Amazon delivers Kindle Touch early

Amazon's Kindle Touch and Kindle Touch 3G e-reader devices are now on their way to customers in the UK, one week earlier than Amazon had predicted.

The company said on Friday that it had started shipping the devices ahead of schedule, adding that pre-orders will be sent out in the order in which were received.

"We know that UK customers are eager to get their hands on these new Kindles, which is why we're delighted to be able to ship several days earlier than we planned," Jorrit Van der Meulen, vice president of Kindle in Europe, said in a statement. "Kindle Touch and Kindle Touch 3G are the most full-featured e-readers available with a beautiful, latest-generation electronic ink display."

The Kindle Touch, which adds a touchscreen display in place of the previous generations' hardware controls, costs £109, while the 3G-equipped version costs £149.

Amazon said the devices can hold up to 3,000 e-books and have "an extra-long two month battery life".

The two models are largely the same aside from free global 3G access on the 3G-equipped model, which can be used for downloading e-books, as well basic web browser tasks. Both devices can also play back MP3 files.