Amazon taps up Staples to sell Kindle as e-reader prices fall

Following on from a similar deal with retailer Target, office supplies specialist Staples has agreed to start selling Amazon's Kindle in its stores from this autumn.

The chain will sell all three flavours of the e-reader from its 1,500 outlets, including the wi-fi only unit for $139, the 3G model for $189 and the top of the range DX, which currently retails for $379.

Word play

However, Amazon faces increased competition from cheaper rivals in the coming months.

Book chain Bookers has revealed plans to discount the two e-readers it currently sells the Borders-branded e-reader by Kobo Inc for $129.99 and Aluratek's Libre eBook Pro for $99.99 later this week.

It follows on from a previous race to the bottom by the major players back in June, with Barnes & Noble having slashed the price of its Nook to $199.

The firm also launched a wi-fi only version for $149 in the same month.

Forrester Research estimates 1 million Nooks have been sold since it launched last November, with Amazon's Kindle line-up refreshed back in July as a response to the challenge of iPad having notched up sales of 5 million.

[source: Reuters]