Gadgets

Amazon Kindle 2 First Look

We disassembled Amazon’s Kindle 2 e-reader!

Kindle 2 e-reader teardown

Here’s what we found:

  • The Kindle 2 sports a 532 MHz processor, clocking in faster than an iPhone 3G. Amazon used a 90nm ARM11-based Freescale MCIMX31L multimedia processor.
  • The interior of the Kindle 2 is very functional, but not as aesthetically balanced as some of the devices we’ve disassembled.
  • As expected, the E-Ink display uses no power to maintain an existing image. We completely disconnected the screen from the battery, and the content on the screen remained crystal clear even though there was no power to it.
  • Pound for pound, it’s more expensive than the MacBook Pro 17″ Unibody we took apart last week, since the Kindle 2 weighs only 10.2 ounces.
  • As many have reported, the text-to-speech was remarkably clear and surprisingly listenable.
  • The Kindle 2 is thinner than the iPhone 3G, but a hair thicker than an iPod Touch.
  • Completely disassembling the Kindle 2 is simple once the case is opened — we removed only 26 screws and disconnected four connectors.

Interesting photos:

Overview

Full Kindle 2 teardown

Logic board

Kindle 2 logic board during teardown

Kindle compared to a MacBook Pro 17″ display

Kindle size compared to MacBook Pro 17

Let us know if you have questions or would like to see anything else. We plan on putting our Kindle 2 back together and using it after satisfying everyone’s curiosity.