New WiFi Kindle- $139

Amazon will soon release it’s competition for Barnes and Noble’s  Nook WiFi version. The newest Kindle costs only $139 ($10 less than the Noook WiFi) and is an appeal to those who do  casual reading.

Rather than accessing books through a cellphone network like Kindles do the Kindle Wi-Fi will use the less expensive wireless internet to download books and magazines and blogs. I assume that, like the nook, you can still hook up to various hotspots to download books when away from home.

According to engadget, who of course, actually got their hands on a model:

The new handheld — slated to be released on August 27th — is 21 percent smaller and 15 percent lighter than the previous model, has a 20 percent faster refresh rate on its E Ink (yep, still E Ink) screen, and will now come in two colors (graphite, like its big brother the DX, and the original white). In addition to the color changes, there will be two radio configurations available: a $139 WiFi only version, and a $189 3G version (utilizing AT&T’s network, just like the last model). The screen will remain the same 6-inch size as the last two Kindles, though the company claims page turns are faster and contrast is improved. The internal storage on the device has been cranked to 4GB, and the battery life is now rated at a month with no wireless, and 10 days with wireless switched on. The company also announced plans for a UK-localized version at £109 and £149, respectively, as well as a UK e-book store.

Other noticeable upgrades to the Kindle have been added. The keyboard and five-way controls have been streamlined and altered slightly. The rocker is now more compact and flush with the device, and the side buttons have been modified in length to emphasize the forward paddles, while the back buttons have been downsized. Software wise, there are some interesting new features, the most notable being the inclusion of an “experimental” Webkit-based browser. of course Nook beat them to these things so it was expected that Kindle would roll out these upgrades in their newest e-reader.