Amazon.com slashed the price of its popular Kindle e-reader from $259 to $189 Monday, in a move geared to compete with Barnes & Noble, which lowered the prices on its Nook electronic readers Monday as well.
The e-reader market has grown increasingly crowded in the past year, especially with the release in March of Apple's iPad, which starts at $499. The 10.2-ounce Kindle still dominates the field for those who mainly want to use the devices to download and to read books.
Barnes & Noble said Monday its Nook Wi-Fi model is available now for $149 online at nook.com and bestbuy.com. The company also dropped the price for its original Nook, which has both 3G and Wi-Fi, from $259 to $199.
Bookstore chain Borders just launched its Kobo reader that works with Borders' online bookstore for $149.99.