Amazon Panics and Slashes Price of the Kindle

No. I still prefer my novels on paper, but my netbook or android phone will do in a pinch.

Actually, the WiFi-only Nook is $149, making it the cheapest.

I'd still rather have a tablet or netbook for the extra functionality. I doubt dedicated e-readers will stick around much longer past the rise of tablets into the mainstream.

as soon as the readers are no more expensive than say twice the price of a hardback I, might be interested. As it is now forgetting a $200 item, plus all the books you've downloaded on accident in a public place seems a high price to pay.

Yeesh - I'll think about it when they're under $100 and the books are significantly cheaper than their print counterparts.

Hell. Yes. I knew there was a reason I was holding off buying a Kindle.

one trick ponies never last the long haul

now if they reduced the price TO $70, id get one. $189 is still too much.

It is still horribly overpriced.

I'm no mathematician, but $249 - $189 = $60.

Why does the article say a $70 drop?

Tablet revolution? Didn't Microsoft try to spark that some 6-7 years ago? Tablets have one issue, and that's a backlit screen. I know my eyes suffer from working in front of a computer all day. If I want to sit back and relax, I need a neutral surface to stare at (i.e. a book, or the e-ink readers like Kindle and Nook). That e-ink almost looks like a real book page. Stare at a back-lit screen, and you know the image is "synthetic".

Still, I don't see a big market for these e-readers. Its a dedicated device (the web browser on the Nook is gimmicky at best). They're too expensive (still), and too feature-limited to appeal to a broad range of people. Still, my wife loves downloading books on the fly to her Nook, and being able to take her entire library with her, and no, she doesn't have an iPad/iPod/iPhone/Tablet/etc.

even for free I won't get this

I'll be buying one for my wife. She really likes the idea. Unlike many people who bash these devices, she understands that owning one of these and owning books aren't mutually exclusive. She is planning on keeping all of her hardcovers and collections, and then get everything else on e-reader. We will save a lot of space in our home just by getting rid of a large portion of her 4000 paperbacks. That's a big win for us.

If you are one of those people who believes a tablet can compete with e-ink technology, please take the time to check one of these devices out in person. When the intended function is reading books, there is simply no comparison. E-ink is better.

WTF! I just bought this thing on Friday, it Has not even arrived at my door. I just got ripped off!

agreed wotan31. the kindle is a specific solution and its implemented well. I have no interest in endless ipads, idoors or whatever is next.

Update. Called Amazon and they will refund the difference. That's good service.

No, not yet. As some have said, it is still at a higher price point than I am willing to pay. The device type interests me as I am an avid reader, but my sense of value says it needs to be much (MUCH) lower.

In Canada we have the new Kobo eReader from Chapters/Indigo at $149 CDN. Below $100 is a must for me.

we have an Astak EzReader and love it i skipped on the kindle because of the price and the Astak reader can do a lot more file formats than the kindle

wow e-readers are getting almost as convenient as real books!

Sure I'll buy one for my wife who reads like a fiend, as soon as I can, at a minimum, sell my barely used books to someone else. Much less walk into a half-priced books and buy a barely used digital copy of my favorite Clancy novel.

Drop the price to 30 bux USD and they will have my business...

I'm living in Singapore where the price of books is twice the cost of books in the US. By having a Kindle, I've been able to buy books at a discount to normal physical book rates in the United States and I'm not required to pay shipping. I've already paid for my Kindle twice over for the amount of money I've saved in the last year.

I was totally going to look into a kindle since I have over 100 books that I read a lot, and they are falling apart over the years. When I started to do some research, I found the kindle app for my BB Storm, and forgot about spending $250 to read books. While the screen is smaller, it works perfectly fine for me. Going to port it to the Droid X when I get that at the end of the month, the 4.4" screen will make reading that much easier!

haha too late i guess ~
Apple fanboy already using their "IPet"

I use my iPod touch, just as functional as an e-reader and capable of so much more.

in the last few months i have read around 10 or 12 books through to completion on my touch, so im unconvinced of the need of expensive devices with special displays.

why do you 'need' the cover?