The new $139 and $189 Kindles that Amazon bowed last...
The new $139 and $189 Kindles that Amazon bowed last week (CED July 30 p7) were listed on its website Tuesday as “temporarily sold out” because of “strong customer demand.” Customers trying to buy either model were told to “order…
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now to reserve your place in line” because “orders are prioritized on a first come, first served basis.” Orders placed Tuesday were “expected to ship on or before” Sept. 4, Amazon said. It started taking orders for the new models last week, and they were to start shipping Aug. 27. The $189 model replaced a Kindle with fewer features that had been selling for the same price. The $139 SKU is a Wi-Fi-only model that scraps the free 3G wireless service of previous Kindles and became Amazon’s new entry-level e-book reader. Meanwhile, Amazon and Apple didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment after Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said he’s investigating deals between the companies and the biggest U.S. e-book publishers that “may block competitors from offering cheaper e-book prices.” Amazon and Apple “reached agreements with the largest e-book publishers that ensure both will receive the best prices for e-books over any competitors -- contract provisions known as ‘most favored nation’ (MFN) clauses,” he said. Blumenthal said he sent Amazon and Apple letters asking them to meet with his office about his concerns. Publishers that reached deals of this kind with Amazon and Apple included Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, HarperCollins and Penguin, he said. The arrangements “appear to deter certain publishers from offering discounts to Amazon and Apple’s competitors -- because they must offer the same to Amazon and Apple,” Blumenthal said, a set-up that “blocks cheaper and competitive prices for consumers.” He said a preliminary review by his staff “found that e-book prices offered by Amazon, Apple, Borders and Barnes & Noble for several New York Times bestseller books were identical."