Amazon Kindle Drops to $190, Starts Price War with Nook
Earlier Monday, Barnes & Noble dropped the price for their Nook e-book reader in order to better compete against the Amazon Kindle. So what did Amazon do in response? It dropped the price on the Kindle by $70.
The Nook received a steep price drop from $260, the same original price as the Kindle, to $199. In order to offer even more competition against the Kindle, Barnes & Noble also launched a Wi-Fi-only (no 3G connection) for $149. Both Nook versions offered similar functionality to the Kindle, but at a significantly cheaper price.
It was a bold move and a shot across the bow of Amazon's e-reader flagship . But Amazon has matched Barnes & Noble with its own bold move: dropping the Kindle price to $189 in an announcement made hours later. That makes the Kindle $10 less than the comparable 3G Nook.
While the e-book price war has been predicted for quite some time, few expected it to be this dramatic. And best of all, the rivalry between these two companies benefits the consumer.
The price drops are a necessary move for both Barnes & Noble and Amazon as their e-readers face mounting competition from smartphone apps and tablets such as the iPad , many of which offer ebook functionality of their own. Dedicated e-readers are capable of sustaining much cheaper prices than these other devices, so price drops are an important key to help manufacturers keep their devices relevant.
