Amazon Writes B&N's Obit

The first thing I thought when I saw Amazon's new array of Kindles was "bye bye bookstores."  Barnes and Noble is the new Virgin Records.  E-books sales are already exploding, but with a new $79 basic Kindle, almost anyone can afford one.  The press has been focusing on the upper end Kindle Fire, but I believe the bargain-basement Kindle is the real news. 

The new Kindle Fire is a full fledged tablet with internet and email and it's about $50 cheaper than a Nook color.  It's not an Ipad, but it's not $500 to $800 either.  You could buy two Kindle fires plus a basic Kindle for the price of the lowest end iPad, and have enough money left over to buy The Rogue and Bossypants. 

The basic Nook's previous advantage over the basic Kindle was touch screen, but now there's a touch screen Kindle for $99, which undercuts the Nook.  In other words, there's no reason to buy a Nook any more.

I'm glad I don't have stock in Barnes and Noble and I really wish I had some in Amazon.