Amazon and Barnes & Noble slash e-reader prices

Amazon has cut the price of the Kindle to $189

A price war in the e-book reader market has kicked off after Barnes & Noble and Amazon announced $60 (£40) and $70 (£47) reductions to their respective Nook and Kindle devices.

Both e-book readers were $259 (£176) at the start of the week, but Barnes & Noble then cut its price to $199 (£135). Amazon followed hours later with a cut to $189 (£128).

The Android-based Nook is currently 3G only, while Amazon's Linux platform is based around Wi-Fi. However, Barnes & Noble is to introduce a Wi-Fi Nook priced at $149 (£101), putting more pressure on Amazon.

"People who love to read will find tremendous value with the new Nook Wi-Fi, the most full-featured, low-cost e-reading device on the market, and our bestselling Nook 3G now at an even lower price," said Tony Astarita, vice president of digital products at Barnes & Noble.

The price war could be related to reports that Amazon is planning a hardware refresh of the Kindle platform later this year.

E-book readers are coming under increasing pressure from tablet and smartphone manufacturers, such as Apple and Samsung, looking to grab a slice of the growing electronic publishing market.