rumor that new Kindle models will be released in October 2008 and new year

There’s a rumor at CrunchGear that both MobileRead Forums and Gizmodo have picked up on, that Amazon will be coming out with two new Kindle models–thinner, lighter, with an improved interface, a redesigned look (more like Apple’s iPod–now they know good visual design) and possibly different colors. The second model will be much bigger in size, more like a 8 1/2 x 11-inch piece of paper.

Now, this rumor may not pan out, but it makes sense if Amazon is redesigning the Kindle, based on user reviews. I think this is good news for anyone who likes ebooks and ebook readers. Businesses competing with each other for the consumer dollar mean, often, better products.

I’m in the market for an ebook reader, but I’m still leaning towards an Astak Mentor–though since it hasn’t yet been released, there haven’t been any user reviews, and who knows whether or not it’ll have the same page delay that the Kindle and the Sony Reader have. Still, that’s where I’m leaning right now.

However, most people who’ve purchased a Kindle love their Kindle and are loyal to it.

update: Canadians cannot easily use Kindles–not if you want to purchase and download ebooks from Amazon. It gets really convoluted, since you need to have a valid US address listed for purchase. So if you’re Canadian, you might want to rethink getting a Kindle.

I still don’t know which ebook reader I’ll buy, but the Kindle is out for sure, now, for me. I just re-realized that you can borrow ebooks from your library–but you need an ebook reader than can read either Mobipocket format (which the Astak Mentor does not) or Adobe PDF files that are encrypted (DRM) which I don’t know yet if the Astak Mentor can (though it can read PDF).

July 16th, 2008