Amazon Kindle Will Hit $99: Poll
NEW YORK (
) -- How low will prices for
Amazon's
(AMZN) - Get Report
Kindle go? According to readers of
TheStreet
, the price for the device might just drop below $100.
At the end of July, Amazon once again cut the price on its entry-level Kindle, offering a basic Wi-Fi-only model for just $139, making it the cheapest e-reader among major brands.
Less than a week after Amazon began taking pre-orders for the devices, which will begin shipping Aug. 27, they sold out.
But 48.7% of voters said the price will surely drop further, and will bottom out at $99. Another 31.8% think it could go even lower.
Aside from this basic model, Amazon also reduced the price on its Kindle 2 to $189, and offers the Kindle DX for $379 after originally being priced for $489.
It's no surprise that investors are betting Amazon will continue to cut prices, as it faces growing competition from a slew of fresh handheld devices, as well as
Apple's
(AAPL) - Get Report
iPad and a pending tablet from
(GOOG) - Get Report
.
Other lesser-known brands are also rolling out e-readers for under $100, which will no doubt put pressure on the Kindle.
Copia
, a subsidiary of
DMC Worldwide
, plans to introduce a five-inch color e-reader for just $99 this fall. "The iPad disrupted pricing strategy for everyone in the e-reader market, and after the price wars with Barnes & Noble and Amazon, everyone's trying to differentiate themselves from a price-point perspective," Tony Antolino, senior vice president of DMC Worldwide, said in a statement. "We decided to do a revision of our hardware positioning."
This price war first ignited when Barnes & Noble reduced its Nook to $199 from $259. Only hours later, Amazon made a similar move, lowering its Kindle 2 to $189, a $70 discount.
When the original Kindle launched in 2007, it was priced at $399, and by last year dropped 35% to $259.
Without question, the price cuts should spur sales of the Kindle; margins, of course, are another story. Last month, for example, Amazon announced that Kindle sales had tripled since it slashed the price to $189. The company also said it's seen e-books outpace that of hardcovers.
-- Reported by Jeanine Poggi in New York.
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