Amazon is one of the biggest companies in the world and it didn’t get that way by moving slowly and deliberately. It’s whole corporate ethos is to move fast and produce new products and features with alarming alacrity. Look at how the Amazon Echo and Echo Dot revolutionized the voice computing space. This all makes the relative quiet in the Amazon Kindle world even more perplexing to e-reader lovers.
Kindles have been on the market for about a decade now and has undergone considerable refinements and upgrades. It’s been about a year since the last real change to the ebook reader. Even that release was pretty much just a few changes to the basic model.
While Amazon Kindle product news may be quiet, Amazon Kindle lovers have not. They are speculating with abandon about the next versions of their favorite ebook reader. Some of these rumors could come true tomorrow, or in the next few years, or not at all. We’ll take a look at a few of these Kindle rumors now.
10th Anniversary
A lot of Kindle readers are wondering: Will Amazon do something special for the Kindle’s 10 anniversary? Or, will there actually be a special 10th anniversary Kindle? As the blogger on The E-book reader puts it: “It’s hard to imagine Amazon completely ignoring the Kindle’s achievements over the past 10 years and doing nothing to celebrate the occasion.”
Traditional 10th anniversary gifts are tin. Too bad it’s not paper…
Hints in China?
Some Kindle experts say that we might be able to predict Amazon’s next steps and possibly that 10th anniversary special version by watching what the company does in China. Amazon released the Migu X in China. The device features a six inch e-Ink Pearl display with a resolution of 800 X 600 and 167 PPI.
What it doesn’t have is a capacitive touchscreen, instead it employs Infrared Touch technology by Neonode.
Could Amazon be planning changes to its touch screen?
Bringing Back the Keyboard?
Remember the Kindle keyboard? Yeah. It was pretty horrible. However, some Kindle watchers suggest that the keyboard might be added, at least to some models.
There’s a contingent of fans that liked it. Kindle developers say it may help make Kindle serve a niche between an smart phone and a tablet.
Is Oasis on the Way Out?
There are some Kindle fans who think signs indicate that the Oasis model is on the way out. They cite the lack of availability in other countries as one reason. On Amazon UK, there’s a Wi-Fi model that might be back in stock, but other models are unavailable. In the U.S. Kindle experts say there are indications that the stock of Oasis is starting to dwindle.
Amazon marketers and developers may have confused the market, sources suggest. There are about a dozen versions of the Oasis people can buy in the US, along with multiple color schemes.
This could mean that the Oasis model will be discontinued and perhaps replaced by a new improved version, or a completely new model.
Near Far Future Rumors
The previous rumors are going on now, but there are a lot of rumors swirling about the Kindles next couple versions — let’s call it the near far future. We will look at some of the rumors about more advanced Kindle readers next.
Hello, Kindle
Amazon’s Echo and Echo Dot changed the market, but now where will they go? There is some speculation that the Echo might merge with the Kindle in some manner. Think about a single device that could serve as a reader and as a voice-activated artificial intelligence-driven computer. It would be almost taking Echo with you wherever you want. It would also be cool to interact with your Kindle with your voice. Kind of cool, huh?
However, to people who follow Amazon’s business model, that sounds like a horrible idea. Why would you want people to buy one model when you could sell them multiple models. In fact, at least with the Echo many families buy a few Echos for different rooms and alternative floors.
The rumor may find truth somewhere in the middle. For instance, Amazon could use Echo technology in the Kindle to add some voice-activated features to the device, without replacing Echo entirely in the household.
Reading is a Beach
Beech reading is one of the most celebrated forms of reading. Relaxing poolside or beachside with a big floppy hat and bigger celebrity sunglasses while reading the latest best seller is a near iconographic representation of a carefree vacation.
But try reading your Kindle too close to the pool, or misjudge your towel placement during high tide, and you’re carefree vacation will soon turn into a frazzled hunt for your next Kindle reader. Kindles aren’t waterproof. That also makes transporting the device in a rainstorm somewhat problematic.
Kindle trendwatchers are saying that they expect Amazon to make a waterproof version of the reader. There are some ways to customize Kindles to make them waterproof, it’s only a matter of time before Amazon incorporates those techniques into its mass produced designs, trendwatchers suggest.
They also say that a recent image posted on MobileRead shows a Kindle packing a glass display, which could make it more waterproof. On the other hand, the picture is supposedly from a Chinese retailer, by the way, so it might not be 100 percent verified. Plus, it’s a big lift to take a feature from the prototype stage to full-blown mass produced model. A waterproof Kindle in 2018, it seems is a little optimistic.
Who knows, though, in the future, it may be an eBook that you read while you luxuriate in a bubble bath.
AR and VR Kindles
If you think adding artificial intelligence and voice interaction on a Kindle is a bit out there, you should hear what is a little farther out there. Amazon is indicating that augmented reality and virtual reality technology could be coming to Kindle. The company has started a sweeping hiring effort to bring AR and VR experts into their fold.
According to GoodReader.com, the company is looking for: “Amazon is looking for someone with experiencing using multi platform programming languages for 2D and 3D graphics rendering such as Core Graphics, Skia, OpenGL, Direct3D, Metal and animation and physics engines like Unity, Turbulenz.”
While it’s not exactly something that would find an immediate use in your Kindle reader, Amazon also filed a patent for technology that could improve the functionality of smart devices. It sounds as if the company wants to incorporate technology similar to Microsoft’s popular Kinect. The application monitors the position and orientation of your hand with respect to the device and then determines how light would reflect as you hand moves around. Ideally, it seems users could virtually check out how eyeglasses, watches, home furnishings would look on them and around them, the application suggests. This would be good for a smart phone, for example, and could increase purchases, which is why everyone suspects Amazon is so interested in the technology. However, it might be interesting how this would work on a kindle. Could it show objects you’re reading about? Could Harry Potter’s wand appear in your hand as you read a passage of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone? Could a graph of climate change appear when you’re reading Al Gore’s new book?
This, at least, seems to possible, although most likely in the near-far future.