Slog is probably the last place on the internet to run the news: Amazon has announced two new Kindles. Both are smaller and slimmer. One has 3G and one is wifi-only. The 3G model is $189, but the wifi model is $139, making it (I believe) the cheapest model of e-reader with internet access available. (For more information about the Kindle, you can find the press release story in the New York Times.)

Commenters on tech blogs have been saying for a while now that the price necessary for mass-market dominance of e-readers is $99. I agree that an e-reader for the price of four hardcovers would be a pretty hard deal for many to pass up (especially if you got four books with purchase of the e-reader) but this feels pretty damn close to a magic number to me. They can't make the Kindle much slimmer without turning it into a foldable piece of paper with e-ink (which would be maybe the coolest gadget ever), but they can do battle against the iPad by making the Kindle into something ridiculously affordable (and making the books available on the iPad doesn't hurt, either.)