Amazon headed to $150 Kindles?

[Daithi]

The article "Amazon headed to $150 Kindles?" by Eric Engleman on Techflash reports that Amazon may be headed towards $150 Kindles.

According to the article, Freescale Semiconductor is a supplier of the processor chip for eReaders such as the Kindle, and they are coming out with a new chip that is both faster and significantly cheaper. According to the article, a Bloomberg source is quoted saying that the new chip "will help drive down the price of the devices to less than $150 this year."

However, the end of the article says that Freescale Semiconductor is distancing itself from talk of $150 Kindles or other e-readers:

To clarify: the i.MX508 processor is designed to reduce eReader costs for our customers and their end users. However, Freescale has not/will not speculate as to which customers might incorporate the i.MX508 into future eReader designs; has not/will not speculate as to the end prices of any specific eReader products based on i.MX508; and has not/will not speculate as to when any specific manufacturer might deliver eReaders to market based on our new i.MX508 processor.

In any case, it's interesting news.

[Daithi]

I just found another article by Antone Gonsalves at InformationWeek that gives a bit more detail on the new chip. This article says the new chip's cost will be about $30 cheaper than the existing chip, and also says the chip will cost less than $10 in quantities greater than 250,000 units. So, the claim that the chip will get Kindles under $150 by the end of this year may be a little optimistic.

[asjogren]

I think the limiting issue with my Kindle is more software than price.

If someone's existing book reading habit is primarily buying new books, I then recommend Kindle. Amazon is excellent for this mode. From browsing to buying to reading - they have made the process smooth and simple.

If someone's existing book reading habit is borrowing from the Public Library or friends and neighbors, or, buying used paperbacks then I don't recommend the Kindle at all.

For Public Library eBooks the Kindle is not very useful. It is possible, but most people are unwilling to go to this effort.

Now, if Amazon adds ePub and PDF with Adobe Digital Editions DRM support, then I would recommend Kindle to many more people I talk to.

Add to this the capability to checkout, download, and start reading Public Library eBooks on the Kindle directly and I would recommend to anyone interested AND I would be buying more Kindles for more family members.

[dmaul1114]

There definitely will be a price drop this year I'd think. To $199 if not cheaper.

I more or less agree with asjogren's point. Kindle is great for me as I just buy what I want to read. Hate hassling with libraries limited selections in physical books, and imagine e-books are even more limited. Having only 14 days to read the book wouldn't work for me as I don't often finish a book that quickly as I just read a chapter or two a few nights a week before sleeping.

But yeah, if you do want to make use of library e-books, the Kindle is more hassle than it's worth on that front vs. going with another option that works without pid fixes, file conversions etc.