The display uses a decent resolution of 600x800 that shows 16 shades of gray, compared to the 4 shades of the original Kindle. Kindle 2 does not use any backlighting which should make the display easier for the eye and the battery life as well.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos describes the changes with following words:
Kindle 2 is everything customers tell us they love about the original Kindle, only thinner, faster, crisper, with longer battery life, and capable of holding hundreds more books. If you want, Kindle 2 will even read to you — something new we added that a book could never do.Why don't you do yourself a service and order the second generation Kindle today to make sure you are one of the first to get your hands on the new gadget? Use the Amazon.com banner on the left column to order the Kindle directly from Amazon!