Beginning Wednesday, September 1, the prices of the Kobo e-reader and the Aluratek Libre eBook Pro will drop from $149.99 to $129.99 and from $119.99 to $99.99, respectively.
The Kobo e-reader will now be $10 less than the new Amazon Kindle (but note that while the Kindle has Wi-Fi, the Kobo reader does not), making it one of the most affordable e-ink e-readers on the market.
The already budget friendly Libre Pro has now hit that elusive $99.99 price point. Earlier this month, Copia announced its own plans to bring a $99 e-reader to market, but the Libre Pro is available now.
In terms of features and connectivity, neither device can match power with the Kindle or Nook; these are frills-free e-readers for the budget-conscious or for households that want a secondary e-reader.
Later this fall, Borders will be targeting the higher end of the market when it begins carrying two Velocity Micro Android-based readers. The Cruz Reader is currently available for pre-order for $199 and the forthcoming Cruz Tablet is priced at $299.
The Cruz Reader is a 7-inch resistive touch screen e-reader that can also access the web and play video. The high-powered Cruz Tablet has a capacitive touch screen and is being marketed as a more versatile Android-based tablet.
Borders is continually increasing the variety of e-readers it offers to its customers, rather than developing its own device. The company carries a number of different e-readers in its stores and online, and supports various mobile phones via its Kobo-powered app.