Amazon has sold more e-books than paperback books for short periods in the past, but today it reports that e-books outsold paperbacks during an extended period this holiday season. Amazon didn’t expect the milestone to happen until spring, but thanks to increased e-book shopping over the holidays, it got there early.
Right on cue, Barnes & Noble launched a 7-inch color Nook, an e-reader that it’s positioning as a light tablet. The new Nook doesn’t offer any new screen technology in terms of color e-reading, so you’re stuck with the less-than-optimal LCD screen. But you will get access to advanced features like social media applications, music streaming and email. The Nook Color is based on Android and will be available as a Wi-Fi only model beginning November 19. Price is $249.
After the iPad dropped, Amazon went against speculation and focused on its core, making the Kindle smaller, lighter and less expensive. Barnes & Noble is set to take a step in the opposite direction if a CNET source is to be believed. According to the insider, Barnes & Noble plans to launch a new color touchscreen version of its Nook e-reader next Tuesday. If you’ll recall, the current version of the Nook has an e-ink screen for reading and a color touch LCD for browsing reading materials. The new model will be Android-based, so it may even support apps, though it won’t be positioned as a tablet.
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.
E-reader prices have recently been going down faster than Paris Hilton after a couple of adult beverages, and for a limited time, you can enjoy the biggest price break yet. Woot has the Amazon Kindle for a bargain-basement price of $150. If you’ll recall, Amazon recently dropped the official price of the Kindle down to $189, so without trying too hard you’ll save about 40 bucks. $35 once you get past Woot’s standard $5 shipping costs.
Woot’s price puts the Kindle at the same price as Barnes & Noble’s cheap, Wi-Fi-only model. In other words, you’ll get the Kindle’s 3G coverage for the same price.
Well, that was fast, wasn’t it? Earlier today, B&N dropped the price of the standard Nook down to $199, and the very same day, Amazon has done them one better: the Kindle is now $189, down from $259. So it looks like the e-reader market is officially a little more wallet-friendly. No news of a Wi-Fi-only Amazon Kindle to compete with the $149 model that B&N introduced today, but Amazon has done a nice job of offering a 3G-equipped model that much cheaper than the Nook.
I feel bad for anyone that dropped $259 on a new Nook or Kindle within the past month or so. E-reader price wars have really heated up and promise to spark some new interest in the devices. [via CrunchGear]
Isn’t competition great? Not two months ago, we saw the first of several cheap, simple e-readers that Borders will start stocking, and now Barnes & Noble is dropping prices and introducing cheaper models of its own. The standard Nook that has been on the market since last fall will drop in price from $259 to $199. If that’s not cheap enough for ya, B&N also introduced a new Wi-Fi-only model that will come in at $149. The original Nook includes both Wi-Fi and 3G.
I’ve long thought that what the e-reader market really needs is a solid selection of cheap, easy-to-use devices that do no more than display book text, and display it well. The likes of the iPad and color touchscreen tablets and dedicated readers can keep the technologically-obsessed market covered, while cheaper devices can appeal to those that actually enjoy simply reading books. People like your mom, grandma and Uncle Walter don’t need all the bells and whistles. They’re used to paying five or ten bucks for a simple paperback book, why would they want to spend $250 or $500 for that privilege?
The Kindle came to Target a few weeks ago, but it didn’t come to all Targets. It’s been slowly infiltrating retail locations around the country, and Target announced today that the Kindle will be go nationwide beginning this week on June 6. Target is selling the Kindle for the same lovable $259 price that it costs on Amazon and will give customers a chance to get hands on before they buy.
