At some point recently Amazon quietly changed the price of the entry-level Kindle without ads to $89, including both the US version and the international version.
Normally it sells for $99 without ads and $79 with ads. The $89 price isn’t being advertised as a sale, and the Special Offers version is still $79. Generally the non-ad Kindles cost $20 more so this is rather unusual.
On the surface a $10 price drop doesn’t sound like much, but the last time Amazon started changing Kindle prices around the Kindle Voyage was discontinued shortly after and the Kindle Paperwhite 4 appeared a few months later.
Hopefully this is the first sign that the entry-level Kindle is going to get replaced soon.
There are two things Amazon needs to do this year. First, they need to release a new entry-level Kindle that doesn’t have an outdated screen from 10 years ago. Second, they need to finally release another large Kindle, a newer version of the Kindle DX.
The entry-level Kindle was first released back in 2016 and it was basically just a redesign of the previous model that was released in 2014. After 5 years it’s time for Amazon to finally upgrade it, especially considering it sits below every other entry-level ebook reader on the market with the old low resolution E Ink Pearl screen with no frontlight.
If Inkbook can sell the Inkbook Lumos for $99 with an upgraded Carta screen, a frontlight, page buttons, and a microSD card slot, there’s no reason Amazon can’t at least give the entry-level Kindle a Carta screen and a frontlight.
I’ve only ever used the entry level kindles, replacing on!y when my first battery died. I’m very happy with it. It’s not a problem that it’s 10 year old tech. It works and was cheap so I don’t need a more expensive entry level device I need a cheap one once this dies.
Comment box ate my first attempt, I’ll try again:
It’s not just that the tech is old, it’s that it is a terrible price for that feature set. You can get a no-name e-reader with those same specs for $30 in the checkout aisle at Walgreens. So they’ve got to either kill it, upgrade it for the same price, or price it more reasonably and leave the feature set where it is.
While it is great that there are low priced options…Amazon’s should be better. Totally agree about a Kindle DX2!!! Long overdue.
Agreed. I love my DX but had to upgrade for space to a HD 8 with a sim card. Now though I can’t file transfer books t9 my kindle like I could the DX.
In the UK the price difference of basic and paperwhite is normally £50 and it’s not worth paying for a front light. Which is the only real world difference I can see. We don’t have the no brand options in big box stores.
I’m not convinced a slightly higher resolution or a newer screen type will make enough of a difference to justify the extra expense.