Rumors have been floating around this week about a new, large-screen version of Amazon's Kindle eBook reader. The New York Times seemingly confirmed that the device is for real, and it could be released "as early as this week," according to their industry sources. The Times pieces focuses, not surprisingly, on the larger Kindle as a platform for newspapers and magazines, whose pages didn't quite translate to the current Kindle's smaller screen.

As much as a newspaper-friendly Kindle might matter to the future of print journalism there is some speculation about other important uses, like textbooks. Some websites are reporting that the new device will be tested at a handful of universities in the fall. It would be phenomenal not to carry around several pounds of reading material for classes, especially if the Kindle versions of the books cost less than the paper editions.