Seattle – Amazon launched what
it called the industry’s lowest priced 3G e-reader at $164.
This comes right after Barnes
& Noble revamped its
and dropped the price of its 3G Nook to $169 from $199.
Amazon’s new 3G model, called
the Kindle 3G with Special Offers, was announced Tuesday evening and is already
available through the company’s online store at a price lower than the online
retailer’s previous opening-price 3G-equipped Kindle, Kindle 3G, at $189. The
new model offers the same features as the previous opening-price model, but
adds sponsored screen savers and on-screen money-savings offers.
Six weeks ago, Amazon launched
its first subsidized Kindle with sponsored screen savers and special offers.
That model is the $114 Wi-Fi-only Kindle with Special Offers.
Both of Amazon’s 3G-equipped Kindles feature
free global 3G access, 6-inch Pearl electronic ink display, 8.7-ounce weight,
up to two months of battery life with wireless off, access to more than 950,000
books in the Kindle store, and integration with Kindle apps for PCs, iPhones,
iPod Touches, iPads, and Adnroid devices.
Special offers available on the Kindle 3G with
Special Offers in the coming weeks include $10 off a $20 Amazon.com Gift Card,
savings of up $500 on Amazon-sold HDTVs, $1 to buy any of thousands of books,
and a free $10 Amazon gift card when spending $10 on Kindle books.
The Barnes & Noble 3G Nook will be discontinued after stocks
sell out as the company focuses on Wi-Fi-equipped models.
