Everyone slap on your helmets, grab your rifles, and dive into your foxholes, it’s a price war! Amazon has cut the price of its Kindle e-reader down to $189, a $70 slash from the $259 it was previously charging. This came only a few hours after Barnes & Noble announced the new price for its e-reader, the Nook: $199. Ouch.
The battle between the retail giants has raged for a while now, and it will open up on yet another front when Borders releases its e-reader, the Kobo, in July. One likely impetus for the dual price drops was an attempt to preemptively take the wind out of Borders’ sails by shortening the distance between the three e-readers’ costs before the Kobo hits stores. All this scrambling and fluctuating is really just evidence that these companies are still trying to get their footing in a market for a technology whose future is somewhat unclear. The launch of the iPad earlier this year only made things murkier; it has been difficult to assess just how much Apple’s tablet will affect e-reader sales. But regardless of which company ends up on top, the one clear winner here is the consumer. The new prices are significantly better than $259, and much, much cheaper than the iPad’s $499 sticker.
What do you think, Shelf-Lifers? Is this price cut enough to make you want to switch over to e-reading? Or will you hold out for even lower prices?
Holy crap, I will really have to seriously think about this now. I felt sure a price drop would be coming soon, if Kindle drops forty more dollars – geez, my mother will actually call me and say, you said you would give this a try for $ 150.
The article fails to mention that the Nook (Barnes & Noble’s eReader) comes in a Wi-Fi + 3G version ($199) and a Wi-Fi only version ($149). So currently Nook is the least expensive. I have one and absolutely love it.
For me, nothing can ever replace the feel (and smell!) of a nice paper book in my hand.
I do see where you’re coming from–part of me feels the same. But then I got my Kindle. I love it. Actually, I read more now
I’m with you Abby. I just don’t think I would like an e-reader. And I would miss the ability to pass on great books to my mom (no way she would read it on an e-reader).
I agree but don’t knock it til you try it. I can’t imagine liking it but I’ve seen too many people who said the same thing gush later.
I still by physical copies of books I know I’ll want in book form. And any book that’s map-, chart-, or illustration-heavy is best experienced as a real book, but the true e-readers out there (with e-ink displays) are pretty great. I say I read 60% real books and 40% on my Nook. One of the good things about the Kindle and Nook is the real page-like display. It doesn’t glow like the iPad, which I wouldn’t like using as an e-reader for just that reason.
I said the same thing before I got my Nook. I love the way books feel in my hands, the way they smell, and that noise that the binding makes the first time you open it. BUT…I love, love, love my Nook. I will still buy my Stephen King books in hardback but I buy everything else on the Nook. No going out to find the book in the store, no shipping, no more stacks of books all over my house, plus, the books are cheaper and I read even more now. It’s a little strange getting used to holding it but after you do it’s great.
when they start giving me a digital download of a book when i buy the paper copy, i’ll get a nook. not until then. dvd/blu-rays do that, why not books as well.
MW, I’ve thought the same thing! Though with the way prices are discounted for new releases, buying a physical copy and an e-book comes out to less than the list price of a new hardcover anyway.
I have had a Nook for several months now and I love it! I feel like I read so much more than I did before. I have also read things I never would have looked at twice because of the free offerings.
Also the free drinks and other things from the Cafe aren’t bad either
Free drinks?
Sometimes there is free coffee in the More in Store part of the shop. I have also gotten free cookies too
That sounds pretty amazing
Yeah, and a re-usable 10% coupon for any CD in the music section.
I love my Nook and wouldn’t trade it for the world!
There is nothing that make me buy one. It can not replace a book for me.
Get with it EW! The Kindle photo is of the first version, the current (K2) version has been out for a year and a half.
I have had a Kindle since it was first out and I love it!!! I’m so glad the price had lowered because now maybe more people will try it. I know it will never replace books, I still buy books, but Kindle has allowed me to go on vacation and not carry many paperbacks, download a book in the airport of an author I loved and read it on the flight home at a fraction of the hardcover price, and find new authors I never would have found otherwise. I would recommend that you if you love to read you give the Kindle a try, especially now that the price has been lowered.
i am really tempted to try an ereader – i love to read but i worry that i would miss having an actual book. however with this price drop, it is even more compelling to me!! i probably won’t do anything until christmas so i don’t have to buy it myself, but the nook is so intriguing!!
Nothing’s going to make you stop buying books. This is just a nice way to read the ones you don’t need a physical copy of. And it’s great to travel with. I love books, but I love my Nook too.
Yeah I agree with Brian an ereader would be perfect for travel
Why I think I would get it now, I live on Martha’s Vineyard and we have two good book stores, but sometimes to me they seem to carry just book club type books if you know what I mean? Whereas, I know right now that I have been looking for the third Zoe Martinque story and can’t find it, but I know it is on Kindle. I also know that there are a couple books I read (I am not forcing myself to do any sort of heavy or intellectual reading) are actually cheaper on Kindle than in the bookstores!
Does anyone know if the Kindle now gets Facebook and email? I thought I read an article that it was going to add Facebook.
They could cost $10.00 and I would never buy one.
You know how a lot of movies are now coming with the digital version that you can download (sometimes for the same price as just the DVD or Blu-ray)? I really wish they would do that for books. An e-reader would be great for vacation and things like that, but otherwise I’d want my books.
Brilliant!
I too was one of those people who thought that I wouldn’t like an ereader compared to an actual book, but I have been converted!
I am in Canada, where the Kobo was released in May, and I LOVE mine. Many people have reported problems with battery life and font resizing, but I haven’t had any of that. Plus, there will be a firmware update to fix problems in the next few weeks, and I have also read that those released by Borders in July will be Kobos manufactured with the new firmware already installed.
Anyway, if you are thinking about an ereader, I strongly suggest the Kobo. It’s super easy to use, feels nice in your hands and is at a great price.
I love my Kindle and purchased it because I really didn’t want to spend $500 for an iPad since I’m not really into all the other stuff and don’t like watching tv shows or movies on mobile devices (including portable DVRs). Since I travel a lot for work, it is easy to carry and I can start another book as soon as I’m finished. Wish I knew about the upcoming price drop though
$150 is my number
Get the wi-fi only Barnes & Noble Nook (it doesn’t come with 3G) for $149. The one with wi-fi *and* 3G is $199. So there you go.