Kindle 3 ships this week: are you getting one?

Would you rather spend $200 on a Kindle 3 or $500 on an Apple iPad?

Amazon ships out its third generation Kindle e-reader on Friday, boasting a lower price, improved display, longer battery life, slimmer profile and faster page turns. The Kindle 3 comes in 3G for $189 or Wi-Fi only for $139. The new unit comes in either graphite or white.

Amazon says page turn speed on the Kindle 3 has improved by 20%, and it weighs in at just 8.7 ounces, down 15% from the Kindle 2. It's also thinner at 0.34-inches, compared to 0.36-inch for the previous model. The Kindle 3 also has room for up to 3,500 e-books due to its 4GB of storage, compared to previous capacity of 1,500 books. Display size for the Kindle remains the same at 6 inches.

But will you bother getting a new Kindle now that the iPad has proven itself to be a perfectly good e-book reader and does so much more?