Amazon drops Canadian e-reader prices

ottdmk · 04-25-2013, 11:39 AM

Got an e-mail from Amazon.ca today advertising new lower prices (not sale prices) for the basic Kindle (now at $79) and Kindle Paperwhite Wi-fi (now at $129). The price for a 3G Paperwhite remains unchanged at $199.

It seems plain to me that these price drops are meant to compete with Kobo in Canada. The Paperwhite now costs the same as a Kobo Glo. (Kindle with Offers has never been available here, so the Paperwhite was previously $10 more expensive.

It's the lower end basic Kindle that I find interesting. It's now $20 cheaper then a Kobo Touch. The two devices are very similar. They have identical internal storage and displays. Is a $20 premium for a touch screen and SD Card slot worth it? (I leave aside stuff like Amazon ecosystem lock-in.)

The basic Kindle meanwhile is still $20 more expensive then the low-end Kobo Mini, which seems to now be permanently at $59 at Chapters-Indigo. The Kindle is 6", and has a better contrast E-Ink Pearl screen. The Mini, meanwhile, has a touch screen and actually has a better DPI due to its 800x600 screen being squeezed into the 5" form factor. Both readers have the same amount of non-expandable storage.

It's interesting to me. Kobo & Kindle are the only two competitors in the Canadian market, so seeing how the competition evolves is neat.

Ankh · 04-25-2013, 02:33 PM

Some time ago, I remember reading on MR that support for Kindle was added to the Overdrive. That Kindle support never reached Ottawa Public Library, and I suspect the same might be true for the rest of the country. I would argue that Kobo has a decent compensation for the Amazon ecosystem at this moment, and in Canada.

usuallee · 04-25-2013, 02:52 PM

I can only hope that this will lead to a price drop on the Paperwhite in the US. Then, I might have an easier time convincing my wife to let me get one.

"You already have an ereader, Lee..."
"I know, but..."

BeccaPrice · 04-25-2013, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by usuallee

"You already have an ereader, Lee..."
"I know, but..."

I feel that way about the Kobo Aura. "but you've already got a paperwhite..."

"yes, but..."

Alas, on some things, the Lord of the Exchequer has no sense of humor.

Joseph R · 04-25-2013, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ottdmk

Got an e-mail from Amazon.ca today advertising new lower prices (not sale prices) for the basic Kindle (now at $79) and Kindle Paperwhite Wi-fi (now at $129). The price for a 3G Paperwhite remains unchanged at $199.

It seems plain to me that these price drops are meant to compete with Kobo in Canada. The Paperwhite now costs the same as a Kobo Glo. (Kindle with Offers has never been available here, so the Paperwhite was previously $10 more expensive.

It's the lower end basic Kindle that I find interesting. It's now $20 cheaper then a Kobo Touch. The two devices are very similar. They have identical internal storage and displays. Is a $20 premium for a touch screen and SD Card slot worth it? (I leave aside stuff like Amazon ecosystem lock-in.)

The basic Kindle meanwhile is still $20 more expensive then the low-end Kobo Mini, which seems to now be permanently at $59 at Chapters-Indigo. The Kindle is 6", and has a better contrast E-Ink Pearl screen. The Mini, meanwhile, has a touch screen and actually has a better DPI due to its 800x600 screen being squeezed into the 5" form factor. Both readers have the same amount of non-expandable storage.

It's interesting to me. Kobo & Kindle are the only two competitors in the Canadian market, so seeing how the competition evolves is neat.

We do have The Sony, Aluratek, hipstreet..

teija · 04-25-2013, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joseph R

We do have The Sony, Aluratek, hipstreet..

True, but the previous poster mentioned "COMPETITORS"

I view Sony as more of an underground following, but definitely one of the under-spoken ones.

mr_nihilism · 04-25-2013, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by usuallee

"You already have an ereader, Lee..."
"I know, but..."

I'm able to bypass my wife giving me that lecture by selling off my older readers. I've already sold a Mini and Glo before picking up a nice shiny Aura today.

tubemonkey · 04-25-2013, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr_nihilism

I'm able to bypass my wife giving me that lecture by selling off my older readers.

