Where is Amazon’s Kindle Voyage 2 e-reader?

As I write this post, it’s November 28, and the Kindle Voyage 2 is nowhere to be found. As someone who buys a lot of Kindle and Audible books, I find it more than a little irritating that I can’t buy an updated version of the Kindle Voyage. I love the current Kindle Voyage, which has a 4.5-star rating on Amazon and more than 7600 customer reviews, but I’d like a new version with better hardware and more features.

A certain e-reader blog had a story claiming that the Kindle Voyage 2 would be released this month, but so far there’s no word whatsoever from Amazon and no significant rumors on other sites either. I’m not going to link to the blog in question since I don’t want to send any traffic to it. That blog’s credibility has never been good, and so I’d rather not help it get any traffic and ad revenue.

But the story on that site did get some people’s hopes up that the release of the Kindle Voyage 2 was imminent. Alas, that does not appear to be the case. The Kindle Voyage 2 has not been released, and this has left Amazon watchers scratching their heads, wondering what is going on with the company.

There was a big thread about it on the Mobile Read forums, in the Kindle section. I think there’s a fair amount of demand for a new e-ink reader from Amazon, but the company seems utterly oblivious to it. I wonder if they even pay attention to such discussions? If not then I think they are making a mistake since some of the comments are quite illuminating about the demand for the Kindle Voyage 2.

What I’d like to see in the Kindle Voyage 2

While waiting for news about the Kindle Voyage 2, I spent some time thinking about what I might want from it regarding features. Here’s a list of a few things, please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

A Kindle Voyage Plus with a larger screen – The 6-inch screen on the current Kindle Voyage works well enough, but it would sure be nice to be able to buy one with an 8-inch or larger screen. That would cut down on the page turns, and it might also work out well for more comfortable viewing of PDF files, images, illustrations, etc. Unfortunately, Amazon has decided to stick with just one size screen ever since the Kindle DX.

I think many folks would undoubtedly purchase a larger screen Kindle Voyage 2; it would be a nice alternative to the smaller version. The 6-inch version could still be named the Kindle Voyage while the larger one could be dubbed the Kindle Voyage Plus or something like that.

Lighter and thinner – I like my current Kindle Voyage, and there’s nothing wrong with it per se. But it’s also been about a year since it was released, so I think it’s reasonable to expect an upgrade. If at all possible, I’d like it to be lighter and thinner than the current version. Chopping off some of the weight would make it more comfortable to hold for long reading sessions.

Night mode – I’d also really like it if Amazon was able to update the software and screen on the current Kindle Voyage so that I could reverse the colors of the screen and have a night mode. That would make the text white and the background black, similar to what you can do with the Kindle app for iOS. I’ve found that that combination is far better for reading at night than black text on a white background.

Higher resolution screen – A higher resolution screen in the Kindle Voyage 2 would also be helpful. The current one is quite good, but I wouldn’t mind an even better one. But I doubt that will happen since the screen resolution is not something many people have been complaining about since the release of the original Kindle Voyage.

More storage and speakers for audiobooks – It would also be nice if Amazon upped the storage in the Kindle Voyage 2. Right now it’s plenty for text-based Kindle books. But I would love it if I could also download Audible audiobooks to the Kindle Voyage 2 as well. I have a platinum Audible membership, and I love being able to switch back and forth between text and audio versions of a book.

But audiobooks take up a lot more storage than text-based books, so Amazon would have to offer much larger storage options for audiobook users. And, of course, they’d also have to put speakers back into the Kindle Voyage 2. The current model doesn’t have speakers, so audiobooks are not an option.

Amazon has done a great job of integrating Audible books into the Kindle iOS app, and it would be wonderful to see that continue in the Kindle Voyage 2. The combination of Kindle books and Audible audiobooks is a powerful way to keep readers within the Amazon book ecosystem, so the company would do well to pay attention to it.

Come on Amazon, give us the Kindle Voyage 2 already!

All of this has me wondering just what is going on inside of Amazon. It’s quite odd for them not to have already announced the Kindle Voyage 2. They’ve already missed Black Friday sales, and it’s unlikely they will release it before Christmas since they might draw the ire of customers who’ve just bought the first Kindle Voyage or the Paperwhite.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see. But I’m ready on my end for the Kindle Voyage 2, and I hope that Amazon is listening. I have money in my pocket, available to spend on the Kindle Voyage 2 but unfortunately, there’s just nothing to buy with it.

Update: Amazon has released the Kindle Oasis, the successor to the Kindle Voyage. Here is Amazon’s description of the Oasis and a photo of the new e-reader.

Our thinnest and lightest Kindle ever–read even more comfortably for hours

All-new ergonomic design with dedicated buttons to effortlessly turn the page

Longest Kindle battery life–the included leather charging cover boosts battery to last months. Choose from a black, merlot, or walnut removable cover.

High-resolution 300 ppi display with crisp, laser quality text. Reads like real paper without glare, even in direct sunlight.

Enhanced built-in adjustable light evenly illuminates the screen for perfect reading anywhere, anytime