Amazon's Kindle Selling Like Hot Cakes

Updated from 12:25 p.m. EDT

The latest version of the Kindle e-book has been flying off the virtual shelves at Amazon(AMZN), selling out just days after hitting the market last week.

Touted as the savior of the ailing publishing industry, the Kindle DX sold out just three days after becoming available on June 10th, according to media reports. Initially, a note on the Amazon website said that the device would be in stock again on June 17th, in time for Father's Day. Earlier today, however, this was changed to June 22nd, suggesting that the online retailer has been deluged with a flood of orders.

Capable of storing up to 3,500 books, the Kindle DX has a larger screen than the earlier version of the technology, but, at $489, is also more expensive. The standard Kindle, with its 6-inch screen, is in stock at Amazon for $359.

Despite some rumblings of discontent about the Kindle DX's price tag, consumers are clearly warming to the device's 9.7 inch screen and its keyboard, which is used to annotate books. Other new features of the Kindle DX include a built-in PDF reader, and "auto-rotation", enabling readers to view content in either portrait or landscape mode, simply by flipping the device.

Amazon's stock has grown steadily this year, and the Kindle DX could become a key weapon in its battle with online retail giants eBay(EBAY) and Wal-mart(WMT).

Other companies playing in the e-book space include Sony(SNE) and startup

Plastic Logic, which are both pushing their own versions of the technology.