Voyage2amazonNoteThe Kindle Voyage 2’s release is still on track for this month, according to Good E-Reader.

In July, Editor in Chief Michael Kozlowski predicted a November release amid jeers from the many people skeptical of his mixed record on these matters.

But now he is backing up his crystal ball with a partial reproduction of a note that he says Amazon Customer Service is sending out through reps.

“You can expect the release of Kindle Voyage 2 device in the month of November,” the note says. “However, I cannot exactly promise the release in 2 weeks. But I can confirm, the device will be released in November for sure, and the cost of it will be $200.”

No confirmation from U.S. reps

Kindle-Voyage-578-80-300x168I tried an Amazon rep via a number here in the States. She checked with colleagues, then denied any knowledge of the existence of a Kindle 2. Instead she aggressively kept trying to steer the discussion back to the glories of the original Voyage (photo)—even though I told her I’d already owned one (since sold). Her follow-up e-mail did the same.

So what’s cooking? Via e-mail, Michael told me he thinks that the U.S. reps are under tighter restraints than those oversees. It’s possible.

The U.S. customer rep’s robotic regurgitation of the original Voyage’s features—even when I kept reminding her this is old news— might suggest that Amazon has given American reps a certain script to follow. I don’t know. How much separation is there between the U.S. and overseas support operations? That’s one issue here.

Also rumored: New basic Kindle and memory-boosted Paperwhite

For what it’s worth, Michael’s post adds: “November is also the month that Amazon is expected to announce a new basic Kindle, that will include a higher resolution screen and will be billed as ‘the lightest Kindle ever.’ The company will also release a 5th generation Kindle Paperwhite with 8 GB of memory.” Even when the current Paperwhite was unveiled as recently as June 2015? But then again, if it’s just a memory boost, an upgrade could indeed be a possibility.

There you have it. We report the promising rumors. You decide. This is messy. Like it or not, however, tech is a forward looking business. As a customer I’m far more interested in what’s ahead, even just a possibility, than I am in what has passed even though, yes, I’ll consider track records.

New life for e-reader category via trickle-downs?

Here’s one significant detail about the Good E-Reader rumors if they’re true. The new Voyage 2 is supposed to have “a new Freescale I.MX 7 1 GHZ dual core processor” fast enough to help blur the distinction between e-readers (slower) and tablets (faster).

If so, does this mean that Amazon could once again get serious about apps for E Ink devices and help revive this sagging category? What about the trickle-downs for future devices cheaper than the Voyage, the top-of-the-line model?

Even if the chip makes a dramatic difference, I won’t bet on this alone rescuing e-readers. But when color e-paper finally gets good enough, who knows?

Meanwhile I’ll reproduce in full Michael’s response to my query:

Hello David. A number of users sent me screenshots from this post I did back in July. You can read some of the comments, I think some of them copied and pasted what their CS reps said.

Most of the CS reps aren’t based in the US that the users talked to, but in the UK, India and other countries. I think the US reps don’t say too much, because the possible backlash from the Seattle HQ.

I know personally one current engineer at LAB126 that tosses me info occasionally and two former people I met on Glassdoor who also know what is on the roadmap. So I only know a few general aspects about the new Kindle Basic and PW5.

11 COMMENTS

  1. I asked a friend in Germany to check with Amazon.de’s support. He asked them about it in a chat session and told me they said they didn’t know anything about it, but only get told of new e-reader releases a day in advance.

  2. @Chris: Many thanks for checking. It could be a country-by-country thing. Meanwhile it’s good to get the lowdown from Germany. I can’t wait to see if the Voyage materializes this month. For now we have given a heads-up to prospective Voyage buyers that they MIGHT want to wait. They can evaluate the evidence and decide for themselves.

  3. dear reporter

    there already is a colour e-ink reader. its called a tablet. those ios apps from kindle and kobo are so magical. lol

    fyi.. since novels/books typically don’t come in colour.. a colour ereader is simply not in demand for the majority of kindle users. 🙂

    • @Poiboy: LOL right back. More seriously: Depends. Kids like books with color illustrations, and readers of all ages appreciate covers in color. As for a “colour e-ink reader,” um, with a fewer pricey exceptions, I don’t think so. iPad-style tablets are E Ink not. David

  4. The news from Good eReader is full of a bunch of guesses and false information. He has had many stories stating that the Kindle Voyage 2 was coming (one on September 16, stating “Amazon is planning on releasing four new Fire Tablets and the Kindle Voyage 2 e-reader this week.”). I suspect when December comes, they’ll be “delayed”.

  5. @Baconcow: Thanks, but, as noted, Amazon reps without any Michael connection expect a new Voyage to appear. Will it be this month? Who knows? But the big news is that, yes, Amazon appears to have a replacement for the current Voyage.

  6. I can not imagine that Amazon would really release a complete new version if the Voyage during November. And in fact, it didn`t happen until today. At least not in Germany. From a marketing perspective it makes not much sense to place a new product 4 weeks before christmas. It doesn`t give time for marketing campaigns and would confuse interested consumers more than bring a benefit.

The TeleRead community values your civil and thoughtful comments. We use a cache, so expect a delay. Problems? E-mail newteleread@gmail.com.