I haven't seen any newer/greater version than the K-2006. Taylor has it for $80, but you can get it cheaper from other places. In fact, if you'll check out this thread http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=10006, the kit is quite a bit cheaper and PF gets a donation.

I'll let the salt owners answer the salt testing question--as far as I know strips are still the way to go but I've seen other posts that name brand names that are better than others...

Janet