The newest revolution in reading is about to make its debut today. Amazon is slated to release the Amazon Kindle, an electronic device which is expected to vastly improve on traditional e-readers like the Sony Reader. CEO, Jeff Bezos, states that “Books are the last bastion of analog. Music and video have been digital for a long time, and short-form reading has been digitized, beginning with the early Web. But long-form reading really hasn’t.”

The paperback-sized handheld device will apparently allow you to wirelessly download e-books directly to the device from Amazon’s e-Book Store and receive automatic downloads from major newspapers and publications. It is expected to retail for $399. It will also feature an email service which enables device owners to receive word docs or PDFs that can be stored in the device’s library just like a book. It allows you to adjust the font size, store hundreds of books, and search within a book.

“The Kindle’s real breakthrough springs from a feature that its predecessors never offered: wireless connectivity, via a system called Whispernet. (It’s based on the EVDO broadband service offered by cell-phone carriers, allowing it to work anywhere, not just Wi-Fi hotspots.) As a result, says Bezos, “This isn’t a device, it’s a service.”

It is unclear about DRM implications, or if you can loan a book to someone, or bookmark a page, or opt to listen to an audio version of the book instead. Here is the mini-book cover story from Newsweek on this. Fellow blogger, Joe, also has his take on this.

Updated: Video on Kindle: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device