Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has announced to the world that a new Kindle is coming next week, and today The Wall Street Journal reported on at least some of what you can expect from the company's latest e-reader. According to the report, Amazon's new Kindle will come with a case that can recharge the device in addition to protecting it from everyday bumps. This approach of offloading some of the battery power to the case will allow for a thinner, sleeker design than prior Kindles, the report says. A separate, solar-powered case for the Kindle is also said to be in the works, but is "unlikely" to be unveiled alongside the other products next week.
Beyond that, the Journal doesn't know how much the latest Kindle will cost or other new features that will differentiate it from the already-great Paperwhite and overly expensive Kindle Voyage. We do learn some codenames thanks to the report, however. The Kindle is known internally as "Whiskey," with its companion case given the codename "Soda." People tend to hang onto their Kindles for a long time; in many ways, Amazon faces upgrade cycle challenges similar to those of tablet manufacturers. But Kindles are typically far cheaper, so a compelling addition (or three) may be enough to persuade consumers to buy into whatever Amazon's Lab126 division has been working on.