Amazon is planning to bring to market a higher-end Kindle e-reader with a rechargeable battery case, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The Kindle, the first model landed in 2007, was the online e-tailing giant's initial consumer product. Since then, it's delivered Amazon Fire tablets for watching video and playing games, Amazon Fire TV devices and, most recently, the Echo Bluetooth speaker with onboard digital assistant Alexa and smaller speaker Dot and portable, battery-powered speaker Tap. (It also brought to market an Amazon Fire Phone in 2014, which flopped.)
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos signaled that a new Kindle was imminent with a tweet on Monday to expect details next week.
In addition to the Kindle with an extended-battery protective case, which allows for the actual Kindle to be thinner than earlier models, another Kindle with a solar-powered battery is in development, the Journal said.
Originally priced at $400, the Kindle can be had for prices ranging from $79 to $199 -- and discounted for $49 to $149 for Amazon Prime members -- price points have kept competitors such as Barnes & Noble at bay.
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