Last spring, Borders made a small splash at the shallow end of the e-reader pool when it introduced some cheap, barebones options–the $150 Kobo and the $120 Libre. They were two of the first big moves in the drastic price lowering of the e-reader market, and at the time were priced more than $100 lower than leading e-readers like the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook.

Unfortunately for Borders, Amazon and B&N followed just weeks later with price drops of their own, and when you can get a smaller, redesigned Kindle or a Nook for $139 and $149 respectively, the Kobo and Libre aren’t looking so attractive.

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A few weeks back, Borders opened up pre-ordering for the Kobo e-reader, a simple, $150 tablet that will be attached to its upcoming e-bookstore. We didn’t realize at the time, but the bookseller has no plans of stopping there. In fact, Borders will launch a series of up to 10 e-reading devices across the price spectrum in its retail locations. All the devices will make use of Borders e-bookstore and will be showcased in retail stores in an area called “Area-e.”

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With other major bookselling players Amazon and Barnes & Noble already staking their claim in the e-reader market, Borders has followed suit and branded its own e-reader. Leaving the high-tech and fancy interface to devices like the iPad, Borders has chosen to compete on another front: price. Since e-readers really just replace inexpensive paperback books, a lower price could appeal to many people.

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