Price war? B&N gets aggressive: Nooks at US$149-199

[bgalbrecht]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

So it's very possible that we will see inexpensive eBook readers with more expensive eBooks.

Thanks to the 5 Agency Model publishers, we've been seeing more expensive eBooks since 4/1.

[Seabound]

Go B&N! Those are pretty good price points for the Nook! Go, go, go!

[fafaforza]

Good to see them dropping the price, but I would still wait for the new eInk screens to hit the market. They should have much better contrast, and since I'm happy with my PRS-505, I can wait.

Still, not a bad price for getting one now and upgrading in mid 2011.

[DJHARKAVY]

Just got an announcement from Barnes and Noble.

http://tinyurl.com/25rtqm5

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by DarthV

Sony has been selling the prs-600 for $180 here in Canada, so it's not just Amazon putting pressure on. Either way, it's good news

Really? As far as I can see, the PRS-600 Touch edition is $249 in Canada at Sonystyle and the same price at Best Buy ... even the miniscule 5" reader from Sony is well over $200 with taxes ... it seems to me that, at $189, Amazon's Kindle has created an entirely new price point / value point for Canadians.

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

The market has made it clear it values wireless more than it values touch screens.

This is an interesting point. Which with I happen to agree.

An e-reader, unlike a multi-media device like an iPad or Android follow-on, is primarily used in "local" mode, not "surfing" mode. That is, for e-reader content, give me the content, and then I can snuggle up with it for a few hours or days. How different from the ADD world of the iPad user.

Kindle's 3G is all the more visionary in this context: 3G just works, and just works everywhere -- at minimum, delivering new content. WiFi -- not so much. WiFi requires conditional access, and pass codes, and complications. Yes, at hoe, it's easy ... but on the road? Not so much.

An e-reader is about reading: to paraphrase Shakespeare -- the screen's the thing. Who gives a whit about touch? Make the screen readable and portable and full of longevity and light-weight: Android-y nether-world screens hardly matter.

To say nothing of: Ola! There is a world of readers outside of the 48 contiguous United States ... Barnes and Noble has not yet figured that out, it seems.

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

Really? As far as I can see, the PRS-600 Touch edition is $249 in Canada at Sonystyle and the same price at Best Buy ... even the miniscule 5" reader from Sony is well over $200 with taxes ... it seems to me that, at $189, Amazon's Kindle has created an entirely new price point / value point for Canadians.

The 5" has been onsale for under $150 a few times lately in the US. Not sure about Canada or other countries.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

This is an interesting point. Which with I happen to agree.

An e-reader, unlike a multi-media device like an iPad or Android follow-on, is primarily used in "local" mode, not "surfing" mode. That is, for e-reader content, give me the content, and then I can snuggle up with it for a few hours or days. How different from the ADD world of the iPad user.

Kindle's 3G is all the more visionary in this context: 3G just works, and just works everywhere -- at minimum, delivering new content. WiFi -- not so much. WiFi requires conditional access, and pass codes, and complications. Yes, at hoe, it's easy ... but on the road? Not so much.

An e-reader is about reading: to paraphrase Shakespeare -- the screen's the thing. Who gives a whit about touch? Make the screen readable and portable and full of longevity and light-weight: Android-y nether-world screens hardly matter.

To say nothing of: Ola! There is a world of readers outside of the 48 contiguous United States ... Barnes and Noble has not yet figured that out, it seems.

how is wi fi difficult on the road, some are automatic/seamless connections, others all you have to do is click "I Agree" and others that you have to pay all you do is put in the access code and password.

I'm not being snarky but it's not exactly rocket science. And you have to remember Whispernet is not available everywhree and either is 3G, yes it's exanding but there are parts of the country that still don't get it, and almost all hotels and resorts etc will offer wi fi

Wi fi overall is the better connection and the most widely supported. And now the Nook has Free At&T Wi Fi meaning it's a seamless connectin in areas that want to charge you.

IMHO the Nook with wi fi and 3G trumps whispernet and 3G

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

Especially when the low end iPad is $499. And I'm sure some of the Android and other competing tablets that come out will be even less.

I have yet to meet anyone who actually paid $499 for an iPad. They start at $629 for 3G -- without USB, with only 16 GB storage -- which is enough for about 2 HD movies and absolutely nothing else. Plus, the 3G adds a minimum of $180/yr for a scant 250 MB/mth -- enough for abt 7 min of an HD movie. Yup -- seven minutes. For those keeping track, a month has 43,000+ minutes.

The sweet spot seems to be 32GB with 3G -- or over $900 in the first year in charges to Apple and AT&T, just to turn it on.

I really don't believe that a $259 Kindle 2 -- sorry, make that a $189 Kindle 2 -- has any problem "competing".

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

The 5" has been onsale for under $150 a few times lately in the US. Not sure about Canada or other countries.

The 5" Sony is not the PRS-600 Touch Edition and it does not offer anywhere near the same screen size, dictionary, text-to-speech, 3G, social networking or bookstore breadth of the Kindle at $189.

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by boswd

how is wi fi difficult on the road, some are automatic/seamless connections, others all you have to do is click "I Agree" and others that you have to pay all you do is put in the access code and password.

