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When Borders announced they would be selling the Kobo ebook reader for $149 and the Libre reader for $119, I knew that either Amazon or Barnes & Noble, and likely both, would have to blink on price. They would not be able to have their flagship devices continue to sell for more than $100 more than a serious competitor. Something was going to have to give. At first it was 50 dollar discounts and gift cards for free books, but now B&N have fired off the next salvo in what is heating up to be a summertime ebook reader price war.

Now Best Buy is offering a WiFi only Nook for $149 preorder, with delivery in the first week in July. Though the device is minus the 3G, it is still more versatile than the Kobo reader selling at the same price at Borders. On top of that, Best Buy is selling the normal 3G enabled Nook for $199, the same price as they have listed for the Sony Touch Reader.

No sign of the WiFi Only or the discounted 3G Nook on the Barnes and Noble website however, though they are still offering that 50 dollar B&N gift card “for a limited time only”. If Barnes & Noble are using Best Buy to start a “Price War by Proxy”, I wonder if we could see a discounted Kindle at Target soon.

Perhaps by the Christmas buying rush, we will have a couple $100 E-readers livening up the gift choices. That will certainly be one way for Ebook Readers to weather the iPad storm…sell for one fifth the price or less.

At any rate, the WiFi Only version has sold me, I will be picking up one of the cheap Nooks next month and of course, I will let you all know what I think.

UPDATE: BOOM! So much for Price War by Proxy. The WiFi Only Nook and the new price for the 3G model just hit the Barnes and Noble website.

Amazon? Its your move.