More details about the third edition of Amazon's Kindle e-book reader have popped up online. The Kindle 3 is about half an inch shorter and narrower than the second edition.

However, the manufacturer hasn’t compromised on the size of the screen, which is exactly the same size as the Kindle 3’s predecessors. The page turn buttons have been transformed from thick bars to slim lines. The little five-way joy stick has been transformed into a flatter little cluster of arrow buttons.

The new Kindle comes with WiFi along with free 3G mobile internet connection.

There are many similarities between Amazon's Kindle e-book reader and Apple's recently launched iPad tablet. Both the Kindle and the iPad are selling like hotcakes, have sparked a revolution in mobile computing, and brought e-books to the masses.

Apple claims that it sold three million iPads since the product was launched in April this year. But, on the other side, Amazon never revealed exact numbers of how many Kindle e-book readers it sold.

The first Amazon Kindle had debuted in 2007 with a price tag of $399. But, the device can now be had just for $189. If you can do without 3G, the WiFi only model is available for just $139.