We were pleasantly surprised this morning by the news that Amazon has scheduled a press event on Feb. 9th at the Morgan Library in New York. With such a literary theme, it’s safe to bet that they will be announcing the long-rumored successor to the Kindle.

kindle2

Spy photos of Kindle 2 have been circulating since October last year. Although Amazon has not released sales figures, the 1st gen Kindle is generally regarded to be highly successful with Oprah cheering it on her show and lots of out-of-stock episodes on Amazon (it’s still out-of-stock right now).

Our own review of the Kindle is that it’s simply an amazing product. The e-ink technology lets you read as if it’s paper. The battery life is stellar, UI is easy to use and the always available (and free) wireless connectivity is simply unbeatable. We recommended it in our Holiday Gift Guide for Geeks.

Needless to say, we are very much anticipating the release of the Kindle 2! If the photo above is real, it shows that Amazon still has a lot of industrial design lessons to take, but we will see what’s in store for us on Feb. 9th!