Kindle and Nook e-readers get massive price cuts

I just came back from a B&N store where I tried out the Nook. I liked the fact that it was wi-fi only at a great price point and had an e-ink screen, but thats where it ended. For a start the glossy edge around the screen was quite annoying under store lighting and only worse out in sunlight. The Kindle's matte finish is much better. I also didn't like the sloping edges (a la Apple design). It didn't feel like a book - disconcerting (this is the same reason I, and many others, prefer the Nokia N810 to the ipod touch). The Nook's touch screen display was very confusing and difficult to use, slow, and the keyboard kept disappearing on me. The Kindle's pushbutton keyboard was easier to use, although clunky, and web surfing was easier on it. Neither the Nook nor Kindle has a 4-way headset jack so Skype cannot be easily used (unless a USB headset is used) even assuming a suitable app appears - and Jeff Bezos gets off his clueless high-horse and allows it when he finally gets around to making a Kindle with wi-fi only. Since I spend a lot of time in Europe/Greece and have access to wi-fi this is what I need. I will not pay extra for downloads and web-surfing on the 3G net. So, for the moment, NO SALE on either. What I, like many, am looking for is a single device for e-reading, surfing, and making phone calls. I am sick of getting blinded by the back-lit screens on netbooks and mobile devices. The manufacturers don't seem to understand how dangerous the LED backlighting is. Anybody who takes the time to look up a chart of the spectrum of the LED light and compare it to that of sunlight, incandescent, or flourescent (which isn't great either) light will see what I mean. The backlight is a blue/white LED which illuminates a phosphor which broadbands it, but still has an enormous narrowband (ie laser-like) spike of blue-white energy of high spectral density which can no doubt cause visual impairment. This is why I would like to see a netbook or e-reader device using the visually safe e-ink.

Interestingly enough, they've done nothing about the price of the Kindle DX - which I see as a far more direct competitor for the iPad than the Kindle 2. That's now priced at $489, just $10 under the iPad

Don't forget that Amazon has solicited programmers to become Kindle app developers. I put in for it myself! So a Kindle may not just be what is it today, although I suspect a newer, faster model might be needed to run those apps.

Bought mine just over the 30 days Amazon allows for price adjustments. If anyone bought theirs within the past 30 days, get their customer service to adjust your price: 1-800-201-7575
At least that will vindicate my not getting an adjustment.

My guess is that in the next year or two, the market will settle into three tiers:

1. 6" grayscale E-ink readers similar to today's low-end Sony and Kindle models, selling for $49-$99

2. 6" iPad Mini models--same screen resolution, same processor, just smaller screens--selling for $299

3. 10" iPads and Android-based imitators, selling for $499-$699

The 6" iPad Mini is pure speculation on my part... but think of the history of the iPod as it branched into Mini, Nano and Shuffle models. Well, we already have the iPad, and the iPod Touch is effectively an iPad Nano. All that's missing is something to fill in the middle of the product line. And a 6" iPad would be a killer ebook reader, negating the drawbacks of the current iPad's size and weight when used as an ereader.

Personally, I split my reading about equally between a Sony PRS-505 E-ink reader and an iPod Touch. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, so I'm glad I have both.

I have both as does my wife. The iPad works in a pinch when my Kindle is not around, but as a reader, I feel the Kindle rules. My wife who is a more avid reader than myself agrees. Let me say that I am a huge fan of the iPad, but as an all in one printer compromises some quality for breadth of services, so does the iPad. By the pool, outside, or with polarized lenses, as an ereader it just does not cut it. Your mileage may vary.

BTW, this is written on my iPad.

Meh, drop...(it's called indifference).

Some competition is good for some consumers, in this case those that are in the market for a Nook or a Kindle. Me, I have no interest in either, and a price drop to zero wouldn't generate a spark more interest. It doesn't really have anything to do with the merits of the device as an eReader. I agree with davjaxn and other posters: too little functionality for too large a device to schlepp around. Like the others, I like the iPad's versatility beyond just a device to read books on, and frankly, I'm impressed with Apple's implementation of its reader, with the bookmarking and annotating etc. This is what the 21st century is supposed to look like. And with the new iPhone's Facetime feature, I'm one step closer to that Dick Tracy two-way video wrist radio!

I read mostly on vacation. The problem with the iPad as an ebook reader is you can't sit by the pool or on the beach and use it. It's barely readable in sunlight and I've even had an error come up on the screen to tell me that it was shutting down because it was too hot. My Kindle on the other hand, works great in sunlight or hot weather. Each device serves its own purpose and people are being mislead if they think the iPad is a good choice as an ebook reader.

Mmm, drop! (it's called competition).

You're the only person I've heard say they prefer reading on the iPad compared to the Kindle. And for the exact opposite reason most people prefer the Kindle to the iPad.