• Slate, Friday, August 13, 2010 2:29 PM

Planning to finally buy that Kindle e-reader, this weekend? 'Wait!' says Slate. While the new Wi-Fi version sells for just $139, Slate's Farhad Manjoo speculates that its price will soon drop to $100. "I rarely make predictions about the tech business, but here goes: Before the holidays, [Kindle maker] Amazon will cut the price of the Wi-Fi Kindle to $99, and the 3G version will go for $150 or less. Amazon will do so, I think, not only to sell a lot of Kindles but also to cement its online store as the iTunes for books -- the dominant force in the publishing business for the foreseeable future."

Don't feel sorry for Amazon, though. After tearing open the Kindle, research firm iSuppli reported that the two most expensive components are its E Ink display module (which costs Amazon about $60) and the 3G chip ($30), which the Wi-Fi Kindle doesn't even include. Meanwhile, Amazon says that sales tripled after it lowered the price to $189, and the company now lists both the 3G and Wi-Fi versions as being "temporarily oversold." Still, why lower the price of a product that is currently oversold? In short, says Manjoo, "tech companies usually ramp up production and lower their prices for the holidays." Merry Christmas.

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