Amazon has just expanded the audience for its ebook format with the Beta release of its free Kindle for PC application. That’s a good thing too, considering all of the competition they now have. The app will allow you to read the Kindle format on your Windows PC.

A version for Mac users is “coming soon”. How many of you will use this? Or will you just opt for a different ebook format? If Amazon would do away with the proprietary stuff and use a common standard they would widen their audience even more and we wouldn’t have to sync across a few devices.

We knew that the Nook would shake up the e-reader market, but it looks like it is having a major effect very quickly. Amazon will be canceling the US-only Kindle by consolidating their family of 6″ Kindles, lowering the price to $259 from $279.

On top of that, in some countries limited web surfing has been unlocked on the device so that they can take full advantage of the Kindle. The competition is heating up.

Amazon is preparing to launch its Kindle application for Windows PCs. The app will let you download and read content that was previously available for the Kindle. There’s also an iPhone app already available. You don’t need a Kindle to use the Kindle app for Windows, but you will need to create an account.

The thinking is that Windows 7’s new touch features might make it a good reading platform, plus it gets the content into more hands. Don’t worry Mac users, yours is coming soon. Maybe on a Mac Tablet.

After months of waiting and some competitive pressure from other e-reader players, Amazon finally goes international with the Kindle. Now you will be able to wirelessly download content in over 100 countries. Other than that the 6-inch device is the same. The $279 price tag on the Kindle U.S. & International Wireless is $20 more than the standard Kindle.

Speaking of the standard Kindle, the price has fallen from $299 to $259 and is now called the “Kindle U.S. Wireless”. You can place your pre-order now, and figure out what books will read well in foreign lands on October 19th.

In the old days we blamed it on the dog, but today we can blame our gadgets. In this case, the Kindle. When Amazon pulled the novel 1984 from thousands of Kindles earlier this month, Justin Gawronski’s electronic notes for a summer assignment instantly became useless.

So now a class action lawsuit has been filed that seeks punitive damages for those affected by the deletion as well as an injunction that stops Amazon from improperly accessing Kindles in the future. Despite the fact that Bezos did apologize after the 1984 fiasco, most will likely agree that they had this coming.

How time flies. It’s been about five months since Amazon introduced the Kindle 2 e-reader. To celebrate, or maybe just to move more units, the company has slashed $60 off of the price tag, giving it a US price of $299.

Now that it’s under $300, they should be able to move more of the devices. The e-reader market is getting more competitive, so it’s a good move. Question of the day. Now that the Kindle 2 is under $300, does it make up your mind to get one?

Jeff Bezos wants the Kindle to have some healthy competition. That’s why Amazon just released their source code for all the Kindle devices. It’s basic Linux underneath (kernel 2.6.22 on the latest 2.1 software), but includes E Ink drivers and other hardware support.

We don’t know whether Amazon stripped out its various DRM and licensed codec support, MP3 and Audible seem very likely candidates for explosion, even if turns out Amazon did leave in its own Kindle Book DRM. Hopefully manufacturers can take and repurpose this code to build their own Kindle clone.

Everyone wants an e-reader with a color screen. You live in color, so you want to see in color. It’s not like you bought the Kindle to watch old episodes of The Honeymooners or The Andy Griffith show. Not that you can watch shows, but you know what I mean. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said today that a color version of the Kindle is not imminent, but that “I know it’s multiple years. I don’t know how many years but it’s years.”

Obviously color e-ink isn’t ready for our use anytime soon, but it’s still disappointing hearing it from the Kindle’s daddy. It’s black-and-white for a while yet. Maybe someone will make some cool glasses that fool your eyes in the meantime.

Here’s an E-reader for those who like to burn their literature after reading. A clever wood worker fashioned this Kindle out of wood using a laser cutter and dubbed it the Amazon Kindling.

Some advantages: The battery will never betray you. It will provide warmth if you burn it after reading. Termites will eat something intellectual. And it will biodegrade long before Amazon’s version.

Hey, you readers who still have not bought a Kindle 2. Is it the lack of colors? The Kindle does suffer from that sterile look. As usual, the folks at Colorware are here to help. They will gladly sell you a model that lives and breathes in color. (For a $599 base price).

You can also send in your own e-reader, which will cost you $199 per paint job. You will be without your device for 2-3 weeks, but when you get it back it will be wearing it’s new technicolor outfit.

Well, here it is, the Kindle DX 9.7″ “wireless reading device”. It’s now available for $489 on Amazon. Yes, it’s big. Yes, the Chiclets-style keyboard looks absurd. Some features include having the thinness of a Typical magazine. Holds up to 3,500 books, 9.7″ diagonal e-ink screen boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and sharp images.

It also features Auto-Rotating Screen, built in PDF reader and more. How many of you are ready to ditch your old Kindles for this guy? You can tell us. We promise we won’t call you a e-book worm or anything.

The rumored larger-screened Kindle just had some basic specs leak out. The Kindle DX is rumored to have a 9.7-inch screen, the ability to add annotations and PDF support. Looks like this Kindle DX is designed to appeal to students and textbook publishers. The Wall Street Journal reports that some chemistry and computer science students at various American universities will receive the new textbook-friendly Kindle.

Some that have been specifically named so far are Case Western, Pace, Princeton, Reed, Darden School at the University of Virginia, and Arizona State. Apparently it also includes an actual functional web browser.

Word on the street is that Amazon will be rolling out a larger version of its Kindle e-book reader sometime this week. A model designed to help the tanking newspaper business, with a larger screen for displaying newspapers and magazines, even textbooks.

The textbooks aspect should be interesting, as school kids have to carry all those heavy ass books in their backpack. Also this is bound to tick off the makers of those physical books who have until now profitted nicely on their overpriced tomes.

If your Kindle 2 was feeling a little naked, now it has a new Folio booklight case to snuggle up to, complete with small memo pad, a pen and a retractable light for night time reading. Your Kindle 2 will feel fully clothed at last.

It isn’t cheap at $50, considering what the Kindle 2 has already cost you, but you’ll be helping the economy I guess. Or you can go to Amazon is where for $30 you can get a standard book cover without the pen and notepad and light.

For the most part, Amazon Kindle 2 owners are happy. But a small minority has a real problem with the way fonts are rendered on the new device. That’s because the newest version of the e-reader has font smoothing algorithms and sixteen levels of gray (the original had four). This makes for nicer pictures, but it causes text to blur when displaying fonts in the smallest three sizes.

If you are one of the users who are bothered by this you do have some options. You could try the Unicode Fonts Hack, which will allow you to replace the system font. Or you could wait for that rumored Kindle with a larger screen. You could also downgrade to the original device.