Amazon has cut the price of the Kindle by $70 to $189 in response to Barnes & Noble’s Nook price cut and, probably, Apple’s iBooks threat.
A WiFi only Nook is still cheaper at $150, but for the extra $40, it’s worth having an always on 3G wireless connection.
The 3G Nook is $199, which is more expensive than the Kindle.
At $189, there’s almost no reason to buy a Nook, which means…we can probably expect ANOTHER price cut from Barnes & Noble.
There’s nothing like a price war for consumers.
For Kindle and with free ePub version. Only $9.49 Great reading.
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I think the nook is still a better value for $10 more…. I’ve gotten ten dollars worth of free coffee from in store coupons that show up on the nook
Forced? Really?
If you haven’t noticed it isn’t unusual for items to drop in price after they have been around for a while. This is especially true in the tech sector.
Either way it is sad situation with e-readers. Both Kindle and Nook are second grade in design and performance, yet because of proprietary book formatting and market stronghold majority of book reading public uses these substandard devices.
I use original iRex Iliad. Although older than original Kindle it still has (vs. newest Kindle) better resolution, dpi, range of intensity, more available book formats, larger screen size… nevermind other advantages as touch screen, better connectivity,… Again – this is OLD iRex model. Their newer units put all in this field to shame – but no reading proprietary formats… Sad mediocrity. Proprietary document formats should be banned.
Too late. Apple iPad is better.
Never mind my last post. The iPad is too expensive to use as a book reader.
If they make these damn things $100 they will make a fortune.
Purchased a Nook yesterday (6/20) for Father’s Day $250. And received a gift card in the amount of $50. So the price drop is a wash as I would eventually spend more for e-books anyway.
I noticed the gift card offer has been running in e-mail messages since at least Mother’s Day. In effect, they have been discounting the price by $50 since then.
I like my nook…
This spoof by the Onion would be better if I hadn’t seen it 20 times already on SNL. But its ok.
http://theonion.com/articles/nation-agrees-latest-heineken-commercial-is-cooles,17616/
I have an ipad, and am now looking at getting a Kindle. The reason?
Eye strain. Ever since I started reading on the ipad, I have started to have problems with my left eye twitching. I am a heavy reader, and go through a book a week. Never had this problem with a paper book, and am hoping a change to the kindle’s eink screen will be better on my eyes.
I wonder if e-book reader will get to the $50 price point where they belong before they are rendered obsolete.
I’d like to have a reader, but will not pay over $50.
http://entourageedge.com/devices/entourage-edge.html
more expensive, but MORE options..
I will wait for a price drop on THIS one.
#4 hypepad is better???HA! Try reading it in daylight! 😛
#4 good luck with your eyesight after reading for a few hours on the iFad. That thing is a dreadful eReader if you value your eyesight.
Sure, its nice to have color, but for all intents and purposes for traditional reading that thing sucks.
I borrowed one from a friend overnight a week ago and while its superior for replicating a glossy color magazine experience, its not very good at all for regular reading. Its too heavy and the screen has a resolution that just crap for black/white stuff, and having the damn thing shining its backlight at you all the damn time gets uncomfortable after not very long at all. Oh, and forget about doing ANY reading in a regularly lit room let alone outside!
The annoying page turn effects are also annoying, but that seems par for the course for apple. They make everything to look good in a demo rather than to actually be good for long term use. Yes, the kindle also has the odd flickery page turn thing, but thats an artifact of the tech, not something that was deliberately built in to amuse children the first few times and then turn into a huge distraction.
Also, buttons for forward and back situated at the side of the kindle where they can so easily be reached instead of on-screen virtual crap which need a second hand to swipe are so much better.
I’ll not be giving up my kindle 2 for a Fad any time soon.
My price point is $99 for a full sized Kindle. I will patiently wait until it arrives. In the mean time I can still read these thingies made out of paper.
I gave the Nook away after I got the iPad. Pedro will probably shit bricks. Nook is slow, never responsive – even with the latest software upgrade. If it were any shittier you’d think in was Windows powered.
“At $189, there’s almost no reason to buy a Nook,”
Double the library that kindle has is good enough for me.
And having owned a Nook for two months now, I wouldn’t sell it for anything. Unlike some, I love reading, and the damn thing is saving me time, money, and space.
In a folding case the size of the paperback version of High Fidelity I have more books than I can read in week (and one a day or more can happen if I’m really bored).
The iPad has no appeal because it’s bigger, doesn’t do 3G service either free or can be bundled into my iPhone service, and it’s just way too fucking expensive for even the minimal model.
Entourage, Ebook and Android in 1 unit. ECA posted this on the Cage Match. One fine unit, it certainly outperforms the iPad for features. It’s also less expensive. Or, I guess you can still use that ’60s software called iTunes.
I got the Kindle II when it first came out, about 15 months ago. I forget what I paid. Something like 350, I think. I have read thousands of pages on it, plodding through the Fall of the Roman Empire, all of Charles Darwins works, (almost all), Dickens, Most of Jules Verne’s novels, and more.
After all this reading, I have come to realize I much prefer a standard book, in so many ways. The pictures in the Kindle suck. Really suck. The pages are grey on grey. For some strange reason, the text varies from page to page at time, some pages less contrasty than others, in the same book.
I like to refer back to past pages as I read. I am now reading a history of the Bounty mutiny. With all the characters to keep track of, I am constantly flipping pages. On an ebook, no matter what brand, it is a real drag to do this. Very slow. Yes, the Kindle has a search function, but it is still a hassle to flip back, say ten pages or so. Much easier with a good old book made from an endangered tropical forest tree.
I will keep the ebook reader, but real books are Sooooo much more satisfying.
Plus, when I am done with it, I can give it to somebody or sell it.
I would say a Kindle is worth about $75. No more. Especially since real books are easily obtainable for less than what they cost on ebook readers, especially since the publishers chose to rip customers off by charging $15 and up for ebooks now.
Just buy a used one, starting around $4, and pay the $4 shipping on Amazon. When I shop for a Kindle book, there is ALWAYS a “like new” one for sale from a used book shop, at less cost. I can always get a like new book for less than ten bucks.
fAXON,
Want a site with FREE BOOKS?
I have a few sites…LOTS of older books.
The problem with using the ipad as an e-reader is that it does too much. You end up checking email, web browsing, playing games, IMing, and you don’t get around to reading.
For me, iPads are just great for lite reader or for those you just want some extra features. But for the best pure eReader. Can Kindle allows you to surf the web?
#19 ECA, Thank you. Please post them here, if you could.
Mary, Kindle does allow you to surf the web, it’s under experimental, and needs work.
Any chance the Kindle will be useful in anything less than perfect lighting?
Is the Nook or Iliad good at this?
Whoever named the Nook should have repeated the phrase “Nook e-reader” several times in rapid succession before deciding whether it was a good trademark.
MikeN: M-Edge makes great covers and lights for all of the readers. I use the black leather Executive case and the light they make fits perfectly in the case.
So it’s not much different than actually reading a book.
Sprint is not a local provider and the Kindle doesn’t do wi-fi end of discussion.