Amazon's New Low-Cost Kindle Priced At $139

The new, cheaper version will hit the Amazon.com online store Thursday with a price tag of $139, besting the current lower-end Kindle by $50, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The $139 version will support Wi-Fi but not 3G Internet connections. It will sport a high-contrast screen and promises to deliver a month of battery life. Another new version will also debut Thursday that carries a $189 price tag. That version will support both Wi-Fi and 3G Internet connections, according to the report.

The new devices are expected to ship at the end of August.

Word of the new low-price device came the same day Amazon.com said it had sold out of its current $189 Kindle. The sell-off was sparked after Amazon last month lowered the price on that version of the e-reader, which previously had sold for $259.

Amazon also offers two versions of its larger, higher-priced Kindle DX starting at $359.

The $139 price tag on the forthcoming Kindle device is the latest salvo in the e-reader price war, where Amazon has been competing heavily against Barnes and Noble's Nook e-reader, currently priced as low as $149.