Kindle price has dropped to $189

[TravelingGal]

I knew it was only a matter of time...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37832939/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

 

[TravelingGal]

btw, I should also mentioned Nook dropped theirs too. 199, I think. 149 without 3G.

ETA

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704895204575320662842012510.html?mod=djemalertTECH

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I just heard about this today. I guess Apple has been spanking B&N and Amazon with the ipad... But I think it''s a good thing. In my opinion, as a consumer, the prices have been inflated since day one and they''re a big reason for my hesitation with adopting either device. Of course the market supported the price, but I think this big drop will really open up the ereader marketplace to the mainstream.

In my job-product development for a publisher, this is great news because it means these readers will be more available for our target demographic and will help speed up the process of getting our products to market.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Tempting! Too bad I don''t have time to read (for fun) anymore.

 

[Sabine]

Yay!

Dh already told me he''s going to be getting me one for the next big present-giving occasion (which I just realized will be our anniversary in July!)!

 

[kittybean]

Hmm . . . if it drops a little more, my mommy might have a Kindle coming her way. She is going through chemo at the moment, so she could really use the diversion.

 

[that_someone_special]

If anyone DOES already have an ipad, I believe there is a kindle app for it. I wonder if nook will ever adopt? Anyway, I'm sure in the next 2 years ipad prices will drop (or, stay the same but with increased memory). It's a good (ok, IMO GREAT) alternative to "book-only" readers.


For anyone that does own a kindle or nook, is it possible for the device to malfunction and to lose books? If so, can they be downloaded/ backed-up at all? I'm just wondering what kind of support there is for these devices.

I only own the iPad, but I am very excited these devices dropped in price- it may only be $50+ dollars to some, but that's another $50 in books IMO

 

[hlmr]

kittybean - what a wonderful gift for your mother! I''ll bet she will appreciate your thought and love the distraction!

My hubby bought me one for Christmas, and I made him take it back because I just can''t imagine not holding/reading books. I am starting to peek out of my cave and reconsider, so I wondered what the pros were besides not turning the pages. Is is not harder on your eyes, as spending too much time looking at a computer screen would be?

 

[HopeDream]

Remember when digital watches and calculators cost hundreds of dollers each too? (Sigh!)

FI might get me my own kindle for a grad present (I got him one for Christmas).

 

[lyra]

I''m a total Kindle convert. I''m glad it''s coming down in price but I don''t regret buying it last month. It''s worth it. If it drops again I will be buying some to give as gifts!

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/21/2010 10:15:53 PM
Author: lyra
I''m a total Kindle convert. I''m glad it''s coming down in price but I don''t regret buying it last month. It''s worth it. If it drops again I will be buying some to give as gifts!

lyra, if you bought it within 30 days, I hear Amazon is giving credit back....

 

[Blackpaw]

YAAYYYYYYYYY!!!! thanks for posting TGal

i was pretty convinced it wasnt going to drop in price before my bday (next month) so im pretty excited

 

[hlmr]

TGal, do you find it harder (than a paperback) on your eyes at night, after being on the computer during the day?

 

[lyra]

Date: 6/21/2010 10:23:00 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 6/21/2010 10:15:53 PM
Author: lyra
I'm a total Kindle convert. I'm glad it's coming down in price but I don't regret buying it last month. It's worth it. If it drops again I will be buying some to give as gifts!

lyra, if you bought it within 30 days, I hear Amazon is giving credit back....

OOOH! Well I'll check into that. I'm in Canada, that usually complicates things, but I'd certainly love even an amazon gift certificate to buy more books.

ETA: Post-Order Price Match Policy


We do not offer post-order price matching when an item's price drops after you buy it. Our prices regularly change, and the price you paid when your order shipped was the lowest price we were able to offer at the time. We consistently offer competitive prices on everything we carry because we know low prices are very important to our customers.
PS: It would appear I'm one week late on the 30 days after purchase anyway. But I still love this thing!!!

 

[somethingshiny]

OOOHHH!! Thanks for the info. I''m hoping to get some sort of ereader sooner than later. I''ve narrowed it down to the Kindle or the Nook. I was leaning towards the Nook because of the previous pricing, but now....

