With Kindles back in stock, Amazon drops price of ebook reader

By Nate Mook | Published May 27, 2008, 1:01 PM

Amazon KindleAmazon has struggled to keep up with orders for its Kindle electronic book reader since the device debuted just before Thanksgiving, but with inventory back on hand, the retailer has lowered the price by 10 percent.

Wait times for customers to receive their Kindle sometimes reached months, leading Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to publish an open letter on the company's homepage in which he apologized for the delays. "We didn't expect the demand that actually materialized," Bezos wrote in March.

Inventory finally caught up with demand late last month and Bezos promised that shipments would start up again soon. Now, Amazon is reporting no further delays and has cut the price of the Kindle from $399 to $349 USD. The company is also offering free two-day shipping for all Kindle orders, which it has done since launch.

Because Amazon doesn't charge customers until their product ships, those who were waiting for their Kindle to arrive should be eligible to pay the lower price tag. The company also provides price matching for those who ordered within the past 30 days.

Even at $349, the Kindle is more expensive than Sony's $299 Reader device, however it does include free 3G wireless connectivity for purchasing books and surfing the Web. Amazon's ebooks also do not work with the Sony Reader unless they are first converted to PDF.

The Kindle features a 6-inch screen able to display 800x600 resolution, 256 MB internal memory, SD slot capable of holding up to a 4 GB memory stick, mini USB, keyboard cursor, full QWERTY keyboard, 3.5 mm headphone jack, and EV-DO connectivity for downloading books from Amazon's store.

Furthermore, the device measures 4.9" x 7.5" x 0.7" and weighs 10.2 ounces. Up to 200 titles can be stored using the 256 MB of internal memory, with countless other titles available using an SD memory card.

Comments

View comments by with a score of at least

CamelCamelCamel (http://camelcamelcamel.com/product/B000FI73MA) knew about this price drop immediately: I got an email from this site like 2 seconds after it happened.

Score: -1

|

Even though I would truly love to have a portable eBook reader, there is not a chance I am going to spend all that money on a proprietary system that doesn't even offer the same advantages a standard paperback does... namely, the ability to loan, give and/or sell my old books to others.
No offense, but, no sale.
Sorry.

Score: 0

|

+1

I just can't see the sense in having an overpriced one trick pony.

I'll stick to reading on my PDA, from a variety of formats & sources.

Score: 0

|

It may replace newspapers and some magazines but even at $349 we'll never find out. This has to be under $200 to be anything more than a niche toy for the affluent.

Score: 0

|

I have had my Kindle for several months and love it!!

Score: 0

|

12.5% off, to be more precise. Sheesh, I'm being technical.

Score: 0

|

Actually it's more like 12.53% (and change), since the original price was not $ 400 but $ 399, which, as everybody knows, is A LOT less than $ 400

Score: 0

|

EC's Kroes to US senators: Mind your own business on Oracle + Sun

If the AP is accurate, the EU's antitrust chief just told the United States Senate that any merger that takes place in the world is more her affair than theirs.

What does AT&T's 'Mark the Spot' app say about service quality?

That's a question for Betanews readers to answer in comments to this post.

Windows fix for TLS security bug still forthcoming, won't be Tuesday

Anyone looking for a fix for last month's discovery of a potentially serious security hole in TLS and SSL may have to wait until everyone is ready to act together.

Google rolls out real-time search, Near Me Now, extended personalization

Over time, searches from PCs and mobile phones will grow even "more personalized." But what about user privacy and search results that give you "the truth"?

Betanews Podcast: Rupert Murdoch and the buying stuff online problem

We'll have a more difficult time paying for online news if the underlying protocol for online payment has a big gaping hole in it.

Not the first, not the last, technology predictions for 2010

Carmi Levy | Wide Angle Zoom: The real truth is probably that what went around in 2009, will come around to haunt us next year.

Google Goggles: Hands on with the Shazam of the Real World

Google today unveiled Goggles, its visual search lab for Android devices that identifies objects by sight.

Microsoft: Windows 7 Family Pack wasn't 'pulled,' it just sold out

If you hurry, you may still be able to find the last Family Pack upgrade editions hanging around retail store shelves, but probably not so much online.

Clever iPhone game returns after being bumped over a name dispute

The game's simple concept and multitude of platforms and puzzles manage to pull off a retro, 8-bit style that's reminiscent of an old Atari game given a modern makeover.

Intel's marriage of CPU and GPU not ready for prime time

Although there will be an Intel component this month that can compute and plot in parallel, Betanews was told today, it won't be based on Project "Larrabee."

An alternative to Research in Motion's enterprise e-mail? There's an app for that

Good Technology today released an iPhone app compatible with its enterprise e-mail solution.