Amazon Cuts Kindle Price, Offers Worldwide Wireless

E-reader now just $259, but cheaper Sony device is making inroads
By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 7, 2009 6:27 AM CDT
Amazon Cuts Kindle Price, Offers Worldwide Wireless
Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos introduces the Kindle DX at a news conference Wednesday, May 6, 2009 in New York.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Amazon slashed the price of its Kindle e-reader by $40 today and introduced a new edition of the device that will enable wireless downloads in 100 countries. The move brings the price of a Kindle to $259, which is still $60 more expensive than Sony's competitor. Amazon will also finally sell the Kindle to customers outside of the US, although most of the titles in the Kindle's store are in English.

While Amazon commands an estimated 60% of the digital reader market, Sony and other challengers are making inroads with more flexible products that can read multiple formats of e-books, including more than a million free books whose copyright has lapsed. Amazon continues to refuse to give figures on how many Kindles it's sold, although a market analyst estimates that 3 million e-readers will be sold in 2009.
(More Kindle stories.)

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