Amazon could release a new slimmer Kindle in August.However, this version of the e reading device will be much slimmer and will provide specialized reading experience to users.But the new kindle will not include a touch screen or color.
The main features of Kindle 2 were its E-Ink features and solely made for serious readers.Now lets hope that the next generation Kindle continue to target the heavy readers with its more new features.

nook's easy-to-read E Ink® display is more like a traditional book than a computer screen. With no glare or backlight, and adjustable text size, you can read comfortably for hours.

Sample eBooks for free just about anywhere you are, on us. Browse eBooks, magazines and newspapers on AT&T's 3G Wireless Network or on Wi-Fi. And every Barnes & Noble has free Wi-Fi, so you can connect at lightning-fast speeds.

With 2GB of memory, nook stores up to 1,500 books, newspapers and magazines. Need even more space? Just add a memory card. An entire library light enough to take with you everywhere, so you'll never be without your favorites.

Try before you buy. Download a free sample of any eBook we sell to discover new authors and check out today’s most talked about books for free. Find something you like? With many bestsellers and new releases only $9.99, it’s easy to buy and download the titles you want in seconds.

Use Reading Now, your virtual bookmark, to bring you back to the last book you've read, right where you left off. Coming in early 2010, if you forget your nook at home and are stuck on a bus, keep on reading with your iPhone™ or BlackBerry®, using Barnes & Noble’s free eReader software.

Share favorite eBooks with your friends or family. Most eBooks can be lent for up to 14 days at a time. Just choose the eBook you want to share and send it to your friend's nook – or to any PC or Mac OS® or any iPhone™ or iPod touch® with the free Barnes & Noble eReader software downloaded on it. *BlackBerry® & other smartphones will be coming in early 2010.

Control your nook with an easy-to-use full-color touchscreen, created to work seamlessly with the crisp, clean E Ink® display. Just use your finger to swipe through titles and tap open your next read. Or use nook's large, comfortable, virtual keyboard to find exactly what you're looking for.

Visit the store, turn on your nook, and see what pops up on your screen. It's as simple as that. You will get exclusive content, special discounts and more. And soon, you will be able to read entire eBooks for free at your local Barnes & Noble.

Some highlights of from the video.

Global Coverage
Uses GSM technology—the most popular mobile wireless standard—with wireless coverage in over 100 countries.

Travel the Globe with Kindle
Travel the globe and still get books in under 60 seconds. Download books wirelessly in over 100 countries around the world, such as Australia, Hong Kong, Germany, Japan, Norway, Spain, South Africa, the United Kingdom (UK), and many others. Stay in touch with news from home by having your newspaper and magazine subscriptions delivered wirelessly while you travel.

Holds Over 1,500 Books
The ultimate travel companion, Kindle weighs 10.2 ounces and holds up to 1,500 books. No longer pick and choose which books fit in your carry-on. You can always have your entire Kindle library with you.

Paper-Like Screen
Utilizing the latest in electronic-ink display technology, Kindle provides a crisp black-and-white 6" screen with the same appearance and readability of printed paper. Sharp and natural with no glare or backlight, reading on Kindle is nothing like reading from a computer screen. Those who see it for the first time always do a double-take. The screen works using ink, just like books and newspapers, but displays the ink particles electronically. And unlike a laptop or smart phone, Kindle never gets warm so you can comfortably read as long as you like.

Read in Sunlight with No Glare
Kindle's screen reflects light like ordinary paper and uses no backlighting, eliminating the glare associated with other electronic displays. As a result, Kindle can be read as easily in bright sunlight as in your living room.

Sharp Display of Images and Photos
Kindle's high-resolution screen boasts 16 shades of gray, so images and photos are sharp and clear.

Adjustable Text Size
Because one size doesn't fit all, you can increase the text size of your favorite book or periodical with the push of a button. If your eyes tire, simply increase the font size and continue reading comfortably. Kindle has six adjustable font sizes to suit your reading preference. Now every book in your library can be large print.

Manual Screen Rotation
Manually rotate the display from portrait to landscape to view maps, graphs, tables and Web pages.

Read-To-Me Feature
With the experimental Text-to-Speech feature, Kindle can read English newspapers, magazines, blogs, and books out loud to you, unless the book's rights holder made the feature unavailable. You can switch back and forth between reading and listening, and your spot is automatically saved. Pages automatically turn while the content is being read, so you can listen hands-free. You can choose from both male and female voices which can be sped up or slowed down to suit your preference. In the middle of a great book or article but have to jump in the car? Simply turn on Text-to-Speech and listen on the go.

Newspaper Reading
Using Kindle's 5-way controller, you can quickly flip between articles, making it faster and easier to browse and read the morning paper. Want to remember the newspaper or magazine article you just read? Clip and save entire articles for later reading with a single click. Newspapers are auto-delivered wirelessly to Kindle before they hit news stands.

