Barnes & Noble ignited an e-Reader price war today with the announcement of a $149 Wi-Fi only version of its Nook e-Reader and a price cut from $259 to $199 for its 3G connected reader. Hours later Amazon.com cut the price of its 3G connected Kindle from $259 to $189.
With these price cuts the lower end, the $149 Kobo eReader which is distributed by Borders in the US and Indigo/Chapters in Canada and lacks any mobile connectivity other than piggybacking on a phone’s Bluetooth connection may be priced out the market unless its lighter weight, and open ePub format give it an advantage.
And looming in the background are tablets, iPad and otherwise.