The Amazon Kindle reader seemed to be the perfect product for Amazon. It totally dominated the e-book reader market, accounting for 60% of all e-book reader sales, and it was hard to see where the competition was coming from. There were many predictions of a “Kindle killer”, but despite the release of new readers by the likes of Sony, Barnes and Noble, Plastic Logic and Bookeen, the Kindle looked set to hold on to its number one position.
The release of Apple’s iPad did look like it would put a bit of a damper on things for Amazon. Even although it is an entirely different type of gadget, the very fact that it could be used to read e-books was enough to convince many that it sounded the death knell for the Kindle. As pointed out by many industry watchers, whilst not without flaws of its own, the iPad was so eagerly snapped up by Apple adherents that it could hardly fail to have some impact on Kindle sales figures.
As well as releasing new, sexy hardware, Apple also struck a deal with many of the major publishers which let them charge whatever they wanted for e-books – as long as they weren’t offered for less on any other device – the Kindle in other words. This looked set to put a bit of a spanner in the works of Amazon’s policy of providing e-books for $ 9.99 or less. It certainly seems as if the price of e-books has been creeping upwards since the launch of the iPad. It does seem a little strange that increased competition should drive prices upwards – but there you have it.
It’s a different story with the actual e-book reader hardware however. Barnes and Noble have dropped the price of their Nook reader from $ 259 to $ 199. Amazon have now dropped the price of the Kindle 2.0 from $259 to $189 – a very low number considering that it retailed at $ 359 when it was launched in February of 2009. The price of the larger format Kindle DX has also been reduced from $ 489 to $ 379, an event which coincides with the device’s first upgrade which includes a higher contrast screen and a new body color.
The freshly updated Kindle DX is now more than $ 100 cheaper than the entry level iPad – and it requires no monthly payment to connect to the internet, unlike the iPad. Many people will be happy to pay more for the iPad of course, as it is a more powerful and versatile device.
It will be interesting to see whether this downward price movement of e-book readers is simply a temporary reaction to the iPad or whether it heralds the dawn of a new pricing policy. It could be that companies like Amazon and Barnes and Noble might take advantage of the trend for higher priced e-books by offering lower priced hardware secure in the knowledge that they will make their profit throughout the life of the device. Or it may simply be a stalling tactic until the next generation color Kindle hits the streets later this year.
Find out all about the Amazon Kindle reader for yourself and take a look at the wide range of Kindle accessories on offer to help you to customise your reader.