Amazon’s next Kindle might not just be for bookworms. The company has registered the “kindlescribe.com” and “kindlescribes.com” domains, leading to speculation that the next Kindle will include a stylus for note taking.

Fusible discovered the domains, which Amazon registered on August 20. As Business Insider notes, the e-reader could use a touch-sensitive E-Ink display, like the kind used in Barnes & Nobles new Nook, but with the added ability to scribble notes.

It would certainly be a logical step for Amazon, which recently started a rental program for college text books. Being able to scratch notes in the margins would come in handy for students, especially because doing so on a printed text book would devalue its resale price.

I also would love to see a note-taking Kindle app with synced audio recording, like a digital version of LiveScribe. Although tablets have reduced the need for dedicated e-readers, a lightweight and inexpensive note-taking device could be useful—at least for journalists. It would also help the Kindle differentiate from Barnes & Noble’s Nook and Kobo’s eReader Touch, which remain focused on reading books.

For now, all of this is speculation, but the pressure is on for Amazon to compete with the new Nook, which launched in May. And there are signs that it’s about to happen: Earlier this month, Amazon dropped the price of refurbished third-generation Kindles to $99, as it has in the past before introducing a new model.

(This post republished from Techland.)

 
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