I'm not being snarky but it's not exactly rocket science. And you have to remember Whispernet is not available everywhree and either is 3G, yes it's exanding but there are parts of the country that still don't get it, and almost all hotels and resorts etc will offer wi fi

Wi fi overall is the better connection and the most widely supported. And now the Nook has Free At&T Wi Fi meaning it's a seamless connectin in areas that want to charge you.

IMHO the Nook with wi fi and 3G trumps whispernet and 3G

Really. Amazon's 3G requires no password ever -- it simply works -- how is that more complicated than conditional access wifi? I did not need to enter "x8Fkj47Kkch" to start reading a new book while on the beach.

I happened to be traveling in Mexico between Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara on a bus last winter ... for 5 hours, I might add ... and my Kindle 2 advised me of all the local details via Wikipedia of each town we drove through ... WiFi? Not so much. Plus, even with 3G access, I still had a full two weeks of usage of my Kindle 2 without a single recharge -- and I read on the plane to Mexico, the plane home; and every day at the hotel and on the beach.

And not for a moment did I feel my life was impoverished without access to a touch screen to turn the pages ....

[boswd]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

Really. Amazon's 3G requires no password ever -- it simply works -- how is that more complicated than conditional access wifi? I did not need to enter "x8Fkj47Kkch" to start reading a new book while on the beach.

I happened to be traveling in Mexico between Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara on a bus last winter ... for 5 hours, I might add ... and my Kindle 2 advised me of all the local details via Wikipedia of each town we drove through ... WiFi? Not so much. Plus, even with 3G access, I still had a full two weeks of usage of my Kindle 2 without a single recharge -- and I read on the plane to Mexico, the plane home; and every day at the hotel and on the beach.

And not for a moment did I feel my life was impoverished without access to a touch screen to turn the pages ....

Don't know what to tell ya, the nook has 3G as well and I don't know why wi fi is a difficult chore for you , it really is fairly basic.

but to each his own. All I'm just saying is since both the Kindle and the Nook have 3G they cancel each other out. and to me if I had to choose between wi fi or whispernet, Wi Fi everytime, No question.

but you perfer whispernet and that's cool

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

I have yet to meet anyone who actually paid $499 for an iPad. They start at $629 for 3G -- without USB, with only 16 GB storage -- which is enough for about 2 HD movies and absolutely nothing else. Plus, the 3G adds a minimum of $180/yr for a scant 250 MB/mth -- enough for abt 7 min of an HD movie. Yup -- seven minutes. For those keeping track, a month has 43,000+ minutes.

The sweet spot seems to be 32GB with 3G -- or over $900 in the first year in charges to Apple and AT&T, just to turn it on.

I really don't believe that a $259 Kindle 2 -- sorry, make that a $189 Kindle 2 -- has any problem "competing".

I know 2 people with the $499 model, and my girlfriend has the 32GB wifi only version.

The people with the 16GB models just use it to surf the web, watch streaming video and do some reading so they didn't need space--my g/f would have probably been fine with it as well as I don't see here every putting video on it vs. streaming it.

3G isn't needed at all unless you travel a lot. My g/f and I are around wifi hotspots all the time pretty much. Point being, don't be an ass and generalize your needs to everyone. Not everyone drives to Mexico etc.--most of us spent nearly all our time at home and work and always have WiFi access and don't care about internet access when out and about.

I want a tablet for reading big PDFs, being able to flip through documents quickly which you can't do on slow ass e-ink etc.

That said, I'll probably keep my Kindle 1 for novel reading. Not sure I'd replace it after buying a tablet it broke though.

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

The 5" Sony is not the PRS-600 Touch Edition and it does not offer anywhere near the same screen size, dictionary, text-to-speech, 3G, social networking or bookstore breadth of the Kindle at $189.

Sure, but if someone just wants to simply read novels, the 5" sony is a great cheap option.

I like my Kindle, but I'd be fine with the simple Sony reader as well since I don't do anything but read novels on it and pretty much never use the dictionary etc. I'm miss the wireless though as it would be bit of a pain to have to hook up to the PC to load books on the 5" Sony.

But in any case, I was just commenting on the price per your post where you said you hadn't seen the 5" Sony for under $200, so not so sure why you're being so damn defensive and antagonistic.

Kindle fanboy/e-ink diehard I take it? In any case, chill out and quit being so defensive over nerdy e-reader devices! I love my Kindle 1, and agree the K2 is a steal at $189 and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a dedicated reader for sure.

But moot for me as I don't know many who read (even with pretty much all my friends being fellow academics!) and they all want iPads or something similar and have no interest in e-readers.

[Lastblade]

3G is pretty much pointless for me, which is why it is so nice to be able to save 40-50 dollars on the wifi nook. I have never ever need to buy a book in the middle of nowhere.

[afa]

Just placed an order for the $149 nook Wi-Fi. 3G doesn't matter for me, either, since none of the nook's goodies are available over here, anyway.

I had been all set to get the Aluratek Libre for $120 from Borders, but I think $149 for the nook makes it the best overall value of any e-reader. I've always liked it, but didn't want to spend $259 for it (or any other reader). But this price was just irresistable.

Can't wait till get it...