SAN FRANCISCO - Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) said Thursday that it will not launch a new version of its Kindle e-book reader this year.

Rumors about a next-generation Kindle device were stoked last week after McAdams Wright Ragen analyst Tim Bueneman wrote in a note that Amazon is developing a new version of the Kindle and sees a big opportunity to market its e-book reader to college students.

"Don't believe everything you read -- there's a lot of rumor and speculation out there about Kindle," said Amazon spokesman Craig Berman. "One thing I can tell you for sure is that there will be no new version of Kindle this year. A new version will come out sometime next year at the earliest."

Berman declined to provide details about the new Kindle and would not comment on whether Amazon was indeed targeting the $5.5 billion U.S. textbook market.

Five leading textbook publishers already distribute about 5,000 titles, or about one-third of their top-selling textbooks, in digital format.

Online or downloadable e-textbooks, sold by publishers including Pearson Plc ( PSO) and McGraw-Hill Cos. (MHP) on their jointly-owned CourseSmart.com Website, cost on average about half the price of printed texts. But students who buy e- textbooks today have few options other than to read them on their desktop or laptop computers.

Stacy Skelly, the Association of American Publishers' director for higher education, acknowledged that e-textbook sales accounted for a tiny fraction of overall sales.

"If the Kindle can make things happen, that would be a welcome change," she said.

However, other AAP sources said they were not aware of any current talks between Amazon and top textbook publishers concerning a new Kindle device.

CourseSmart.com Chief Executive Sean Devine also spoke optimistically about Kindle, but he said the current black-and-white screen was inadequate to read educational books that typically feature high-definition color illustrations, charts and graphs to highlight material.

Amazon's Berman declined to discuss whether the next-generation Kindle would feature a color screen.

Amazon has said consumer demand for Kindle has exceeded expectations, but the company has not released sales figures to back up its claims.

On Thursday, Amazon shares rose 2.1% to $83.42.

Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.