Close on the heels of a reduction in Kindle e-book reader’s cost from $259 to $189 a few weeks back; Amazon Wednesday unveiled its third-generation Kindle - a fully overhauled, sleeker, better-looking e-reader model.

The new model is priced at $139 for the Wi-Fi-only version, which is $10 less than the Nook e-reader from Barnes and Noble; and $189 for the Wi-Fi and 3G version. It will be available in two colors – graphite and white.

The new Kindle, which is 21 percent smaller and 15 percent lighter than earlier models, boasts a highly enhanced, 50 percent better, contrast; thereby tackling the unfavorable comparisons of the device’s e-ink screen to real paper.

For the new Kindle, Amazon has used E-Ink Pearl screen, which is the screen that features on its high-end Kindle DX (Graphite) model. With a 20 percent speedier refresh rate vis-à-vis the previous models, the screen, along with other notable software improvements, virtually makes the device fly through menus.

In addition, one of the other significant enhancements that the new Kindle boasts of is the increase in internal storage capacity – the 3500 books that the new Kindle can handle is nearly 2000 more than the storage capacity of the previous models.

The new Kindle – which also has an astounding one-month battery life - is available for pre-order from Wednesday night; and will be shipped on August 27.