The Kindle 2

A touchscreen: a device like the Kindle needs a touchscreen. When I hand the Kindle to people to try, nine times out of ten, they will try to tap on the screen to select an item. Every review I've read of the Kindle 2 talks about how much better the joystick is than the scroll wheel on the original Kindle. I say a touchscreen would have been better.

Folders or tags: there needs to be a folder or tag method for organizing files. Empirical ordering by author, title or date has its place, but for ease and speed of access, a good logical layout works best for me (especially when I create the layout).

Slide-out keyboard: the keyboard isn't used much on the Kindle. For the 95%+ of the time when I'm not using the keyboard, I would like it to disappear. Cell phones have had sliding keyboards for years. It shouldn't be too difficult to add one to the Kindle and free up space for either a bigger screen or a smaller physical size.

Real keyboard keys: while I'm on the subject of the Kindle's keyboard, the chiclet keys are terrible. The Kindle 2 has the space—put some decently sized keys there. I realize both this and suggestion #3 will make the Kindle thicker, and I'm okay with that. The Kindle still would be thinner and lighter than nearly every book on the market. Call it the “pro” version and charge a premium. Better still, make the current version the “lite” version (and drop its price by $100+) and sell the “pro” version for the current price.

Microphone: add a microphone to the Kindle 2 and make it possible for me to create voice notes. Let me attach them to specific passages in books just like regular notes.

Removable battery: bring back the removable battery. Don't get me wrong, I love the extended battery life, I just don't like that the battery is now not removable.