Color Kindle Won't Launch For "Multiple Years"

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has suggested that a color Kindle will not reach the market for "multiple years".  Speaking at the company's annual shareholder's meeting this week, Bezos told investors that he has "seen the color displays in the laboratory" but that they are "not ready for prime time".  The CEO also suggested that sales figures of the Kindle ebook reader will never be officially released.

According to Bezos, "there can often be a competitive advantage in keeping the numbers close" and that while he admits to checking the sales figures every morning, investors "may just have to remain curious."  Still, he denied that the company's recent digital business model has already become a major source of cash flow.

Bezos was unclear as to whether the "laboratory" he referred to with regards the color e-ink displays were Amazon's own prototyping facilities or a more general comment on the state of e-ink technology in general.  Nonetheless, he says "I know it's multiple years. I don't know how many years but it's years."