Friday, July 5, 2013

Amazon cuts Kindle Fire HD ramp to B & N NOOK HD pressure - SlashGear

apparently Amazon has dropped the price of its Kindle Fire HD ereader-tablet in what Appears to be a response to Barnes & Noble’s NOOK HD cuts, dropping the 7-inch Android-based slate by the much the 15-percent in the U.S. and UK. The price adjustment sees the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD come down to £ 139 in the UK (saving £ 20) for the 16GB model, and to $ 169 (saving $ 30) in the U.S., Compared to the latest 7-inch NOOK HD at £ 129 / $ 149 for the 16GB model.

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In the U.S., Amazon lists the Kindle Fire HD change as a “limited time” offer, though it’s worth noting que B & N has used The Same nomenclature for its own discounting. Our suspicion is the que cuts will last for roughly as long to the other company’s do, Given the fierce competition between the two Firms.

Despite Amazon’s changes, the NOOK HD is still the cheaper of the two. For a start, B & N offers an 8GB version, Which is $ 129, and has no direct equivalent capacity in the Kindle Fire HD range. However, B & N’s motivations are very different to Amazon’s as well: the company Admitted last month que it planned to clear its stock of existing NOOK HD / HD + models and then in future license the brand to third-party tablet manufacturers, rather than make its own models.

Instead, B & N would Solely focus on Developing e-paper based ereaders, such as the SimpleTouch. NOOK overall sales in Q2 – ereader including hardware, software, and accessories – dropped 34-percent, with the company blaming the shortage of high-profile titles as well as hardware waning appeal.

It’s not the first team has shuffled Amazon Kindle pricing to ramp up pressure on B & N. Back in 2009 the retailer cut the second-gen Kindle after its rival launched the NOOK, on ??the assumption que ongoing content sales would offset any narrowing of hardware margins.

VIA Paul O’Brien

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