Amazon today announced that it has cut the price of its popular Kindle eReader by $90, from $279 when it launched internationally last year to $189 (roughly R1400).

Amazon’s price reduction now means that South African consumers will be able to purchase a Kindle for roughly R1800 including delivery and customs charges. Delivery time is estimated at between 3 and 7 working days. 

This move came just hours after competitor Barnes & Noble announced a price reduction for its own device, the Nook, by $60 to $189, clearly indicating Amazon’s intention not to be outclassed in this market segment.

Both devices now offer users the ability to download books wirelessly via Wi-Fi. Locally however, the Kindle still has an advantage over the Nook in the respect that 3G support for the device is provided for in South Africa by Vodacom, an AT&T global roaming partner.

This means that those South Africans who purchase their Kindle through Amazon have access to the Amazon book store over the local 3G network without having to pay service charges for downloading books.

Local users currently have access to a downloadable library of roughly 230 000 titles, 35 000 of which are available for under R44 each.