I'd rather sell off a wife than to give up a trusted ereader

BeccaPrice · 04-25-2013, 08:57 PM

sell off my old ereaders?

but... but... but... my Sony 350 is so *small*. and my Kindle 3 has page turn buttons! What if my Paperwhite breaks? what would I do until a new one comes?

BWinmill · 04-25-2013, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

sell off my old ereaders?

but... but... but... my Sony 350 is so *small*. and my Kindle 3 has page turn buttons! What if my Paperwhite breaks? what would I do until a new one comes?

Suffer through massive withdraw symptoms while racing to your computer to order a new reader ... then hoping that you can survive until the new one arrives?

Sigh. I have a Touch, Aura, and a tablet now. I really ought to consider selling the touch and possibly the tablet. (The Aura is just good enough for PDFs, so the justification of having a tablet is gone. Sigh.)

GoSharks · 04-27-2013, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I'd rather sell off a wife than to give up a trusted ereader

........Hmmmm.........uh, what firmware is she?

taming · 04-27-2013, 12:29 AM

Amazon has a long history of not releasing new devices in Canada for a very long time and not selling devices to people in Canada during the holiday season. I wonder of they are planning on changing that part of their strategy.

04-25-2013, 11:39 AM	#1
ottdmk Wizard Posts: 1,217 Karma: 3804496 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Libra 2, Lenovo Tab M10 FHD Plus, Lenovo Tab M9	Amazon drops Canadian e-reader prices Got an e-mail from Amazon.ca today advertising new lower prices (not sale prices) for the basic Kindle (now at $79) and Kindle Paperwhite Wi-fi (now at $129). The price for a 3G Paperwhite remains unchanged at $199. It seems plain to me that these price drops are meant to compete with Kobo in Canada. The Paperwhite now costs the same as a Kobo Glo. (Kindle with Offers has never been available here, so the Paperwhite was previously $10 more expensive. It's the lower end basic Kindle that I find interesting. It's now $20 cheaper then a Kobo Touch. The two devices are very similar. They have identical internal storage and displays. Is a $20 premium for a touch screen and SD Card slot worth it? (I leave aside stuff like Amazon ecosystem lock-in.) The basic Kindle meanwhile is still $20 more expensive then the low-end Kobo Mini, which seems to now be permanently at $59 at Chapters-Indigo. The Kindle is 6", and has a better contrast E-Ink Pearl screen. The Mini, meanwhile, has a touch screen and actually has a better DPI due to its 800x600 screen being squeezed into the 5" form factor. Both readers have the same amount of non-expandable storage. It's interesting to me. Kobo & Kindle are the only two competitors in the Canadian market, so seeing how the competition evolves is neat.

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04-25-2013, 02:33 PM	#2
Ankh Guru Posts: 714 Karma: 2003751 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Ottawa, ON Device: Kobo Glo HD	Some time ago, I remember reading on MR that support for Kindle was added to the Overdrive. That Kindle support never reached Ottawa Public Library, and I suspect the same might be true for the rest of the country. I would argue that Kobo has a decent compensation for the Amazon ecosystem at this moment, and in Canada.

04-25-2013, 02:52 PM	#3
usuallee Media Junkie Posts: 278 Karma: 2039392 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Pennsylvania, USA Device: Kobo Libra H20, Kindle PW	I can only hope that this will lead to a price drop on the Paperwhite in the US. Then, I might have an easier time convincing my wife to let me get one. "You already have an ereader, Lee..." "I know, but..."

04-25-2013, 08:57 PM	#9
BeccaPrice Wizard Posts: 2,146 Karma: 11174187 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Sony 350, K3-3G, K4SO, KPW	sell off my old ereaders? but... but... but... my Sony 350 is so small. and my Kindle 3 has page turn buttons! What if my Paperwhite breaks? what would I do until a new one comes?

04-27-2013, 12:29 AM	#12
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	Amazon has a long history of not releasing new devices in Canada for a very long time and not selling devices to people in Canada during the holiday season. I wonder of they are planning on changing that part of their strategy.

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