Kindle Forces Budget e-Reader Price Chops

David Crave - CNET: "When it comes to e-readers these days, most of the action here in the U.S. seems to be concentrated around the Kindle, Nook, and iPad. But every week or so, we'll notice a traffic spike on CNET for an e-reader that isn't from Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Inevitably, this is due to a special discount that some store is running on the product or perhaps even an appearance in a Best Buy circular."

EFF: Free eBook Buyer's Guide to eBook Privacy, 2010 Edition

Electronic Frontier Foundation blog: "With the 2010 holidays upon us, it's time to update EFF's eBook Buyer's Guide to E-Book Privacy, which summarizes and comments on the privacy-related policies of several e-readers. ... "

Elonex to Launch eBook/Tablets Lines at IFA on Thursday

Per Pocket-lint: PC maker Elonex confirms that it will be launching multiple ebooks and tablets at the German tech fair IFA 2010 when the show starts on Thursday. These will include both color and eInk eBooks models.

Asus eBook Reader Priced at “Only” $599 - Release Date: October 2010

Can you say Dead on Arrival?

Free PC Guides: "We don’t actually know if there’s only going to be one reader, or an entire series of them, but judging by the announced price, we shouldn’t hold our breaths. Yes, the title reads correctly: $599 for the Asus eBook Readers, while your usual one costs around $100, maybe $200 if you’re keen on getting the best in the league. Moreover, the Asus product doesn’t come with any breath-taking features: it doesn’t do your hair and there’s no massage included. Instead, it has an 8 inch Chimei innolux LCD display (which should improve the response time a notch), and a couple of other common add-ons, like web-browsing."

Borders, Ebook Reader, Libre Pro

From MobilitySite:

Borders, the often beleaguered second largest bookstore chain in the US has been hitting the ebook market hard the last few months, after neglecting it previously. According to reports they will be offering up to 10 different models of Ebook Reader in their stores and website (such as the new Kobo reader for $150). Most interesting to me at the moment is the one they just announced, the Aluratek Libre Pro.

The Libre is a bare bones ebook reader that has been around for a while in Europe in one form or another, but that is not the interesting part. The interesting part is the PRICE. $119 Samolians. Half the price of a Kindle or Nook, a quarter of the price of an iPad. Remember that the number that keep floating around as the sweet spot for an ebook reader to really crash the mainstream is $100? We’re getting closer.

Of course the Libre is not exactly cutting edge, but would you expect it to be? 5 inch LCD screen, no touch, no color. Only 256MB internal storage. An SD slot and USB port. Built in MP3 player. However it does come with 100 classics preinstalled which should play well with the mainstream, and then there is the price. No one can beat that price at the moment. ...