Amazon is having some trouble. Maybe they didn’t count on Oprah selling so many units. Maybe they just are really bad at stock management. Whatever the case, shipping on the Kindle ebook reader is currently listed as 11 to 13 weeks time, completely overshooting Christmas and making deliveries at some point in Q1 2009. This will be the second year in a row that the retailer could not meet demand. Last year, with the device being new, Amazon could at least use the excuse that they were ramping up production.

It was back in October that Oprah Winfrey endorsed the Kindle. Amazon is also rumored to be preparing the Kindle’s replacement, which was once expected to be on the market this holiday season, but now it is expected to be delayed until Q1 2009.

Boy Genius has some pics of what is in all likelihood the Kindle 2. You’ll notice that this follow-up to the original reader is more rounded, more iPod-esqe, but still in boring white with the same screen. The LCD status bar is nowhere to be seen and a joystick replaces the clickwheel, and so you can avoid accidental page turns, it sports smaller buttons. The SD slot is gone too, since there’s 1.5 gigs on-board, along with grills on back that may mean stereo speakers.

Basically, it’s a lot less ugly. Current Kindle owners can probably skip the upgrade unless the ugliness of the original is really bugging you. No word on the availability yet. Hit the link for more pictures.