Amazon Drops the Price of the Kindle Voyage to $149
Cartomancers are going to need to dust off their bones, because I have a mystery for them.
Amazon has quietly cut the price of the Kindle Voyage. This four-year-old ereader was selling for $199 just yesterday, but as of today the price has been reduced to $149. This is not a sale – Amazon usually announces those – instead it appears to be a price drop on Amazon’s third-best ereader (I’d take the Paperwhite over the Voyage any day).
Curiously, there was also a report that Amazon dropped the price of the Kindle Paperwhite by $30, to $89, but I am still seeing the regular price.
The Voyage is Amazon’s oldest current ereader (I’m not counting discontinued models, obviously), and it really is past due for an update – but I don’t expect to see one.
The thing is, Amazon usually changes prices when it launches new models. So unless this price change showed up early due to some type of glitch then it is likely a sign that we won’t be getting a new Voyage – or even a new model Kindle at all.
At least, that is what I am speculating – what’s your take?
Comments
Nirmala June 18, 2018 um 7:46 pm
The display of all the Kindle models at the top of the page ( or here: https://www.amazon.com/b/?ie=UTF8&node=6669702011&ref_=fs_ods_fs_erdr_cp ) shows the price of the Paperwhite as $89, but when you click through to the Paperwhite’s own page, it is still $119. Maybe they are rolling out the new price and got ahead of themselves?
Nate Hoffelder June 18, 2018 um 8:27 pm
Now I am seeing $89 on the product page.
Nirmala June 19, 2018 um 9:00 am
And right now, I am seeing $119 on both the listing of Kindle devices page and also the product page for the Paperwhite.
Make up your mind Amazon…
Nate Hoffelder June 19, 2018 um 9:03 am
weird, isn’t it?
DaveMich June 19, 2018 um 6:00 pm
I am seeing the paperwhite at $89, the basic Kindle that now has audible at $79, the old non-audible basic at $59 (on woot at $49) and the voyage at $149.
Given the "new hotness" of audio books, I’m thinking that the paperwhite and voyage will be upgraded to support audible – but nothing more than that. It’s just bluetooth and some software changes.
Steve H. June 18, 2018 um 9:02 pm
Well I must vote on this…Voyage over Paperwhite! Although we are out of new model season…something may be happening…higher dpi device…larger device( hopefully larger and sharper).
Steve H. June 18, 2018 um 9:10 pm
Hopefully it doesn’t portend a new model that replaces the Paperwhite and eliminates the Voyage. A possible flush screen "Paperwhite Plus".
Barry Marks June 18, 2018 um 11:26 pm
I’ve noticed that the 3G Voyage is listed as Out of Stock and that makes me wonder if they’re discontinuing the Voyage and selling off existing stock.
As for which is better, I have a Voyage and a Paperwhite and I prefer the Paperwhite. I like the design of the Voyage but I often find myself touching the screen accidentally and turning pages. The Paperwhite’s recessed screen helps avoid that. Other than that I prefer the Voyage but that’s enough of an issue that I use my Paperwhite as my main reader.
Robert Spencer June 19, 2018 um 3:36 am
I originally wanted a Voyage (love the idea of the flush screen), but could only afford a Paperwhite.
Nate I’m curious to know why you prefer the Paperwhite over the Voyage?
Mike Cane June 19, 2018 um 8:37 am
I doubt there will ever be a new Kindle. I’m sure Amazon is selling far more tablets than Kindles — despite the tablets generally being eye-shredding crap for reading.
tired June 19, 2018 um 10:13 am
"The thing is, Amazon usually changes prices when it launches new models. So unless this price change showed up early due to some type of glitch then it is likely a sign that we won’t be getting a new Voyage – or even a new model Kindle at all."
I disagree. There would be too large of a price gap between the Voyage and the Oasis 2. And excepting just one year, there has always been an annual release of either a new Kindle model or a revamp of an existing one.
And you know, you don’t have a good track record on these predictions. I remember last year you said they would update the Paperwhite but would not introduce a new model. We saw how that turned out.
It is also too easy to get caught up in accidental correlations and confuse them with causation or some kind of natural law. Amazon does not have to wait to lower the price point of a model or discontinue it until after a new release. They are not bound to strictly do the same thing over and over.
This news can not be used to directly assert or contradict a new or revamped Kindle model in 2018.
Frank June 19, 2018 um 12:22 pm
I think Amazon wants to clear its stock of the old Voyage, and the Voyage form factor will not be refreshed.
The Paperwhite is still $119, the same price I paid for it 3 years ago.
DaveMich June 19, 2018 um 3:49 pm
This would be a shame, because if you’ve held both you can see that the Voyage is a much thinner and lighter form factor than the paperwhite or the basic kindle.