It was bound to happen. Somebody besides Apple or Google has gone and made an attention-worthy tech announcement, and in today’s case it’s Amazon with its Kindle 2 digital reading device. This is a nice change of pace, actually, and the 2nd generation Kindle seems a good addition to the pantheon of tech gadgetry product launches.

I was getting a bit nostalgic over the weekend looking at the 3Com Audrey entry on Wikipedia. Having supported analyst relations for this product in 2000, it brought back fond memories of the people I worked with and a strong sense that the device itself – or “appliance” as we and industry pundits referred to it then – was really a great idea that was just too far ahead of its time, and caught in the crosshairs of another economic downturn gone by; the dot com bust. I really think Don [Fotsch], Ray [Winninger] and team were on to something with Audrey and the planned “Ergo” line of Internet Appliances. (Fyi for the nostalgic, existing Amazon Audrey product page; Audreymadness.com)

Audrey was to be the family’s connected device, positioned at the center of the home (ideally the kitchen) where mom, pop, and the kids could all sync their Palm devices with it, stay on top of the family calendar, and consume Web content. 3Com had signed up ESPN.Com, CBS Marketwatch and others as content partners.

“Audrey’s quick demise–the $499 device debuted in October [2000]–is the latest evidence of a growing trend. Namely, consumers don’t want simplified computing devices for surfing the Web, or at least they don’t want them yet,” wrote Michael Kanellos and Wylie Wong for CNET on March 21st, 2001. On October 23, 2001, almost a year to the day after 3Com had launched Audrey, Apple introduced the first iPod and, well, you know the rest of that success story.

Kindle Carrying The Torch

So today, with iPods, iPhones, BlackBerries, smart phones in general, and now an improved Kindle device it seems that the Internet Appliance vision of old is finally flourishing. And the Kindle, of course, isn’t just about reading electronic books (230k currently available per Amazon). It can also accept auto delivery for digital versions of newspapers and magazines, and subscribe to some RSS feeds.

Demand is certainly helping to validate these mobile devices. Apple has sold over 175 million iPods (per Sept. ’08 numbers referenced on Wikipedia), and Citigroup estimates that Amazon sold 500,000 units of the first generation Kindle in 2008. Citigroup also believes the Kindle will be a $1.2 Billion business for Amazon by next year based on some reasonable assumptions posted by Engadget.

Kindle 2.0 makes some significant as well as subtle improvements upon its predecessor. The device is thinner, lighter, and operates with an improved chip set to speed tasks like zooming, bookmarking, and looking up words. Keypad layout is said to be more intuitive, improving upon some previously awkward functionality. It also has seven times more storage capacity (about 1,500 books) than the original version, and 25% more battery life.

Some Kindle 2 wow factors include a new “read to me” text-to-speech function, claiming that any text in the device can be made audible. There’s a five-way navigation controller that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos spent some time stumping, and new “Whispersync” technology automatically syncs Kindle 2 and the original Kindle for easier transition between the two, according to the press release. Kindle 2 is also expected to sync with a range of mobile devices via Whispersync in the future.

Kindle 2, priced at $359, is available for order today and will begin shipping on February 24th. Having been on backorder since November, Amazon presumably has a good chunk of requests to begin upgrading and fulfilling.

I thought the launch itself (speaking of my vicarious desktop experience, that is) was presented well with the Morgan Library in New York City being an appropriate venue, Jeff Bezos presiding, a Stephen King appearance, and a healthy mix of online and social media information readily available.

I thought Engadget,  CNET, and the New York Times Bits blog all did a great job of live blogging the event. Lots of pictures from Engadget and blow-by-blow coverage from everyone.

There was plenty of good buzz in advance of this launch too. After concluding my 3com Audrey flashback last night, I immediately found informative reads about the new Kindle device on the New York Times’ Bits Blog,  PC World, Engadget, and VentureBeat, with most highlighting leaked product photos that turned out to be accurate.

Various links to Amazon Kindle 2.0 product information include:

• Amazon Kindle 2 press release
• Amazon’s Kindle 2 product info and pre-order page
• Kindle 2 intro video
• Official product photos on the product page – and previously leaked photos appear to be accurate (these from Engadget)
• Author Stephen King appeared on stage at the launch event and read from his story “UR,” written exclusively for the Kindle.
• You can also follow early Kindle 2 chatter on Twitter by searching the #kindle2 #kindle and #amazon hash tags on http://search.twitter.com

What do you think? Will the Kindle retain its appeal and continue strong sales after early adopter backorders are filled and the initial hoopla fades? And what do you think might be on the horizon in terms of content and features for the next, not-so-far-off, generation of Internet enabled devices?