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/21/2010 10:48:00 PM
Author: lyra

Date: 6/21/2010 10:23:00 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 6/21/2010 10:15:53 PM
Author: lyra
I''m a total Kindle convert. I''m glad it''s coming down in price but I don''t regret buying it last month. It''s worth it. If it drops again I will be buying some to give as gifts!

lyra, if you bought it within 30 days, I hear Amazon is giving credit back....

OOOH! Well I''ll check into that. I''m in Canada, that usually complicates things, but I''d certainly love even an amazon gift certificate to buy more books.

ETA: Post-Order Price Match Policy



We do not offer post-order price matching when an item''s price drops after you buy it. Our prices regularly change, and the price you paid when your order shipped was the lowest price we were able to offer at the time. We consistently offer competitive prices on everything we carry because we know low prices are very important to our customers.
PS: It would appear I''m one week late on the 30 days after purchase anyway. But I still love this thing!!!

lyra, call anyway. Apparently people are still getting their credits even with this price match policy. It''s different when it''s actually AMAZON''S product. It''s worth calling asap.


hlmr, trust me, no eye fatigue...just like reading a regular book. And I read for hours and hours at a time.

Kindle owners, if you haven''t noticed, you should have the 2.5.3 software running by now...which means you can finally categorize your books, among some other nifty little new features.

 

[gailrmv]

I knew it was a matter of time too, but I was impatient and bought mine (a nook) a few months back. Still, I am sort of kicking myself!!

Now, what happened to most books being under $10? Prices have definitely gone up on B&N. The last few I bought have been $13, what is up with that? I will say that since getting my nook (and having a kid) I buy a lot fewer drinks at B&N because I'm not there as much, so that somewhat offsets all these books that I buy now!

ETA OK, I am kinda annoyed that the nook wifi is only $149 and I paid $259 for the full featured nook. I could have saved $110 and been totally happy with the wifi one. Darn!!! But you always pay more to be an early adopter, right?

 

[Allison D.]

Date: 6/21/2010 4:59:29 PM
Author:TravelingGal
I knew it was only a matter of time...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37832939/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

GAAAAAAAAAH! I knew you knew, too, and I was steadfastly holding out to the last minute in getting one for Dad for Father''s day in hopes the price would drop in time.

Alas, they didn''t, so I picked one up through Target last Tuesday and of course NOW - price drop.

Of course, I could always exercise the 90-day return window.

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

I am waiting for the colored ones in development and for the format wars to end. Should one come out on top, the others would become obsolete as there would be no books for them. I don''t like the kindle as it only supports their own format, forcing to pay rather han usung PDFs and free library formats like the Nook allows.

 

[that_someone_special]

Date: 6/21/2010 11:21:54 PM
Author: Allison D.

Date: 6/21/2010 4:59:29 PM

Author:TravelingGal

I knew it was only a matter of time...


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37832939/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

GAAAAAAAAAH! I knew you knew, too, and I was steadfastly holding out to the last minute in getting one for Dad for Father''s day in hopes the price would drop in time.


Alas, they didn''t, so I picked one up through Target last Tuesday and of course NOW - price drop.

Of course, I could always exercise the 90-day return window.

Go in to the store and ask for a price adjustment. I think they do them within 14 days?

 

[TravelingGal]

http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/21/technology/nook_price_cut/index.htm?source=cnn_bin&hpt=Sbin

An analyst is forecasting they will be down to $99 by the end of the year, and thinks they will be given away in the future. Who knows? I hope my Kindle doesn''t become a brick at some point, but I think this is just the beginning of the wars.

I got mine as a gift, so I don''t feel as bad, but I''d be so sad if I couldn''t use it for a long, looooooooong time.

 

[Fire and Ice]

Date: 6/21/2010 11:23:42 PM
Author: brazen_irish_hussy
I am waiting for the colored ones in development and for the format wars to end. Should one come out on top, the others would become obsolete as there would be no books for them. I don''t like the kindle as it only supports their own format, forcing to pay rather han usung PDFs and free library formats like the Nook allows.

