Amazon Kindle 2 October

Amazon's next edition of the Kindle could arrive as early as this fall, says a purported insider. Speaking to CrunchGear, the tipster contradicts Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' claims that there would be no update soon and instead says Amazon will take an approach like that taken by Apple with the iPod mini: the new core model will be smaller but with the same functionality as the earlier version and will ship in multiple colors, with goals being equally to reduce the price as well as to appeal to a younger audience.

The smaller version would nonetheless have the same six-inch electronic paper screen as for the existing model and has supposedly "skipped three or four generations" of design versus the white, angular existing model. This update is due in October, according to the report.

A second version is said to be in development for the long term and will have the size of a standard letter-sized sheet of paper as well as multiple colors. It would only begin shipping in 2009 but would likely help the Kindle appeal to magazine and newspaper readers.

The Kindle has so far been dubbed a modest success and was at one point nicknamed the "iPod of reading" for its attempt to popularize e-book readers, which have often been seen as niche devices.

By Electronista Staff