(image courtesy Swift Economics)

Looks like Borders isn’t immune to the ebook price wars. They announced this morning they are lowering the prices of the Kobo Reader and the Aluratek Libre. Either this was in response to competitive pricing, or they were hoping to deflect the “Build-A-Bear” news!

In all seriousness, this does make sense, though I think they should have been far more aggressive. For starters, drop the Aluratek Libre further, from the new $99 price down to $75. And they should have cut the Kobo Reader from the new $129 price down to $99. In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve never used an Aluratek Libre, but from a hardware standpoint it is strikingly similar to the Jetbook Lite I reviewed earlier in the year. I have a Kobo Reader that I’m reviewing, and the hardware is very, very good. It has a smooth polished feel to it. But it’s not going to attract price-concious consumers when it’s only $10.00 cheaper than a wifi Kindle. It needs far more of a price span to make it stand out. And the Aluratek is nice enough, but it’s nothing special, and again, it needs to be CHEAP to stand out when a more feature-rich device is only a few dollars more.

Meanwhile, Amazon is making sure you can get your hot little hands on a Kindle as many ways as possible. If your local Target isn’t really your speed, you can also head over to Staples and pick up a Kindle. On the upside, this gives Amazon a fairly large retail footprint, since both Target and Staples are nearly ubiquitous. Still, it’s an odd mashup. It is surprising that Amazon is partnering with such broad entities, since a more focused retail presence might help Kindles stand out more. But there aren’t that many options in specialty retail, since Amazon isn’t about to partner with a bookstore, and Best Buy is tied up with their B&N nook offerings. So it’s better than not having a retail presence. Wonder who Amazon will pick next…maybe Stop and Shop?

Do you think Borders offerings will sell better with new lower prices? And will you be stopping by Staples for your Kindle fix? Share your thoughts below!

Borders Price Drop via TechCrunch

Staples to Carry Amazon Kindle via CrunchGear