Amazon is preparing to release a front-lit Kindle e-reader in July, according to one of Reuters’ unnamed but supposedly well-informed sources. The black and white E Ink device is expected to include a front-lit screen–rather than a back-lit one–to help readers eliminate the need for a separate light source.

While there are concerns that the inclusion of a light in Kindle devices will shorten the battery life, many people consider it to be a much-needed feature. Competitor Barnes & Noble already offers the NOOK reader with a built-in light, and a color screen to boot. Don’t get too excited, though. Amazon is unlikely to offer a Kindle with a color E Ink screen this year, said Reuters’ source. Of course, the online retailer giant already offers the Kindle Fire tablet with a color screen (sans E Ink), and the Fire’s successor is expected to arrive this fall in an 8.9-inch form factor.

Expect the front-lit version of the Kindle, when it arrives in July, to cost more than current Kindles, but NPD Group’s Jennifer Colegrave believes it could retail for as little as a $10 premium. This correlates with what the source was able to provide.

[Reuters]

Amazon’s Kindle Fire has received yet another update, adding support for a few new features and highlighting existing ones. Unfortunately, the update isn’t all that exciting, unless you enjoy locking down various aspects of the Fire’s heavily customized Android OS.

With the Kindle Fire Software Update v6.3.1, you’ll find a new parental controls option in the settings. Enabling said feature and entering a pass code allows you to disable the silk web browser, require a password before purchasing content or playing a video, or password protect access to the WiFi. Interestingly, it also allows you to completely disable content libraries like the newsstand, books, music, video, docs, and apps. Disabling a content library will gray out its name in the UI and, as you might expect, completely block access to it.

There’s a very good chance that Amazon has already updated your Kindle to v6.3.1. If not, the update can be initiated by hitting the sync button–which will apply the update the next time the device goes to sleep–or by manually downloading and installing it from Amazon’s website.

[Amazon via The Verge]

We’ve written about the success of Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet on multiple occasions. The device is relatively low-powered for an Android-based tablet, but the combination of its low price and the high-profile Amazon and Kindle brand names seems to have made it a rousing success. Last we heard, the heavily modified Android tablet held approximately 40% of the Android tablet market. Fast forward to today–two-and-a-half months later–and a comScore report estimating 54.4% Android tablet market share.

To be fair, comScore’s data is based on web browsing statistics, rather than hard sales figures. But it does give us a good idea of which tablets are being used the most. The second most popular tablet for web browsing, after the Kindle Fire at 54.4%, is Samsung’s Galaxy Tab family at just 15.4%. The rest of the competition fares even worse, with less than 7% usage. Ouch. Google can’t be too happy about these figures either. The search giant makes most of its revenue off of advertising, but Amazon has modified Google’s open-source OS so much that it’s almost completely cut off from Google’s services. As a result, much of the profit Google would have made goes straight into Amazon’s coffers.

Regardless, it’s good to see at least one tablet attempt to take on the iPad, even if its overall sales still pale in comparison. It will be interesting to see how Windows 8 fares when tablets begin running it this fall.

[comScore via Pocketables]