By Alexandra Burlacu | Oct 02, 2012 12:12 PM EDT
Amazon has a brand new Kindle lineup heading into the holiday season. After the Kindle Fire HD launch in September, the spotlight now turns to the company's latest e-reader, the Kindle Paperwhite, which started shipping on Oct. 1.
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"Kindle Paperwhite is the most advanced e-reader ever created and the Kindle we always wanted to build," said Amazon Kindle Vice President Jay Marine. "Pre-orders have far exceeded our expectations and we're excited to start shipping Kindle Paperwhite to customers today," Marine said on Monday, Oct. 1.
Those who pre-ordered the Kindle Paperwhite e-reader should be getting it sometime between now and later this week, depending on their shipping speed. The new device should also be available at retailers except Wal-Mart or Target.
Amazon claims that the Paperwhite packs 62 percent more pixels than its predecessors, offers 25 percent higher contrast, and eight hours of battery life, all packed in a slimmer design. The device also features a patented built-in front light designed to keep the screen clear and legible in any lighting condition, as the company recently explained in a YouTube video.
The Kindle Paperwhite is available in two versions - 3G and Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi-only version sports a $119 price tag, while the 3G version costs $179. Ad-free versions add another $20 to the price tag.
Amazon's new e-reader offering, however, will face tough competition from two other companies racing for e-reader customers this holiday season. Barnes & Noble already had a Paperwhite competitor on the market before Amazon even announced its offering. Amazon's competitor, the Nook Simple Touch, features the same price, as well as similar lighting technology. Meanwhile, Kobo has also recently announced the Kobo Glo, an Android e-reader similar to the Paperwhite. The Kobo Glo comes with a $129 price tag.
Nonetheless, Amazon has reported strong pre-orders for its Kindle Paperwhite e-reader. The company did not disclose order numbers, but said the new e-reader sold out of its initial shipment, and all new orders will be a bit delayed.
Those who did not get a chance to pre-order the Kindle Paperwhite before will see their orders delayed until Oct. 22, when a new batch starts shipping.
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