Bookmarks and Annotations
By using the QWERTY keyboard, you can add annotations to text, just like you might write in the margins of a book. And because it is digital, you can edit, delete, and export your notes. You can highlight and clip key passages and bookmark pages for future use. You'll never need to bookmark your last place in the book, because Kindle remembers for you and always opens to the last page you read.

Personal Document Service Via Whispernet
Kindle makes it easy to take your personal documents with you, eliminating the need to print. Each Kindle has a unique and customizable e-mail address. You can set your unique email address on your Manage Your Kindle page.

Built-In Dictionary with Instant Lookup
Never get caught without a dictionary. Kindle includes The New Oxford American Dictionary with over 250,000 entries and definitions, so you can seamlessly look up the definitions of English words without interrupting your reading.

Wireless Access to Wikipedia
Kindle also includes free built-in access to the world's most exhaustive and up-to-date encyclopedia, Wikipedia.org. With Kindle in hand, looking up people, places, events, and more has never been easier. It gives whole new meaning to the phrase walking encyclopedia.

Audiobooks
With Kindle, you are able to download and enjoy more than 50,000 audio titles from Audible.com, including bestselling audio books, radio programs, audio newspapers, and magazines. Due to their file size, audiobooks are downloaded to your PC over your existing Internet connection and then transferred to Kindle using the included USB 2.0 cable.

Read-to-Me
With the Text-to-Speech feature, Kindle can read English newspapers, magazines, blogs, and books out loud to you, unless the book's rights holder made the feature unavailable.

Basic Web Browser
Kindle's basic Web browser works well to read simple, text-centric Web sites such as Google and Wikipedia.

For more information, videos and user reviews visit Kindle Home.

Video by jon4lakers on YouTube.

For advance users of Kindle 2.

I have come across this question many time and here is my understanding about the device.

Kindle _format_ can store any Unicode character including Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Hebrew etc. The Kindle supports a format called Topaz that allows embedded fonts that will work for Chinese, Japanese, and non-latin writing systems, so it's not a hardware issue. The problem, I believe, is there doesn't seem to be any way of easily getting things into the Topaz format yourself.

For more information visit,

Well in the world of Web 2.0 and Web 3.0, we have seen Facebook, Orkut, Blogs and evaluated many ways to get socialized, well it's wasn't a starting. Then what was it? It was with Books, Sharing Books, annotations, Marks, Scrap Books and lot more thing were already in place but just a media changed now. Then why we can't expect same thing with reading device, yes we can and we should. In my "Amazon Kindle vs. Barnes and Noble's Nook vs. Sony Reader" series of post, today I would like to explore more on features for social readers.

In my last two post, I wrote more about "Pros & Cons for Amazon Kindle" and "Amazon Kindle vs. Barnes and Noble's Nook vs. Sony Reader" a comparison of available e-Readers. This one is just dedicated to features about "How to socialize our reading on these e-Readers and specially Barnes and Noble's Nook .

So let's see what options are available for us among these readers,

Sony Reader

In present there is no functionality is available for Sony Reader to get socialize but they have some good plans in place. Recently they have announced a patch-up with Google for digitalized a Book Library as well as NYPL (New York Public Library) to get around 40,000 titles free for Sony Readers.

Sony also gaining more socializing momentum where more and more independent bookstores are joining in support to open EPUB e-book format, such as Powell's Books of Portland, Ore, etc from American Bookstores Association. Sony Reader has thrown its weight on EPUB, the format which Google makes it books available. Sony has vowed to scrap its proprietary technology and pursuing to convert its book store toward EPUB by this end of the year. This move defiantly makes Sony much more socialize and compatible with multiple devices where Nook and Kindle remain in a proprietary format.

In addition to that, Sony they are building a social networking site for readers at Words Move Me. The site is designed to allow people to share their passion for reading.

Amazon Kindle

Well a winner of last post with great technology and ease is not doing extraordinary in this segment of comparison.

Although not publicly stated but Amazon is probably working on socializing the Kindle device through its software as a service (SaaS) platform Whispersync or another yet to be announced application. This application should allow readers of books, magazines and blogs to mark-up, comment and share that information with the Kindle community or a book club. Similar as Sony "Words Move Me" but yet to come live.

There is nothing apart than this for Kindle, but overall that's not making big difference to Amazon Kindle because of technical superiority and price compatibility among others.

Barnes and Noble's Nook

Nook is the winner of the post, offering excellent features for socializing reading with your friends and family undoubtedly.

Nook allows to lend ebooks to others for 14 days

Nook allows to checkout and read local library ebooks for free

Nook allows to browse full ebook content while connected in Barnes & Noble stores

Nook allows to synchronize across platforms and readers of bookmarks, annotations, last reading location.

Makes it winner among all for having better socialized world.

More information
For Amazon Kindle (Click Here)
For Sony Reader (Click Here)
For Barnes and Noble's Nook (Click Here)

Happy reading.