Amazon unveils slimmer Kindle; will release Feb. 24

NEW YORK -- With Kindle 2, Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos hopes to avoid the back-order issues that dogged the first generation of its popular electronic reading device.

The Kindle was out of stock for the last two holiday selling seasons as Amazon underestimated demand, Bezos says. "I'm very hopeful that we'll be able to stay in stock with Kindle 2," he said Monday at the New York launch, while offering no guarantees.

Kindle 2 will cost $359, same as its predecessor. More than 230,000 books are available in the Kindle Store. Best sellers typically cost $9.99. Newspapers, magazines and more than 1,200 blogs are also available.

The new Kindle ships Feb. 24. Customers awaiting back-order Kindles will receive the latest version.

A third of an inch thick, the 10.2-ounce Kindle 2 is thinner than leading 3G smartphones, Bezos says. It addresses the clumsy navigation of the first device. The screen and battery life are also improved. New syncing technology lets you start reading on one Kindle and resume on another.

It can also read out loud, though the text-to-speech technology uses a robotic-sounding voice. Eventually you'll be able to sync Kindle store purchases with cellphones, though the company offered no time frame.

Bezos' grand vision is for every printed book in any language, "to be available in less than 60 seconds."

Still, he says he's astonished at how well e-books have sold. "We already have more than 10% of our unit sales in Kindle form where the Kindle editions are available."

Tech analyst Mark Mahaney at Citigroup Investment Research estimates Amazon sold about 400,000 units last year and that Kindle hardware and book sales will contribute about $1 billion to Amazon revenue in 2010.

Kindle faces competition from rivals such as Sony and upstart Plastic Logic. Its big advantage: the wireless store that lets you fetch titles in under a minute.

Still, folks hoping for a cheaper Kindle are bound to be disappointed. For casual readers, a $359 upfront purchase might be too much in a soft economy, says Avi Greengart, research director of mobile devices at Current Analysis.