It’s been a long time coming – at least it certainly feels that way – but Amazon has finally revealed its latest, upgraded and enhanced Kindle reader. Dubbed the third generation Kindle by Amazon, there are a variety of improvements.

It seems likely that the Kindle 3's new features will tick many of the right boxes with e-book reader devotees. It retains the same 6” e-ink technology display, but the screen contrast has been improved by 50%, which should make reading an even more pleasant experience. The speed of page turns, already good for the Kindle 2.0, has been made 20% quicker.

The outside dimensions of the reader are reduced by 21% and the weight is just 8.7 ozs – 15% lighter. Battery life with the Wi-Fi off is now a month, and even with Wi-Fi turned on a ten day life is expected. On board storage capacity has been increased from 2 to 4 GB, enough for approximately 3,500 books. The new Kindle is lighter, smaller, has a better display, a longer battery life and lets users take a small personal library with them when they are out and about. What else could you ask for in a mobile electronic device?

For many, a color screen would have been one item on their wish list. However, whilst Amazon have been working on a color e-ink technology display, it simply isn’t ready for commercial release at this time. This may perhaps be available in time for the next upgrade. There is no SD slot available for memory expansion, something which some users may have liked to see. Nevertheless, considering that the memory capacity is now at 4GB, most people won't suffer too much as a consequence of this.

As well as all the upgrades, Amazon have adjusted the price downwards and introduced a new Wi-Fi only Kindle for customers who don’t feel the need for a 3G connection. The new entry level Wi-Fi only model can be yours for $ 139, the Wi-Fi plus 3G model retails at $ 189. The new Kindle 3 is also available in graphite, just like the new DX model, in addition to the original white.

Amazon has also opened a dedicated UK Kindle store on their British website. UK customers will no longer need to get their Kindles shipped from the States. In the first instance the UK Kindle store will have 400,000 Kindle books available. It seems reasonable to suppose that Amazon may consider opening other dedicated Kindle stores for its other “local” websites in France, Germany etc. at some point in future.

Kindle 3 sales are strong. Potential customers currently face a 4 week wait before their readers are shipped. It does begin to look as if reports of the Kindle’s demise, as a result of the launch of the Apple iPad, were somewhat premature. The new upgrades, the lower prices and the fact that there is no monthly payment for connectivity, will be very appealing to many consumers. It looks like the launch of the Kindle 3 may come as a timely reminder of just how influential Amazon are, and will continue to be in the future, in the world of books in general - and digital books in particular