I believe there are several new ereader models that will be introduced to the market before summer of this year. These will most likely take advantage of the new
Epson controller. There is already information that's been released regarding the specs on the EZ Reader PRO and Mentor line to be introduced this year by Astak, as well as the Wizpac txtr reader (haven't read enough about this one to know if it's been determined as legitimate yet). At least the EZ Reader PRO and the Wizpac readers boast that they will carry 3G access.
The whole point is that Amazon would stand to lose a significant amount of potential customers by waiting around for 10 months while other manufacturer's deliver more advanced devices. I've considered getting a Kindle, but feel uncomfortable with Amazon's tactics regarding the device. They reveal no sales information, while ranking it at the top of their best seller's list. Who verifies that information? They also haven't released any major firmware updates since the introduction of the device. I'd prefer to go with a company that understands the importance of increasing their device's capabilities thru software enhancements while working on newer models.
Therefore, if Amazon has a clue what they're doing, I'd say the new version will be released around April of this year. That would still give enough time for them to release a newer model, such as the larger device they've mentioned, around the holiday season without people getting in a huff about buying one model and another one being released too soon afterward.