Amazon drops Kindle price

UK shoppers can now import Amazon’s Kindle eBook reader for less money after the retailer lowered the cost of the wireless device as competition in the US ebook market hots up.

Amazon has lowered the Kindle’s price from $259 to $189, mirroring a change made by US-only retailer Barnes & Noble which reduced the cost of its Nook reader from $259 to $199. Barnes & Noble has also introduced a Wi-Fi only version of the Nook retailing at just $149.

However UK shoppers looking to benefit from the Kindle’s lower cost – the device can only be bought via the retailer’s US store – should note that the $189 purchase price excludes VAT which will be added at the UK rate of 17.5%.

The reductions come as Apple announced sales of 3million iPads – the device offers a number of third party eBook apps as well as Apple’s in-house iBooks service.

Apple claim iBook sales now account for 22% of eBook sales, a figure likely to increase as the device is launched in more countries over the coming weeks.