The new Kindle popped up last week and it seems some of its features didn’t find their way into Amazon’s press release. Most intriguing among the new batch of inclusions on the new Kindle specs sheet is a microphone that won’t be enabled when it ships but is instead reserved for “future use”. Is Amazon planning to add calls to its iPad-bothering ebook reader?
The Kindle World Blog too a forensic look at the new Kindle user’s guide to pick out all the new features. There’s a raft of software tweaks including improved PDF smarts (you can now adjust the contrast, highlight text and copy-and-paste selections) and an “article view” mode in the web browser like the Safari Reader feature that broke cover recently.
But it’s the addition of a microphone to the new Kindle that’s most intriguing. With Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G versions of the new Kindle on the way, a microphone opens up the possibility that Amazon could add Skype calling to the ebook reader’s skills. There’s also a good chance that it could add voice navigation, annotations or a voice memo function.
Amazon previously released an Kindle SDK so the addition of a microphone could open up all sorts of possibilities for third party developers. However, adding calls to the new Kindle could put a major strain on the free Vodafone 3G so they could come at an additional cost.
What do you think Amazon will do with the new Kindle microphone? Empty your thoughts into the comments section below…
Out August 27 | From £109 | Amazon (via Wired)
