The rumor goes that Amazon will launch two new Kindle models, with the first coming as early as October 2008.

The first is an updated version of the current Kindle featuring a 6-inch display but with a smaller form factor, and an improved interface. The second model, expected to be available early next year will be considerable bigger and is shaped like an 8 1/2 x 11-inch piece or paper. Probably featuring a 9.7-inch display.

If you think about it, a redesign of the Kindle makes a lot of sense. I am sure you all remember the first pictures of the Kindle which leaked from the FCC website in late 2006. Following this leak and later on after the release, there was a lot of negative feedback on the design of the Kindle. Robert Scoble even said on his blog: “Whoever designed this should be fired and the team should start over.” I guess they did Robert.

But the interesting part of the rumor is that they are working on a larger e-reader with probably a 9.7-inch display. I guess that with this larger model they want to expand their current business model which is focused primarily on e-books and add newspapers and magazines, for which a larger reader would make sense. It certainly sounds interesting. What do you think about a bigger reader? and what would you use it for?

Source: crunchgear.com

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) have published today a study in which they have examined the outlook for consumers magazine publishers and media buyers, as they adept to the digital revolution. You can download it here.

According to the study the publishers are facing a dilemma.

With the current ‘cash cow’-strategy, they are getting as much profit as possible from print, but in the long run this strategy is not feasible, as more and more consumers turn to the internet to search for information and entertainment and are less willing to pay for a digital version of a magazine.

This means that publishers are at a crucial point in their existents to actually take advantage of the new digital media, however the majority still have conservative idea’s about how to make money with digital content. To enter the digital era with success, the time is now to acquire knowledge and invest in technology, to be able to adept and survive in the digital environment of tomorrow.

For the folks that might have missed this one. Over at Mobileread, one of the community developers (amirshim) has created a way to browse Wikipedia on the iLiad without being connected to the internet.

The project is still in an early stage, but thanks to the efforts of the good folks over at Mobileread, there is already an installer package available. Which can be downloaded here (54 MB).

The “Simple English Wikipedia” is less than 100MB, but for the full version you will need a CF card with atleast 4GB capacity.

For more information, check out Amir’s blog or if you have an iLiad and want to get started, head over to the Mobileread forum.

The folks at GottaBeMobile made a nice video review about the iLiad. You can check it out here. Next week they will add a second part covering the note taking and the connectivity.

It has been a bit quiet on the i-to-i blog recently but this will certainly change considering all the interesting developments and activities that you can expect to see from us in 2008.

For those who might have missed it, on the Teleread blog you can find a short Q&A, where I address some of the questions from David Rothman in regard to the iLiad and future developments. Make sure to check it out here.

A few weeks ago we had a visit from the Dutch television for the program ‘In de ban van het ding‘. This weekend the third episode covered the iLiad as well as the Kindle.

Over a year we  have been listening carefully to our customers and the community and in this period we have learned many things which have allowed us to improve our products and services.

Today we continue these efforts by joining the conversation. This blog is intended to be a timely and accessible alternative to more formal channels of communication. We intend it to be a place where we can share our comments, ideas and insights in an informal way and have a productive and candid dialog. We will continue to listen, as well as engage in a two-way communication.

In the coming days and weeks you can expect to see more information appear on this blog, in the meantime make sure to check out our doctrine here and let us know what you think of the i-to-i blog.