Amazon.com Inc. is ready to unveil its long promised e-book reader, a highly anticipated device.

The e-book reader will be launched at a high-profile media event Monday in New York, an industry source said Thursday, according to CNet Networks Inc.’s technology news site.

The new device, called “Kindle” will cost no less than $399 and will be able to connect to Amazon’s e-book store via a Wi-Fi connection or with a Sprint Nextel Corp. cellular connection.

The device will come with an email address and a headphone jack so users, passionate of literature, should be able to listen to audio books.

Moreover, the e-book reader is designed with a supplementary feature, which downloads the digital editions of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal each morning, CNET unveiled. The company seems to have forged agreements with other newspaper publishers too.

The source also said that the e-book will not have a calendar or an address book, it may lack a backlight, but it has a small reading light attached to an adjustable arm.

The company is already considering a deal with the W Hotel chain to offer Kindle devices to their guests, who will be able to check them out like library books.

The Kindle device has been anticipated for almost a year and its unveiling was expected last month according to other reports. The tech site Engadget even has reported some details and a picture about Kindle one year ago.

“Amazon Kindle, their take on a book reader device that comes equipped with a 6-inch 800 x 600 display (which we can only assume is e-ink), 256MB internal storage, smallish two-thumb keyboard cursor bar, scroll wheel, standard mini USB port, 3.5mm headphone jack, SD slot, and get this: EV-DO data!” wrote Engadget at the time.

Amazon’s Kindle will compete with Sony Reader, a device measuring 6.9” by 4.9” by 1/2 inch and weighing approx 1/2 lb.

According to Sony, Sony Reader rechargeable battery lasts enough to read 7,500 page turns and it can be recharged in as little as 4 hours with the AC adapter.

Sony Reader has 128MB internal memory, with more available via SD and Memory Stick Pro expansion slots, it features a button for adjusting font size, it displays PDF and Word files and it plays MP3 files.