Amazon Drops Kindle Price to $79, Introduces Kindle Touch

Alongside the announcement of the Kindle Fire today, Amazon also revealed that it is introducing a next-generation classic Kindle e-reader, which will cost $79. The new Kindle is 30% lighter than the previous generation, weighing in at 5.98 ounces and is also 18% smaller. The new Kindle also turns pages 10% faster than the previous model. The updated Kindle is available for purchase, beginning today, here.

Alongside that announcement, Amazon also introduced a new Kindle device to the family, the "Kindle Touch." The Kindle Touch sports a touch-screen display, which will make "it easier than ever to turn pages, search, shop, and take notes - still with all the benefits of the most advanced electronic ink display." The Kindle Touch is described as having an "extra-long battery life."

The e-reader also has a new feature that Amazon dubbed "X-Ray," which allows customers to "customers explore the 'bones of the book.'" 

With a single tap, readers can see all the passages across a book that mention ideas, fictional characters, historical figures, places or topics that interest them, as well as more detailed descriptions from Wikipedia and Shelfari, Amazon's community-powered encyclopedia for book lovers. Amazon built X-Ray using its expertise in language processing and machine learning, access to significant storage and computing resources with Amazon S3 and EC2, and a deep library of book and character information. The vision is to have every important phrase in every book.

The Kindle Touch will cost $99 and is available for pre-order here beginning today. The device will begin shipping on November 21. There is also a 3G model of the Kindle Touch, featuring the exact same features only with 3G connectivity. That model will cost $149 and will be available on November 21.