In a nod to both the price resistance of consumers in this economy and growing competition in e-book readers, Amazon today dropped the price of the Kindle 2, its flagship e-book reader, by $50. It also launched a version of the device that will work outside the U.S.
At its new price of $259, the regular Kindle 2 is now priced below the Sony Touch, $299, which shares its 6-inch screen size. It costs more than the Sony Pocket, $199, the least expensive reader on the market, but the Pocket has a smaller (5-inch) screen and, like the Touch, lacks the Kindle 2's wireless access to content.
The cut is the second for the Kindle 2 within the last three months: In July, Amazon dropped the price by $60 from the original $359. For now, the price for Amazon's supersized Kindle DX remains at $489. One wonders how long Amazon will maintain that stratospheric price, though, especially with two wireless connected competitors, albeit with smaller screens than the DX, set to launch in the coming months at $399: the Sony Daily Edition and iRex DR800SG.
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