(By Balaseshan) Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) unveiled a new e-reader called the Kindle Paperwhite with a back-lit screen, sharper screen and longer battery life at an event in Santa Monica, California. Following the news, shares of AMZN touched a new all-time high.
The Kindle Paperwhite with its built-in light is likely to give a stiff competition Barnes & Noble Inc.'s (NYSE:BKS) Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, which was released last year.
The Kindle Paperwhite, which will be shipped October 1, will cost $119 for Wi-Fi version and $179 for the 3G version. In comparison, the Nook device with similar screen technology currently costs $139.
Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said the new touchscreen device would have an eight-week battery life even with the light on, a new "Time to Read" feature, and seven different font options including Helvetica, Times New Roman, and Palantino, according to media reports.
The Kindle Paperwhite is a black-and-white eReader that adds a front-lit display for easier reading in the dark. Amazon says the screen is better than on its previous devices, with the option to change fonts, as reported by Engadget.
Media reports also cited Bezos saying that the basic Kindle unveiled last year will remain available, with Amazon cutting the price from $79 to $69.
There has been speculation that Amazon will showcase later on Thursday a new version of its Kindle Fire tablet, which targets the market dominated by Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad. Another rumors states that Amazon will come out with two Kindle Fire tablets -- 10-inch to existing range and a new 7-inch tablet.
Google Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOG) $199 Nexus 7 tablet and Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Surface tablet are likely to give immense pressure on Kindle Fire tablet.
AMZN is trading up 1.98% at $251.09 on Thursday. The stock has been trading between $166.97 and $252.27 for the past 52 weeks.