Amazon quickly followed on the heels of the new touchscreen Nook by unveiling a new Kindle 3G with Special Offers. It follows the same pattern as the Wi-Fi edition and drops the price down by $25, to $164, in return for ads on the home screen and the screensaver. The e-reader is already in stock and still has all the same features, including free world 3G.
A newly price cut version may be vital for Amazon. The company has threats both from tablet-level hardware, such as the Nook Color and the iPad, but also a new wave of lower end competitors hoping to undercut Amazon with similar quality but a lower price. Barnes & Noble’s new touchscreen, e-paper Nook is being joined by the Kobo eReader Touch Edition.
