Amazon announces third-gen Kindle, adds Wi-Fi to lineup

Amazon will deliver on what was hinted at earlier this year. Earlier this week, Amazon unveiled the specifications of its refreshed Kindle e-book reader hardware. 

The new Kindle comes with the improved E-Ink display and a 50 percent higher contrast ratio. Despite maintaining the same 6-inch display as Kindle2, it is 21 percent smaller and weighs 15 percent less. Storage capacity has doubled to support up to 3,500 digital books.

The most exciting aspect to me, though, is the fact that Amazon will not be launching one new reader, but two different models: One Wi-Fi-only model, and one which comes with Wi-Fi and 3G wireless. The price for the Wi-Fi model is rock bottom US$139, while the latter will sell at US$189. And yes, the updated models look much better, too.

In addition, the new Kindle will include a Webkit-based browser that is free to use over Wi-Fi, and free wireless access to Wikipedia (for 3G model). You can check out the rest of the features here. The announced ship date for the new Kindles is August 27, with pre-orders underway now.

For more on this story:
- check out the article at InformationWeek
- check out the article at eWeek

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