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

(Newser) – 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.

Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos introduces the Kindle DX at a news conference Wednesday, May 6, 2009 in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

The Kindle 2 electronic reader is shown at an Amazon.com news conference in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, file)

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 14 comments

George_Taylor

Oct 8, 2009 5:22 AM CDT

I'd like to have a library, bookshelves full of hardbacks and paperbacks. but to have it all in hard drives and flash drives taking up a tenth of the space... it's not so grand is it? also when i'm done reading the news online i'd like to read something that doesn't hurt my eyes.

kokuaguy

Oct 7, 2009 12:50 PM CDT

Oooh, I love curling up with those tech support rnanuals and yellow pages directories.

phil

Oct 7, 2009 12:20 PM CDT

Meh, who cares? Isn't this just a niche product for upper middle class people? Worst tech ever.

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Sony • electronic books • Kindle • Amazon • e-readers • Sony Reader

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Guess How Many Kindles We're Buying a Week?

1M!

(NEWSER) - Looks like there are going to be plenty of Kindles under the Christmas tree. Amazon says it has sold more than 1 million Kindle devices each week for the past three weeks. It's the first time the company has given specific sales numbers for the e-reader, notes the Christian Science Monitor . The $199 Kindle Fire has been leading the pack for the last 11 weeks, revealed a company VP, and has sold "millions of units." More»

E-Books Now Pricier Than Real Books

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(NEWSER) - If you're hoping Santa drops a Kindle or Nook under your tree, be forewarned: e-book bestsellers don't cost $9.99 anymore. These days, electronic tomes can cost as much or more than their print counterparts, the Wall Street Journal reports, thanks to a move from the six top publishers to set their own e-book prices. A digital copy of Ken Follett's Fall of Giants, for example, will cost you $18.99, while a paperback copy from Amazon is just $16.50. More»

E-gads! Airport Scanners Harming Kindles, Say Users

Static might be the culprit, but Kindle denies any problem

(NEWSER) - Bad news for voracious readers. Some traveling e-bookworms are complaining that airport security scanners have harmed their Kindles, reports the Telegraph . Users of the affected Kindles say that the scanners seem to affect the electronic ink display on the e-readers, devices which are particular favorites of fliers. At least one owner suspects radiation is the culprit. But a Cambridge University electronics expert believes the radiation isn't strong enough to cause such a problem. He suspects that screens could be harmed by a build-up of static inside the scanners. More»

Amazon Loses Money Every Time a Kindle Fire Is Sold

...and it's totally OK with that

(NEWSER) - The Kindle Fire is officially available as of today, which means Amazon is officially losing money on it. At NPR , Zoe Chace crunches the surprising numbers: The tablet has a $199 price tag—touted as less than half of that of an iPad. But research firm IHS iSuppli tallied all the individual pieces and came up with a $209.63 price tag. That's for materials and manufacturing ... not marketing or content licensing deals, meaning the true grand total is actually higher. And CNN reports that analysts think Amazon could sell 5 million Kindle Fires before 2011 wraps up. More»

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(NEWSER) - Starting today, Kindle users who are Amazon Prime subscribers—and no one else—will have access to Amazon’s new ebook lending library. The library won’t be available to those using Kindle apps on other devices, and it’s opening with a fairly small selection of books: just over 5,000, the Wall Street Journal reports. That’s because none of the top six US publishers are participating in the plan. More»

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Amazon Cuts Kindle Price, Offers Worldwide Wireless

E-reader now just $259, but cheaper Sony device is making inroads

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Sony • electronic books • Kindle • Amazon • e-readers • Sony Reader

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Guess How Many Kindles We're Buying a Week?

1M!

E-Books Now Pricier Than Real Books

Publishers set own prices, and set them high

E-gads! Airport Scanners Harming Kindles, Say Users

Static might be the culprit, but Kindle denies any problem

Amazon Loses Money Every Time a Kindle Fire Is Sold

...and it's totally OK with that

Amazon Opens Lending Library for Kindle

But it's only for those who belong to its Prime program

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Amazon Cuts Kindle Price, Offers Worldwide Wireless

E-reader now just $259, but cheaper Sony device is making inroads

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Sony • electronic books • Kindle • Amazon • e-readers • Sony Reader

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

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More Newser Stories

Guess How Many Kindles We're Buying a Week?

1M!

E-Books Now Pricier Than Real Books

Publishers set own prices, and set them high

E-gads! Airport Scanners Harming Kindles, Say Users

Static might be the culprit, but Kindle denies any problem

Amazon Loses Money Every Time a Kindle Fire Is Sold

...and it's totally OK with that

Amazon Opens Lending Library for Kindle

But it's only for those who belong to its Prime program

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Site

Newser By Users

Community

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