TechCrunch's Devin Coldewey reported that he "was lucky enough to get a chance to see what Amazon has cooking for its next generation of e-readers." Amazon's purchase of "light-guide technology" company Oy Modilis in 2010 and subsequent developments have reached a point where "a new generation of glowing Kindles will be coming our way sometime this year."
According to Coldewey, "the size appears the same, and the whole point of purchasing the light-guide company was to get the team and their patents, which essentially laminate the light diffusion layer right onto the screen without adding much in the way of depth or interfering with the touch system. I was told the industrial design isn't finished yet, but I ruled out things like ruggedness, waterproofing, or a flush-front screen--all things, by the way, I suggested they look into. It shouldn't be any thicker, though it will have to accommodate the LED circuitry and presumably a larger battery."
