Amazon is expected to announce the new version of the Kindle today with an upgraded design. (The first photo above shows the old Kindle, the second photo is the new.) According to purportedly leaked documents acquired by Engadget, the redesign features a metal back, rounded corners, smaller buttons, stereo speakers on the back, and a surprisingly slim casing.

Meanwhile, a company called Plastic Logic is expected to demonstrate a prototype of their forthcoming Kindle competitor tomorrow, just one day after the Kindle's re-launch, at a tech conference in New York City. The Plastic Logic Reader will allegedly have a 10.7-inch screen, larger than the Kindle--"the company is hoping that the larger size will interest publishers who think that shrinking a newspaper page onto a small screen does not provide a good reading experience," writes The New York Times--but will not be available until next year.

Below is Plastic Logic CEO Richard Archuleta giving a demo of the device, spotted on gadget maniac.