Unlike Amazon and Barnes & Noble, Google won’t rely on eReaders to drive book sales, going with apps for Android, the iPhone and iPad instead. Most of the books will offer day/night reading settings, font size selection, line spacing and font choice. {ZDNet} While the Kindle also has its own apps on those devices as well, Amazon has done everything it can to push the advantages of e-Ink over the glossy screens of tablets and mobile phones. In fact, the Kindle is one of the most notable exceptions to the 85 devices the Adobe Content Server 4-driven store supports (the Nook is supported). {Adobe Digital Publishing blog}

While the Kindle’s wi-fi only version is one of the least expensive at $139 (and best selling), the cost of an app is sure to be less than the cost of a new device – at least for those who already own a smartphone. Also, the fact that Google offers cloud storage means that readers can use multiple devices to start and stop reading, provided there’s wi-fi. How much of an advantage that offers is up for debate, but Android has provided legitimate competition to the iPhone’s single device model, so if that’s any indication Google distributed eBooks may not be a Kindle killer, but could be decent competition, and make user adoption easier.

Don’t expect that to cause any kind of price war though: aside from the roughly 2.8 million out of copyright books which are free, Google’s working with the top 6 US publishers, who have managed to keep pricing the same across devices. That’s usually $10-15. Major publishers will take 70% of that price – considered standard, while other publishers will get 52%. For self-published work, that may make Amazon’s Kindle only model more attractive. Smaller booksellers like Powell’s, Alibris and the American Booksellers Association have been brought on as partners though, which could help in bringing independent titles to the massive library.

Our take? New options in any field is rarely a bad thing. The Kindle is popular enough that it will probably continue to do well, but Google’s focus on distribution rather than device could make it a reasonable competitor.

If you can imagine it, the new Kindle is even thinner than the Kindle 2, and also a bit smaller without sacrificing any screen size.  The screen is similar to the new Kindle DX screen in that it has 50 percent better contrast and 20 percent faster page turns according to Amazon.  On the inside, the new Kindle now has WiFi.  The device is available in a 3G and WiFi version for the same $189 as the previous model, of a WiFi only version for $139.  Both are available in either graphite or white. {Amazon}

Amazon looks to be taking some shots at Apple’s iPad and other tablets with the new Kindle.  The site’s page for the new Kindle points out that it won’t get hot while reading like computers and tablets.  It also mentions the fact that the screen has no glare about 5 times on the page.  In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said that “For the vast majority of books, adding video and animation is not going to be helpful. It is distracting rather than enhancing. You are not going to improve Hemingway by adding video snippets.”  He then added that there are a lot of companies making LCD tablets, and that he didn’t want Amazon to be one among many {Engadget}.  With the lowered price, it’s certainly easier to get into than the at least $500 iPad.  It might also help if we ever get to see those Kindle apps that were promised months ago.