Amazon lowers Kindle price, introduces international version

This morning Amazon made a couple of big announcements around its Kindle eBook Reader. First of all, they are lowering the price of their best-selling Kindle from $299 to $259, and they are also introducing a new model at $279 that provides U.S. and international downloading with service from AT&T. Regular readers will recall that last week IREX introduced a new eBook Reader with U.S. and international downloading, but they partnered with Verizon and Qualcomm for these services.

The announcement proves that the eBook Reader market is still revving hot and should continue to do so over the next year as we see greater competition across the space. Amazon has had a head start in this market, but the question remains whether people are willing to pay even $259 for a 6-inch black and white display. In an Editor's Corner last month, I wrote that Forrester Research found that in order for the eBook Reader market to reach a mass market, the price would need to drop below $100. While $259 is better than $299, it's still not near Forrester's pricing sweet spot.

Still, the price drop should appeal to buyers who were thinking about buying one for the upcoming holiday shopping season. If you were going to buy one anyway, or were on the fence, this certainly might push you over. Meanwhile, Amazon pleased international travelers, who after all, must be a marketing sweet spot for an eBook Reader device, by announcing that users of the new international Kindle can now download eBooks wirelessly from over 100 countries using AT&T's wireless network. What I find surprising, however, is that the service requires a specific device and it cannot be implemented on existing Kindles.

Amazon also faces the issue of using its own proprietary eBook format instead of an open one--which, I've said, will eventually hurt it. For now, the incremental steps which were announced today should keep their marketshare strong moving forward, but how long they'll be able to stay ahead of the pack, remains to be seen.

For more information:
- see the Amazon press release

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