Re-Kindling May Not Be Enough

Amazon plans to launch the next generation of its Kindle e-book player in the coming months, but an iPod-sized hit may still be out of the company's grasp, Peter Burrows writes in BusinessWeek. Much-needed improvements are on the way, but the real future for Kindle could be in using its player technology in other devices, Burrows suggests.

"I don’t see Kindles around in the real world, and I’ve never heard anyone express the desire to own one," Burrows notes. For Kindle to become as huge as CEO/cheerleader Jeff Bezos envisions, Burrows writes, the device needs a strong tie-in with the world of education, or a link-up with Amazon's own audio-book company. (More Kindle stories.)