Woolworths, BIG W and Dick Smith stores are now exclusively selling Amazon’s Kindle, one of the world’s most popular e-readers.

The wireless reading device from the international online bookseller Amazon can store thousands of books will be offered to the Australian market in Woolworths, BIG W and Dick Smith stores from 31 August.

Two Kindle devices are available – one with 3G and Wi-Fi capability and one offering Wi-Fi only. Either device is packed full of features including the ability to hold up to 3,500 books ,the choice of over 740,000 English-language books available to purchase through the Kindle itself or at www.amazon.com, including bestsellers, new releases, audiobooks, periodicals and blogs, plus more than one million free books are also available.

The compact Kindle is lighter than a typical paperback and thinner than most magazines. It can be used right out of the box with no set up required, no software to install, no computer required. It has a 6” high-contrast and E Ink screen for clear text and sharp images with no glare, battery life up to 2 months with wireless off and a half hour of reading per day. It allows readers to add notes, highlight passages or bookmark pages, add annotations to text and highlight and clip key passages and bookmark pages for future use. The device also has a built in dictionary so a simple move of the cursor to the word in question will automatically display the definition.

Kindle WiFi is priced at $159 and Kindle 3G is priced at $219. Customers can pre-order either device at www.dicksmith.com.au or www.bigw.com.au. The first 1000 customers to pre-order the Kindle 3G, and first 500 customers to pre-order the Kindle WiFi, will be guaranteed delivery on or before 31st August 2011.