Amazon starts shipping next-gen Kindle, Sales outpace previous versions

Amazon said Wednesday that it is now shipping the latest Kindles to customers---two days ahead of schedule. Meanwhile, the company said that the latest Kindles are the fastest selling in the device's history.

As a refresher, Amazon's Wi-Fi Kindle will run you $139 and the 3G/Wi-Fi Kindle will cost $189.

Amazon's news comes a day after Barnes & Noble talked up its Nook e-reader and the e-book sales that go with the device. In addition, we'll be talking to Sony about its Reader plans later today.

In a nutshell, the e-reader market is shaping up to be a three-horse race.

Related:

• Review: My 20 minutes with Amazon's latest Kindle
• Amazon unveils new Kindle; Assessing the e-reader fallout
• Back to School Guide 2010: Ebook readers