July 8th, 2009
Amazon drops Kindle e-reader price to $299; is it enough?
Amazon today dropped the price of its standard-sized Kindle e-reader to $299. It was formerly $359.
The current model of Kindle, which is actually the second generation, was introduced five months ago. It has been criticized for being overly expensive, despite its status as a fairly new electronic invention, the e-Ink e-book reader.
The price drop could be a response to several stimuli:
- The economy has taken a toll on consumers’ wallets, slowing demand for the device;
- The Kindle DX has siphoned away a small percentage of those who have disposable income but didn’t like the original’s smallish form factor;
- Competition from the Sony e-reader and the cheaper Cool-er e-book reader has cut into the kind of consumer that might scrape together cash for such a device.
Though the first reason is the likely culprit, it remains to be seen whether it’s enough of a price cut to spur sales. (Me? Call me when it’s $199. At least.)
Andrew J. Nusca is an associate editor for ZDNet and SmartPlanet.
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