According to a report in Tuesday's New York Times, the second Kindle electronic reader will be introduced in a news conference at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York City. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos will be the host.

Photos Posted

Amazon hasn't released details of the new device, but there are reports about how the update could modify the original product.

One Web site, The Boy Genius Report, is showing what it purports to be leaked photos of the new device. If accurate, the photos and other reports indicate the angled buttons will be replaced by round ones and the side buttons will become smaller to avoid accidental turns of a page.

The new Kindle is also expected to use a new microprocessor from Epson and E-Ink, called the Broadsheet, which is already used in the competing Sony Reader 700. The chip and accompanying display technology can reportedly divide the screen into 16 pixel sets and update them in parallel for faster screen refreshes. This can be an added value if the device is used for nonbook activities, like zooming into detail in a catalog or looking up words.

Michael Gartenberg, a technology analyst, described the Kindle as "the first stand-alone e-book reader good enough to criticize." He added that Amazon "got a lot of things right" in the first generation, but its expertise is not in hardware design and the original does not provide "a perfect reading experience."

In the "things right" column, he put the fact that Amazon made it easy to get content wirelessly, the availability of a lot of content, and the low price for best-selling content compared to a hardcover book. Gartenberg also pointed out that a lot of content can be carried without having to pack a lot of books or other materials, making it very handy for a well-read traveler.

On the downside, he pointed out that the display is not backlit, meaning a user can only read in places where paper can be read. There also is an "annoying flash" when pages are turned, and the price of about $350.

'A Kind of Vending Machine'

Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis in consumer technology at the NPD Group, noted that Amazon's business advantage for the Kindle is that "it is a kind of vending machine for the company" because it leads to sales of Amazon content. But he pointed out that the current model is "relatively thick" compared to the competition from Sony, and it "doesn't have the kind of industrial styling" that many consumer high-end devices do.

One potential growth area for the Kindle and other electronic reading devices, Rubin said, would be the availability of textbook content -- a development that could relieve the weary shoulders of textbook-laden students.

But don't mourn quite yet for books. Gartenberg said "they will survive, absolutely," given that they don't require batteries, are very high-resolution and durable, and can be bought at fantastic discounts or taken out of a library for free.