Amazon's Kindle line has an ereader for all bookworms. Cash-strapped? Pick up the classic touchscreen Kindle. Night owl? Try the backlit Paperwhite. Want something more premium? The Oasis is about as good as ereaders get, if you've got the money.
But want to have a read in the bath? Or the pool? Unless you're ready to risk ruining your Kindle with a dunking, end up with soggy paper pages or have bought into the Kobo Aura One's ecosystem, you're out of luck.
That may be about to change however, as a new leak suggests Amazon's next Kindle advancement could be waterproofing.
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An image posted to MobileRead, allegedly from a Chinese retailer, shows a Kindle packing a glass display – which lines up with the needs for a waterproof device.
Other than that waterproofing, the photo's poster says to expect little else to change – you'll get the same CPU as earlier models, same storage amounts and same 300dpi display. The flush bezel suggests you're looking at a Kindle Voyage-like design.
Suggesting that the new Kindle could be out in the second half of 2017, we could see the new device potentially as early as June – perfectly timed for beach holiday season.
There's the suggestion however that it'd also ring the death knell for the Voyage and Oasis Kindles – unsurprising, given their high price tags. You never see them in use on public transport, as an unscientific litmus test.
The image above does raise some eyebrows – there's little context given, and the strangely scrubbed out elements could hide factors that could debunk the rumor. But it'd be a welcome, useful feature – one that could inspire an upgrade from those happily sticking by their ol' faithful older devices.
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