Oh, snap! Merely hours after Barnes & Noble
came out swinging with a $149 WiFi-only version of its Nook and a price-reduced $199 3G
Nook, along comes Amazon to rip a massive hole in B&N's billowing sails. As of this very moment, the $259
Kindle 2 -- complete with global 3G and the 6-ink E Ink display you've come to know and love (or hate) -- is now the
$189 Kindle 2. Oh, and there's also free 2-day shipping. Looks like the undercutter just got undercut, huh?
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
posted June 21st 2010 3:39PM
Isn't competition grand?
O no he didn't *snaps fingers*
"massive hole"? I wouldn't call $10 massive.
When they were the same price I STILL chose the nook and with a $149 option...I would have chosen it yet again. The removable battery, upgradeable memory sold it for me. I would still pay $10 more for the convenience.
The keyboard that I would rarely use would just bee too obtrusive while reading for me. That and the fact that at the time there was no way for me to get my hands on the Kindle for testing.
I'd still recommend the nook over the Kindle for the aforementioned reasons.
@HektikLyfe
Well it's a good thing you haven't got your hands on the Kindle then because if you had, you'd probably find the lighter weight, snappier response and thinner design to have some appeal. I was on the fence with going back to the nook but now that the Kindle dropped to $189, I'll be sticking with it...
@Stewie Vader I'm with you on the snappier response if that really is the case but he lighter weight and thinner design weren't important to me. I had the Sony Pocket reader in hand and felt it was too light and too thin to grip for an extended amount of time. I liked the curve and heft of the nook. It "felt" comfortable and not flimsy. I understand though that this is specific to everyone's personal taste.
That aside, the battery and expandable memory carried MUCH more weight than either of those two other ergonomic nuances.
@Stewie Vader The response is the same now. B&N fixed the lag problem.
I know the touchscreen on the Nook isn't popular around here (mostly by people who've never used it), but I find it pretty handy and couldn't imagine having to deal with a keyboard, if just for coverflow alone.
Also, we get updates regularly with the Nook. BN isn't perfect, but they've definitely stepped up their game and have shown us that they are invested in the device for the long haul.
That said, this Kindle price drop is great for the consumers, and I'll bet a lot of avid readers who've been drooling over eReaders but put off by the pricing will find these new devices under their Christmas trees this year.
The only real loser in this scenario is the Kobo Reader.
OH SHIT.
An e-ink Kindle version for around $50-100 would be even better. IMO right now e-ink is the new paper print in term of what costs/prices should be.
I wouldn't mind an iPad if the price was a bit lower and had the same pixel density as the iPhone 4, oh and could output to video for the price they're charging now.
I do want the free Wikipedia access and access to the Amazon bookstore. But I want to be able to read ePub files.
Any bets on if Amazon will become more open or B&N will pay for Wikipedia access?
@mgrochowalski The ePub format is the biggest reason I got a Nook over the Kindle.
@mgrochowalski
Just use Calibre (free program) to convert ePubs to Kindle-friendly Mobi format. It works fine. I have a whole selection of ePub books transformed into Mobi books. They look great.
I certainly wouldn't trade off on quality just because of formats. You can *always* find a way to get media in the format you need/want.
It's not undercutting when I'd rather have the cell connection-less version for cheaper. If I were to go on a trip and I was planning on doing a whole lot of reading, I'd probably be loading the device up beforehand, near a wifi connection.
What about the poor Kobo from Borders Books?
Suddenly they've lost their huge price point advantage against the Nook and Kindle. Its $149 for the Kobo. For the same price or not much more you get really appealing features from the from either the Nook or Kindle.
The Kobo offers me everything I need... here's hoping for a price drop from them.
@virstin
Yeah. This kind of neuters their launch.
However, having managed a Borders-owned store, and having had my store closed down without reason during the Christmas holiday, I have no sympathy for Borders. They've been making crappy decisions ever since they got their current CEO, who doesn't think of Borders as a bookseller, but as a general-purpose retail store that happens to have some books.
He's killed Borders. The Kobo is an act of desperation, and Amazon has just cut off its balls.
@ZeroCorpse Amazon sells real books....how does an ebook reader benefit them, when they dont sell ebooks?
The wifi only nook is still cheaper and I think that 3g is almost pointless on these devices. Even if you travel a lot you can almost always find a wifi hotspot to connect to if you wanted to download a book.
As far as refunds: I bought got a Nook on Sunday and they issued me a refund (had to return the $50 GC also).
I still prefer the nook to some extent.
You reward the company that does the things you want. The Nook is vaguely open source based (Android), has a memory expansion slot, and a replaceable battery.