Newsweek is giving an early peek at a device to be released by Amazon called Kindle, which has been described as “the iPod of reading.”

The Nov. 26 issue of Newsweek shows off the creation by Amazon's Jeff Bezos, “an electronic device that he hopes will leapfrog over previous attempts at e-readers and become the turning point in a transformation toward Book 2.0. That's shorthand for a revolution (already in progress) that will change the way readers read, writers write and publishers publish,” the Newsweek article states.

The US $399 gadget has EVDO and wireless connectivity that, at its launch, will allow customers to browse, purchase and download from a library of more than 88,000 digital books, as well as newspapers and some blogs. Users can also surf the Internet, check e-mail and read documents (Word or PDFs) on Amazon Kindle, according to Newsweek.

There have been rumours that Apple is working on a similar device, although it is not intended to specifically be an eBook reader.

To view the product on Amazon.com, click here.