Kindle could have color screen, contain the hair of the rare zebracorn

Let the speculation begin! Our sources tell us what you already know: that the new Kindle is thinner and has a nicer design and probably has a touchscreen. Sadly, now everyone is chiming in with a little more value added rumor.

The LA Times, for example, thinks it will have a color screen. BLART! Color e-ink is still in its infancy and only one company really has a working example, shown here. Amazon needs to make this thing cheaper, not prohibitively expensive.

Then writer Alex Pham basically tried to pull the oldest tech journalism trick in the book: confirm a rumor by asking an analyst. I’m sure there are some smart analysts out there, but I haven’t met any. To wit:

Another possible change: a sleeker design that relocates the page-forward and page-back buttons so users would be less likely to hit them accidentally. That’s a major complaint about the current Kindle, said Tim Bajarin, electronics analyst with Creative Strategies.

“The first generation was too clunky,” he said. “I would have to believe they’ve improved it.”

Wow. Thank god you got Bajarin on the phone for that nugget. Alex: you should have called me. I could have told you that “Amazon probably intends to weaponize the Kindle for use in military situations” and that “Jeff Bezos will probably team up with Apple to produce the iKindle.” Both are plausible scenarios based on my experience in the industry and powers of perception.

It will be thin, handsome, and probably cheaper. But it won’t be in color and yes, they improved it.