New Kindles - does this mean a Kobo price drop?

[FJames]

The new Kindle Touch is out - and it's only $99 for the WiFi model.

There's even an $80 version without the touch screen.

Does this mean that Kobo and Nook will have to drop their prices to match?

[G0AT]

Its doubtful, that this will force a drastic price drop. The advertised prices of $79 and $99 for the non-touch and touch Kindles, respectively, include "special offers", so the devices are essentially ad-supported. The non Special Offer devices are about $30 more.

[FJames]

Originally Posted by G0AT

IThe non Special Offer devices are about $30 more.

I just saw that. That would make the pricing a little closer.

[illiterate]

But they support text-to-speech so can play audio book on-the-go which is a plus over KT. BTW are these new kindles US only?

[Psyke]

Originally Posted by G0AT

Its doubtful, that this will force a drastic price drop. The advertised prices of $79 and $99 for the non-touch and touch Kindles, respectively, include "special offers", so the devices are essentially ad-supported. The non Special Offer devices are about $30 more.

I actually didn't see any mention of non-special offer offerings for the new device, which was interesting to see, but truthfully, as long as it's not being displayed with the book, or on the cover when the device is shut down, I really don't see what the big deal is for people when it can knock the price down to sub $100 figures. UPDATE - Sorry, when you go to the individual product purchase page, there is an option to purchase with or without special offers; special offers add $40 to the price of each of the touches, and $30 to the regular kindle. this wasn't mentioned in the product overview/compare pages.

The interesting thing will be to see peoples' reaction to the Kindle touche's lack of physical button, considering this always seemed to be a huge plus for people arguing for the kindle. While the lowest price point kindle is a button only device, it lacks text to speach/audio capabilities the others have.

Personally I think they all seem to be some great devices with some great features. Kobo really does need to get their butts into gear because I really can see the new Kindle offerings hurting them in the long run.

[Suzanna]

I'm a huge Kobo fangirl, but I have to admit, if I don't get the ability to annotate sideloaded books soon I can see myself being sorely tempted to buy a Kindle.

[Latch]

Kobo really does need to get their butts into gear because I really can see the new Kindle offerings hurting them in the long run.

Well, not really. This is the natural leapfrogging that occurs in a healthy, competitive market. The new Kobos that come out next year will top these new Kindles, just as the new Kindles 1.5 years from now will top next year's Kobos, etc etc ad infinitum.

As much as we don't like seeing negative market pressure on the horse we all picked, it's definitely good for consumers to have such an active, dynamic ereader ecosystem. We will get better and better offerings for a fair price, with improvements coming quickly as innovators strive for the upper-hand.

[p_a_smith]

I am amazed that they still do not have an sd card slot. I know it makes sense because they want you to buy everyting from Amazon and not sideload anything but in this digital age of huge pdf books/documents that seems short-sighted.

[Psyke]

Originally Posted by Latch

Well, not really. This is the natural leapfrogging that occurs in a healthy, competitive market. The new Kobos that come out next year will top these new Kindles, just as the new Kindles 1.5 years from now will top next year's Kobos, etc etc ad infinitum.

As much as we don't like seeing negative market pressure on the horse we all picked, it's definitely good for consumers to have such an active, dynamic ereader ecosystem. We will get better and better offerings for a fair price, with improvements coming quickly as innovators strive for the upper-hand.

I don't totally agree with ya . When the kobo touch was released, the only notable thing they added. compared to kindle, was the touch screen; the rest of the hardware was brought up to kindle 3 specs, rather than surpass, and the software features, while improved, were still lacking when compared to the kindle.

with the new release of the kindle, they've brought out the touch screen, but all they had to do is refine the rest of the hardware because their competitors didn't really do anything to force them to do any better. Because of this refinement, I'm sure their costs have gone down to make the device, yet they are still selling at the same price point (not including the ads versions). and then when you look at their software, they've refined that too and still have more overall features that people have been asking of Kobo since they started to be sold, and have added other features that had been kobo/epub exclusives (library borrowing for example).

don't get me wrong, I love my kobo, but sometimes they are just a little slow implementing features. I understand they are a small company, but they need to show real innovation else they are not going to catch on as big as kindle or nook. But who knows, that may be what they want *Shrug*

[anonymoose]

I admit I'm interested to see how the Kindle Touch performs in comparison to the Kobo Touch. The Kobo is still smaller and lighter, but that's probably because of the Kindle's speakers. I picked the Kobo Touch originally because of the faster page turning time (I hate those on-screen flashes) and the weight, as well as the availability of some books to my country on Kobo's website compared to Amazon.

Anyone think there will be a Kobo app on the Kindle Fire?

[the.Mtn.Man]

The biggest knock against Kindle in my opinion is their proprietary file format. They'd be a lot more tempting if they supported epub.

[Psyke]

Originally Posted by anonymoose

I admit I'm interested to see how the Kindle Touch performs in comparison to the Kobo Touch. The Kobo is still smaller and lighter, but that's probably because of the Kindle's speakers. I picked the Kobo Touch originally because of the faster page turning time (I hate those on-screen flashes) and the weight, as well as the availability of some books to my country on Kobo's website compared to Amazon.

Anyone think there will be a Kobo app on the Kindle Fire?

once kobo has an HTML app, it would be doable, but I still can't use a tablet for an ereader other than at night in bed. I do a lot of my reading outside (well, in the summer anyway) and a tablet is just no use to be out there.

as for the Kindle touche's weight, yeah, speakers has to be it as their buttoned kindle is actually smaller and lighter than the Kobo touch.

[Psyke]

Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man

The biggest knock against Kindle in my opinion is their proprietary file format. They'd be a lot more tempting if they supported epub.

the main things that stopped me from getting the kindle were the cross border charges (if I remember right, it was going to cost me nearly $60 more to get one in Canada) and the fact we couldn't get library books with it. The device itself was a very attractive option and the new ones expand on that. Epub support would be nice, but they will convert non-drm'd epubs for you.

[FJames]

The new Kindles are U.S.-only for the moment, except apparently for the lowest-priced non-touch-screen model (but that one will be $120 in other countries without ad support).

Amazon's cloud services and content offerings are country specific, and the new ones for the Fire color tablet are U.S.-only. Neither the Fire nor the services supporting it are available outside the U.S.

[carld]

Originally Posted by Psyke

The interesting thing will be to see peoples' reaction to the Kindle touche's lack of physical button, considering this always seemed to be a huge plus for people arguing for the kindle. While the lowest price point kindle is a button only device, it lacks text to speach/audio capabilities the others have.

I was really hoping for a touch screen version that kept the side page-turn buttons, didn't get it.