Borders Cuts Price Of E-Readers
Ann Arbor-based Borders Group Inc. Tuesday said that it had cut the price of its Kobo and Aluratek Libre e-book readers to $129.99 and $99.99 respectively. Both represent $20 price cuts.
The cuts reflect a continuing price war in e-book reader devices, which started at around $300. Analysts say getting the prices below $100 is a key to wide adoption.
The Aluratek device is available for purchase on Borders.com and will be available in Borders stores this week; the Kobo eReader is currently available both online and in-store.
"We're committed to making it as easy as possible for all Borders customers to enjoy eReading," said Mike Edwards, CEO of Borders. "As the demand for eReaders grows, we believe it is important to provide accessibility to a variety of devices. By reducing the price of our best-selling digital devices, we're enabling even more Borders customers to purchase eReaders at a great value."
Borders' eReader devices represent key components of the company's overall digital strategy, which includes a device agnostic philosophy and commitment to offer numerous brands of devices by the end of 2010.
"This is a significant inflection point in terms of market penetration of the Kobo and Aluratek e-readers," Edwards continued. "We envision this price reduction, enabling the purchase of these devices as a second e-reader in a household, as a more affordable option -- the list goes on."
In addition, Borders announced it will carry Velocity Micro's Android-based Cruz Reader R101 and Cruz Tablet T103, which are now available for preorder on Borders.com for $199.99 and $299.99, respectively.
With seven-inch displays, the Cruz touch-screen devices provide an enjoyable and engaging reading experience, play video and music, and browse the Web in full color.
The purchase of the Cruz Reader includes a docking station that turns the e-reader into an interactive media hub and picture frame. The docking station is optional for the Tablet. An SD memory slot allows for nearly unlimited storage and hours of entertainment. Both Cruz devices come with the Borders eBookstore reader application powered by Kobo and give consumers access to more than 1.5 million titles, including thousands of free titles. The devices come preloaded with more than 100 books and access to the Cruz Market with downloadable apps.
More at www.kobobooks.com or www.borders.com.
(c) 2010, WWJ Newsradio 950. All rights reserved.