I''m also waiting until there is some more continuity between different products and for the publishing companies to come to grips with reality with pricing. There are so many applications for these wonderful devices but they are going to have to make it more accessible across the board for there to be real change in the marketplace. For example: education is an area that just screams for a device like the ipad but the books will need to be more affordable and open formatting for the sharing of information.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

The standardization of the file format is an ongoing battle in the publishing world. I just attended a conference in April and that was ALL people were talking about, XML, epub, HTML5, pdf, yadda yadda yadda. There''s definitely a consensus on needing one standard for the format, but what format that will be is still up for grabs. Currently epub is in the lead.

As for the eye strain issue, the technology used for the display on the kindle and most black and white ereaders is called eink. It was designed to react with light and the human eye in a manner very similar to print on paper, i.e., the "ink" absorbs light, setting it apart from the white of the page. With color screens (4 color eink is in development) like that of the nook and ipad, the screens use a technology based essentially on back lighting, which sends light out. This is what strains the eye over time. The 4 color readers also have a significant disadvantage when it comes to battery life, but this is also being worked on.

For educational publishers, right now to have a fully interactive e-learning tool you need complex design and programming. A product like the enTourage eDGe is looked at as an ideal platform for e-textbooks because it has a dual screen set up. One side is b/w e-ink for text and the other is 4C LCD. Additionally, by utilizing programs like HTML 5, the device can have java-like capabilities without the same constraints presented by java. For example, if you were looking at a biology text book and wanted a closer look at a double helix (DNA), you could drag and drop the image from the b/w side over to the color side where it could be viewed from all sides via a rotating motion, basically animation. Using HTML 5 allows this to happen without forcing the downloading and installation of plug-ins and other applications, a big disadvantage of the iPad.

 

[lyra]

Cool nerdy details HH! I really do prefer the very simple Kindle system. No eyestrain even at night. I don''t need as much light to read at night as I thought I would either. I could not/ cannot read regular books at night anymore. I do have reading glasses. I would not like a backlit product as I do get eyestrain from the computer at times. I do like the sound of the coming technology for educational purposes though, I know a lot of students would appreciate having e-texts that were as close to paper books as possible.

I am so happy with my Kindle, and am not regretting not waiting at all. Not one bit. This device has been a significant life improvement for me. I love to read, and it was getting harder to do that. If I were younger, it might not be such a big deal I guess because I could do a lot of reading without any troubles. I''m not thrilled about the book pricing, as from Canada I pay more for some books, pushing it from $9.99 to $11.99 and from $0 books to $2-$4. I try to make sure to choose wisely at least and limit my monthly purchases. I understand that everyone needs a piece of the publishing pie, but I would like to see prices come down a bit. Aren''t we saving trees and resources? There should be more of a financial benefit to that from some part of that pie.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

No problem, it''s not often I get to put my geek hat on....

I believe the eDGe is already on the market.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Also, I''m seriously considering an e-reader at this point (like I said before, I''ve held out due to the price) because of a recent experience I had traveling. I usually bring on average 4 books with me on a trip, 1 to travel there, two while there, and one for the trip home, and on a recent trip to Vegas I finished all while I was there. Apparently the city of LV doens''t believe in bookstores or stores that carry anything other than periodicals on the strip, because I couldn''t find a bookstore ANYWHERE within walking/tram distance of my resort. The closest one was a $20 cab ride away at the airport. I really wished for an e-reader in that situation. I''ve got Adobe Digital Editions on my netbook and I know I can buy ebooks via ebooks.com, but I find their selection is limited.

 

[hlmr]

Thanks for the reassurance regarding the eye strain issue TGal and HH. I am definitely warming up to the kindle.

 

[purselover]

Thanks for sharing, I''ve been holding out in hopes the price would go down soon!

 

[Gypsy]

DH and I both have Nooks. I do wish they were cheaper, but I love having an e-reader with flexibility with file formats, as well as the in-store perks the nook offers. Been really happy with mine, love the lower pricing on the kindle. Nook was having a 50 dollar gift card with purchase for a while. I have 3 e-readers on my laptop as well (Barnes and Noble, Kindle and Microsoft) and conversion software (though Kindle locks their format so you can't convert to PDF which irritates me... I purchased the book, I should be able to change it to a PDF and read it on my Nook!). Reading on the nook is MUCH better for your eyes than a backlit laptop screen.

 

[zoebartlett]

I''ve held out because of the prices, too, but I will definitely look into a Kindle more closely now. Thanks for the added info HH!