New Kindle Paperwhite: Amazon Accidentally Leaks New E-reader Specs, Release Date

A user on a Croatian forum spotted a new page on the Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) website Tuesday morning that appears to leak the next generation of the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite e-reader as well as its release date. If the leak is accurate, Amazon will start shipping the next Kindle Paperwhite e-reader Sept. 30 with little more than incremental improvements from the previous generation.

The new Amazon Kindle Paperwhite will release with higher contrast, a faster processor and an improved touch grid that will apparently make the Amazon e-reader respond better to lighter touches. The page, which Amazon quickly removed, also indicated that the next Kindle Paperwhite has an improved search function that incorporates a full dictionary and Wikipedia.

The new Amazon Kindle Paperwhite will also reportedly release with a “Kindle Page Flip” feature, which allows users to skim through their book without losing their place. There is also a vocabulary feature that saves words a user looks up, and will quiz them with flash cards. The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite will also integrate Goodreads, the social reading service Amazon acquired earlier in 2013 for an undisclosed sum, and Kindle FreeTime, a gamification software that promises to encourage young readers with achievements.

None of the features are really revolutionary from the previous Kindle Paperwhite, which Amazon released in October 2012. Amazon is also reportedly working on a new Kindle Fire HD tablet that will be more powerful than the Google Nexus 7 tablet.

Amazon doesn’t release specific Kindle sales numbers, but the Kindle remains a leader in the e-reader category. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos maintains that Amazon sells millions of Kindles. The relative consistency of the features on the latest Kindle Paperwhite may indicate that Amazon remains confident in its strategy with the e-readers.