Anyone who hasn't caught on with the current trend, that laptops are out and tablets are in, needs to look around a little more. The more and more tablets can do, the less of a need there is for laptops out there. Sure, at one time they seemed the most convenient, but they can hardly compare in convenience to an iPad. The news that the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight has dropped its price means that perhaps the e-reader tablets are now killing their lower-priced alternatives.
The Nook is Barnes & Noble's alternative to the Kindle. While the Kindle has three current models, with the 4G LTD 8.9″ $499 Fire with HD, the $199 Fire with HD, and the $119 Paper White, Barnes & Noble now features four as well, the $99 Simple Touch, the $119 GlowLight, the $199 Hook HD, and the $269 Hook HD+. The e-readers that are ore table-like are priced comparatively to other tablets, and the lower priced ones in line with other e-readers.
Barnes & Noble has now dropped their Nook that is comparable to the Paper White. The Simple Touch with GlowLight was just dropped from $139 to $119. For this price, it advertises that it can be read in both bright light and low light situations, and that it “delivers a just-like-paper experience,” making it square off directly with the Kindle Paper White.
It should be noted that the more tablet-like e-readers aren't changing in price at all, just the lower-priced options. There's enough of a demand still for the more expensive models, that they don't need to worry about dropping prices at all. But for the e-readers that don't do anything more than “read,” they're becoming less and less of a popular option. Why buy a $139 e-reader when you can get a $199 tablet? For this reason, Barnes & Noble had to drop its price.
Photo credit: barnesandnoble.com