Amazon slashes Kindle price to $299
by Stevie Smith - Jul 9 2009, 15:15
Would (wood?) you believe it? Image: oskay/Flickr.
I’ve always been a fan of Amazon’s Kindle electronic book reader – despite being unable to appreciate it due to European placement and the device’s reliance on Whispernet.
However, I’ve always consoled myself regarding said lack of geographic and network-based accessibility on the grounds that $369 USD is a wildly expensive asking price for any ebook device, no matter how desirable.
Perhaps picking up on a similar, recession-fuelled vibe across its North American customer base, online retail behemoth Amazon has this week taken a hatchet to the somewhat oppressive Kindle price tag, chopping it down to a much more acceptable $299 USD. I’m now starting to pine.
By dragging the Kindle’s price back by a full $60 USD, Amazon has not only added more instant appeal to its portable E Ink device, it has also thrown the pressure of exorbitant pricing onto market rival Sony, which sells its own PRS-700 electronic reader for $359 USD.
Speaking with the Wall Street Journal regarding the Kindle price cut, Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener explained that the Internet retailer has been able to significantly increase the volume of Kindle units rolling of production lines while also decreasing the device’s associated manufacturing costs.
While the new Kindle price cut is certainly welcome – and perhaps long overdue – the drop does not include Amazon’s recently unveiled third-generation Kindle DX, which sports an enlarged 9.7-inch display screen, PDF support, storage for approximately 3,500 electronic books and a hefty price of $489 USD.
Now, all Amazon has to do is hammer out regional deals bringing the Kindle to Europe at a similarly accessible price, and all will be right with the world – at least for this expectant owner-in-waiting.
The Tech Herald: Kindle hits a German wall as European talks stall
The Tech Herald: Meet the new enlarged Kindle DX
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