Amazon have just announced three new Kindle e-readers and a new version of its base model. This will come as a major blow to all the small time players out there who have sought to penetrate the ebook market, with Amazon’s new generation Kindle selling for only US $79! Of the new Kindle e-readers there’s the Kindle Touch which as the name suggests, has a touch screen for you to navigate the device. It too sells for under $100. The Kindle Touch 3G is the always-online version which allows you to download content without paying any monthly data fees or contracts (you still have to pay for content though). And of course, what we’ve all been waiting for, the Kindle Fire was announced which features a 7-inch touch screen, ultra-fast Amazon Silk web browser, dual core processor, free cloud storage and access 18 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, and books.

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Grab your deerstalker and magnifying glass and accompany Holmes and Watson on all their cases in The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection. While “The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes” is omitted due to copyright restrictions, the The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection contains the rest of the Holmes cannon.

Meet Irene Adler, who will always be “the woman”, and Sherlock’s smarter older brother, Mycroft, who never leaves the Diogenes Club. Help Sherlock try to keep Miss Helen Stoner out of the clutches of her evil stepfather, Dr. Grimesby Roylott, or help Sherlock in his ultimate conflict with the evil genius behind all English crime, Professor Moriarty.

To read The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection on your Pocket PC, you must first have Microsoft Reader installed. This reader is included with most Pocket PCs, however, if you don’t have it, check your Pocket PC’s web site or the Microsoft web site to download a free copy. Because The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection is downloaded in a zipped format, you must first unzip it using either Winzip or Stuffit Expander on your PC or Mac. Then, use your Microsoft desktop software to install the works you want to read to your Pocket PC, start Microsoft Reader, and select a book. It’s that easy!

The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection Page

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Being a guy, I know our tendencies whenever we need to do a Number #2 – we look for something to read as we let nature take its course. Most of the time, it ends up being the closest newspaper; in the not too distant future (when I can afford one) it could be a Amazon Kindle DX. Hence the reason, why I would never use another male’s Amazon Kindle DX.

Regardless of what the uncouthe do with it, the new Amazon Kindle DX has some impressive specifications:

• As thin as most magazines
• 9.7 inch auto-rotating E ink display
• 1200 x 824 resolution, 150 ppi
• 16-levels of grayscale
• 3.5mm stereo headphone socket
• Integrated stereo speakers
• Micro USB 2.0 for charging and connecting to PC / MAC
• 3G EVDO modem
• Weight: 18.9 ounces
• 4 Day battery standby
• Supports PDF, TXT, Audible, MP3, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, HTML, DOC< RTF, JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP

For Australian’s looking to get their hands on a Amazon Kindle DX, you’ll have to buy direct from Amazon.com.

Via Slashgear

Seems like the industry is not really impressed by the recent announcement of Amazon’s Kindle 2. Despite the enhancements, many pundits expected a lot more from the online giant – most importantly a price drop; its sale price will remain the same as the previous version, US$359.

I mean take a look at the improvements:

The battery life’s been improved by about 25 percent. The Kindle 2 is much skinnier than its predecessor, slimming down to 0.36 inches in thickness from 0.7, but it’s only a tenth of an ounce lighter. The storage capacity has jumped from 256MB to 2GB, or about 200 to 1,500 books, and the electronic ink display has improved from a 4-shade to 16-shade grayscale.

Given that most units were snapped up quite quickly last year, I believe Amazon is employing good business practice with their pricing strategy, especially in these tough times.

Would you pay the extra for augmentations?

For those who don’t know what a Kindle is, read this Amazon Kindle product description page.

Via CNET