Both versions of the new third-generation "smaller, lighter, faster" Kindle e-readers begin shipping on Friday, but Amazon.com said orders placed today will not ship until on or before Sept. 17.
The new Wi-Fi + 3G Kindle, sells for $189,according to Amazon's Web site . The Wi-Fi-only Kindle , sells for $139. Both model are temporarily sold out due to strong customer demand.
The newest version of the Kindle goes on sale Friday (Photo courtesy of Amazon.com).
Both devices were announced July 28. Amazon has called both devices its "new generation" of Kindle, although some bloggers are dubbing them the Kindle 3.
The Kindle has been the best-selling item on Amazon.com for two years, the company says on its Web site, although it has never publicly stated its sales numbers.
The new versions have 20% faster page turns than the second-generation model. The devices each weigh 8.7 ounces, down 15% from the previous version. Storage is 4GB, room for about 3,500 books, and double the storage space of the previous models. They also have 6-inch diagonal screens, the same as the previous version.
Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at @matthamblen or subscribe to Matt's RSS feed . His e-mail address is mhamblen@computerworld.com .
Read more about mobile and wireless in Computerworld's Mobile and Wireless Topic Center.