Amazon’s Kindle gets a thinner and lighter design sporting double the RAM

It’s a little late for Father’s Day, but at least there’s plenty of summer vacationing time left to take full advantage of Amazon’s newly refreshed Kindle. The entry-level e-reader has slimmed down and dropped a little weight in time for swimsuit season – 16 percent, for those counting, now down to 5.7 ounces.

The new version features double the RAM of its predecessor, kicking things up to 512MB, along with a couple of new features, including Export Notes, which let you send notes and highlights to yourself via email and Bluetooth audio, which accesses the VoiceView content reader without need for an adapter. There’s also a newly personalized home screen and updates to the reader’s simplified Chinese offering.

Kindle, Profile, Back

The new Kindle comes in both black and white, and features a newly rounded back for a better in-hand fit. It’s priced the same as its predecessor, at $79 WiFi with Special Offers and $99 without. It’s available for pre-order now, with shipping starting in the next couple of weeks. The higher-end, front-lit PaperWhite is now also, fittingly, available in white as well.