The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Amazon has announced plans to release a cheaper Kindle e-Book reader sometime next month. According to Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos, Amazon is attempting to go "mass market" with this new Kindle, with one simple function, sell e-Books.

The new Kindle sports an increased gray-scale contrast display, a battery that can last up to a month, and a slightly smaller display. The new Kindle will come in two flavors: one is Wi-Fi only for $139 and the other is Wi-Fi + 3G connectivity for $189. The Wi-Fi only model will be the cheapest wireless internet-connected e-Book reader on the market.

"We developed this device for serious readers. At these price points, it may be much broader than that," said Mr. Bezos in an interview. "People will buy them for their kids. People won't share Kindles any more."

Amazon will begin taking pre-orders this Thursday, July 29th, and these new models will begin shipping on August 27th in 140 countries.