Amazon ready to reveal revamped Kindle reader?
by Stevie Smith - Jan 28 2009, 13:00
This, we're led to believe, is the Kindle 2.0. Image: Boy Genius Report.
If you’re a book fan presently mulling over the possibility of jumping the digital divide and embracing the on-the-go versatility of Amazon’s Kindle electronic reader, you might want to stay that hammer presently poised above your piggybank.
Not because it wouldn’t be money well spent – the in-demand Kindle already has quite a following – but because rumours abound that Amazon is on the verge of revealing a second-generation version of its popular handheld device.
The first whisperings of a new Kindle began in 2008, with speculation arising after the emergence of apparently credible photographs showing a newly designed Kindle sporting sleeker lines and a less functional aesthetic.
Amazon has this week rekindled (cough) that Internet chatter after it invited members of the press to “an important” upcoming media conference dated for Monday, February 09 at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York.
While the online retail giant has neither confirmed nor denied the event will include the unveiling of a new Kindle reader, its hosting in a library hasn’t gone unnoticed and the press gathering is likely to carry some significance as it’s being overseen by none other than Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
Rumours swirling around the new Kindle include an even thinner body casing that boasts a more robust structure, and also the inclusion of a full colour screen and improved battery life on a single charge.
The current Kindle, which was initially introduced to a somewhat sceptical world in November of 2007, allows users to cram more than 200 book downloads onto a digital platform roughly the same size as a standard paperback novel.
The $359 USD device, which sold an estimated 400,000 units in 2008 and has been described as the iPod of the book world, also comes with Whispernet wireless connectivity, a six-inch black and white display screen and 256MBs of memory.
Because of its reliance on Whispernet, the Kindle is presently only available in the United States. Prospective ebook buyers in Europe have instead been turning their attentions to Sony’s Reader.
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