The world’s most popular e-book reader just took a step closer to affordability in India. The price of Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader has been slashed to $189, which when combined with shipping and handling and import fees, comes to about $ 283.92 if you place your order online: somewhere in the vicinity of Rs 13,000. Yes, we are sure that even that figure will make some of you wince, but when you consider that the device had been launched in India at a price of $279 in October, which translated into a total cost of almost $ 373 (Rs. 17,000), thanks to shipping and handling costs and import fees, it is really not that bad a deal, especially after the last software update, which included PDF support and a number of other very handy tweaks.
Of course, the price of downloading books directly on to the device remains on the higher side (thanks to the additional $2 slapped on to the price tags), but we reckon that more users might think seriously about the Kindle, now that it is closer to the psychological cut-off point of Rs 10,000, and now costs about as much as a mid-level smartphone, and comes with inbuilt data connectivity (which is currently limited to browsing and downloading books, but still…).
We got our hands on Pi, India’s first e-book reading reading device, during a visit to the World Book Fair at Delhi. Its details had been released a few days ago, along with an aggressive pricing strategy. Our initial impressions: well, the hardware does look rather impressive and the price of Rs 9,999. is definitely going to tempt lots of gadget lovers. In fact, we would even go so far as to call it a MUCH better deal than the Kindle in India. Before you start accusing us of insanity, do take a look at our reasons. Mind you, these are based on a very short use of the product. We will have more to say when Infibeam sends us a review unit. Incidentally, the device will start shipping on February 22, although one can place an advance order for one. 
E-book readers were the rage at the recent CES in Vegas. Just about every tech player worth their salt is trying to get into the segment, from Amazon to Sony to Asus, is trying to make its presence felt in the e-book reader segment. But call us old-fashioned if you will, we still think that conventional paper books beat the hell out e-book readers. At least at the moment. Before you start accusing us of being paper-freaks who hate everything mechanical, just read through our reasons for thinking so. 
