if you didn’t bring a flashlight or a lamp to really “rough it”. Honestly, there is hardly a situation where you’ll need to read in the dark. If it’s before bed, just get a lamp for your nightstand.

KEYBOARD: The button layout looks odd because it’s so regularly spaced in rows versus the keyboard’s staggered style, but it isn’t any harder to use than a cellphone’s tri-letter entry or blackberry keyboard. The buttons are not hard to press at all. Every K2 button has a satisfying *click* to it so you know you pressed it. Also, the size the keyboard takes up is an issue for some, but when I’m sitting on the ground, I like to rest it upright on my lap against my legs like an easel and the keyboard tends to get obscured by my jacket/shirt puffing out in front of me. If the keyboard weren’t as large as it is, I’d be obscuring my text, so I’m actually happy it is that size.

PAGE FLIP SPEED: Just like how I prefer to grasp the page a few sentences before the end of a page, I tend to press the “Next Page” button a bit sooner than I finish reading the page. The lag actually helps in that respect, and even so, the lag between pushing the button and the new page appearing is much faster than I could ever physically flip any book page without shearing it from the spine. Not a big deal at all.

PRICE: Well…for a product this good, it’s hard to expect much less. Sure, it could go for mid-$100’s and that WOULD make it more accessible to the mass market. However, I think all the positives of the K2 greatly make it worth the price which I’ll talk about below.

My FAVORITE FEATURES of the K2:

- Inside-edge buttons – These have saved me from accidentally pressing buttons many times.

- No lame welcome screen – This is self-explanatory. The warm up time is a split second and it doesn’t dilly-dally around.

- Instant book purchasing – Fast service and FREE samples that are lengthy enough for you to get a good idea of what you’re buying.

- E-ink and matte screen – No harsh computer-screen look to it does not fatigue my eyes at all, and the matte helps reduce glare from light bulbs and the sun.

- Search – As a book reader, I’ve had way too many “Now where did I read that quote again?” moments and this eliminates it from ever happening again! It’s amazing!

- Wikipedia/Dictionary – Again, added reference, amazing!

- Basic Web – So…I hope that Amazon doesn’t start charging for this service, because if they did, I probably wouldn’t want to buy it anymore. So, obviously, this is an EXPERIMENTAL feature on the K2, so who knows if it’ll last, but omg, free internet access…WIRELESS internet access…I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. I won’t state numbers, but you iPhone and Blackberry users know what I mean with the monthly fees. Granted, the K2 doesn’t do images very well, flash/complex apps/or images at all, but it can essentially do everything your basic cell phone internet can. So Amazon, if you read this, please don’t start charging for the internet service, I would be very sad and I’m sure many others would be, too.

IMPROVEMENTS for next time:

1. On some of the menu screens and the home screen, it would be very nice for it to have a scrolling feature where when you keep selecting up at the top, it will bring your cursor to the bottom of the list or vice versa, back up to the top from the bottom.

2. Security features: I’m a little concerned about if my Kindle got stolen…You can de-register your Kindle, but I’d be really upset to know that someone else is using my hard-earned K2…I’m not asking for a remote detonator like in Mission Impossible, but perhaps a remote deactivation to ensure it can’t be used by other users?

3. Smarter page/link scrolling in Basic Web: I realize this isn’t one of the main features or the point of the Kindle, but it really takes quite a while and a bit of playing around to reach links.

4. Weight: It’s a little bit (a smidgen) heavier than I would prefer, but not too much to be a burden.

5. Glitches: (?) Maybe it’s just me, but when I was reading the first few times, the screen would flash and it would bring me back to the home page…I hope it was an isolated incident because hasn’t happened since. Has this happened to anyone else?

Finally, the whole Text to Voice thing: It is a cool feature, but the fact that some authors won’t let the Kindle read aloud should NOT deter anyone from buying a Kindle. It was a fun feature, but I won’t miss it too much. I prefer to read on my own anyways…and after all, isn’t encouraging reading the point of the Kindle, anyways? Written by Lifestyle Review Editor - Visit Website

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