Two articles cited within:
Amazon.com Inc. plans to release a cheaper Kindle e-reader next month, said Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, laying out a strategy to go “mass market” with an inexpensive gadget designed to do just one thing: sell digital books from Amazon.
The new Kindle features a screen with increased gray-scale contrast, a battery that lasts for a month, and a slightly smaller size. It will come in two flavors: one with Wi-Fi and 3G Internet connections selling for $189, the other with Wi-Fi only for $139. The latter will be among the cheapest wireless-equipped e-readers on the market, at least for now.
Boldfaced emphasis added by me.
Wow. I think Barnes & Noble just got indigestion.
And Borders, with its very low-end USB-cable-syncing $149 Kobo Reader, just had a heart attack.
Over at Sony, it cannot be a good day (it’s just near 5PM for them in California as I type this).
Think about it! Last year at this time, one of these devices cost between $199 (Sony Pocket Reader) to $300 (Sony Reader Touch), which other entrants boasting of larger displays and prices nearing $500.
People marveled at the Kobo Reader coming in at $149 just a few months ago.
Now Amazon has just made a Kindle at half the price it used to be!