Kindle Tablet Does Not Mean eInk’s Death

I don't think a touch based eInk Kindle is coming this year. I predict Amazon is going to try to use the same Android-based OS from the Kindle Tablet for the touch based eInk Kindle. Amazon will need to completely abandon the existing Kindle OS and remake the device from the ground up to add touch and other capabilities.

This should push out the development schedule considerably compared to past releases which were already long. The Kindle 2 came out 15 months after the first Kindle. And the Kindle 3 came out 18 monts after the Kindle 2. If history is any indication I'd be surprised if the Kindle 4 came out before Q1 2012 and frankly I think Q3 is more realistic.

It's possible the new Kindle will use Mirasol. But if it does, even Q3 might be agressive. Mirasol's production capacity is nowhere near enough to meet the demand for a Kindle device and it takes a while to build up the parts inventory even for less exotic components. I kind of think Mirasol isn't going to work because it won't be able to keep up with competing technologies by the time it's production ready just like PixelQi. A black and white eInk display just seems much more likely.