Amazon Launches $139 Wi-Fi Kindle

Amazon has launched a $139 Wi-Fi-only Kindle, hoping to stay ahead of competitors by luring customers with low-priced e-readers that the online retail is betting will drive digital book sales. Amazon on Thursday also introduced the third generation of the original Kindle, which has Wi-Fi and 3G wireless technologies. The latter makes it possible to buy digital books from Amazon and download them in less than a minute. Amazon kept the price for the device at $189. 

Both Kindles are about $10 less than comparable e-readers from rivals Barnes & Noble, Borders and about $30 less than Sony's device, excluding the $25 e-book gift card Sony gives with each purchase. Besides lower prices, the latest Kindles have several improvements over previous generations. While the size of the screen remains six inches diagonally, the display is based on manufacturer E Ink's latest technology, which offers a contrast ratio about 50% greater. While the screen only displays black-and-white, its high resolution makes it possible to read text even in direct sunlight, an advantage over the LCD displays used in Apple's iPad and smartphones.
In addition, Amazon has made the Kindle 21% smaller through a sleeker design and has reduced the weight by 15% to 8.7 ounces. The latest models have a battery life of a month and twice the storage, which is enough to carry up to 3,500 digital books.
While Amazon has prepped the latest Kindles as stiffer competitors, the retailer won't be able to start shipping the e-readers until Aug. 27. Amazon suspended shipments on Wednesday, but is taking pre-orders.
Nevertheless, Amazon is making the Kindle available in time for the back-to-school shopping season. The retailer is also pressuring competitors to lower prices, as the industry moves closer to offering devices possible as low as under $100, which analysts say would be low enough to be a compulsive buy for consumers.
Amazon's latest releases reflect an industry shift toward making money on the sales of e-books instead of the e-readers, since the lower prices are meant to get the devices in the hands of potential book buyers.
This strategy is apparently working for Amazon. the company this month announced that unit sales of e-books surpassed that of hardcover books. On Wednesday, Amazon said Swedish author Stieg Larsson has become the first writer to sell more than 1 million digital books on Amazon. Larsson is the author of the bestselling "Millennium Trilogy."
The growth rate of e-books sales for Amazon has been impressive, given that digital books overtook hardcover books in less than three years. Amazon has been selling hardcover books for 15 years.
However, competition could get tougher, not just from other e-readers, but also from the emerging category of tablet-style computers, such as the iPad. While the Apple computer starts at more than $300 more than the cheapest Kindle, it does considerably more besides acting as an e-reader. The device also surfs the Web, accesses e-mail and plays video, music and games.

Blast Damages Japanese Tanker Near Iran, Oman

Japanese officials are trying to determine what caused an explosion on an oil tanker as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz.

Japan's transport ministry said Wednesday that the M. Star was carrying about two million barrels of crude oil from the United Arab Emirates to the Japanese port of Chiba when it was rocked by an explosion.

The United States Navy's Fifth Fleet, based in the Gulf state of Bahrain, said Wednesday the cause of the blast was unknown.
But the ship's owner claimed the explosion was likely the result of an attack. Crew members on the tanker said one person on board saw a flash of light on the horizon just before the explosion.
Japan's Mitsui O.S.K. Lines said the explosion blasted a lifeboat off the ship and damaged some of the starboard hatches.  It said one crew member suffered minor injuries, and that the tanker is on its way to the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates to check for damage.
Despite the blast, the company said the ship's tanks did not rupture and that no oil is leaking.
Japan's transport ministry has said the cause of the explosion is not clear. It said the area is not known for commercial piracy.

Meanwhile, port officials in the UAE blamed the damage on a large wave that slammed into the tanker after an earthquake hit the region. Iranian officials say an earthquake hit the region early Wednesday and that other ships reported high waves as a result.

The United States Geological Survey, which monitors earthquake activity around the world, said on its website that the last quake was a magnitude 4.8 quake on Saturday.
Officials said the Strait of Hormuz remains open for shipping.
About 40 percent of all oil shipped by tankers passes through the Strait of Hormuz.  The waterway, near Iran and Oman, connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea.

Taliban May Have Captured Two U.S. Service Members Missing in Afghanistan

A ground and air search is under way in Afghanistan for two U.S. service members missing since yesterday who may have been captured by the Taliban.

The two left a compound in Kabul City in a vehicle yesterday, according to a statement on NATO’s website that didn’t identify their nationality.

A senior North Atlantic Treaty Organization military officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said both were Americans. The Associated Press reported they were U.S. Navy personnel, citing unnamed officials.
The two were captured by the Taliban, Akhtar Mohammed, a senior Taliban commander, said in a telephone interview.

Separately, five U.S. soldiers were killed today in southern Afghanistan by improvised explosive devices, NATO said.
More than 1,000 U.S. soldiers have died in the war in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense said July 23. President Barak Obama has vowed to start bringing U.S. troops home next year.