Black Friday is this week, so it is time to decide which store is worth the early morning wake-up call. After looking through online Black Friday ad scans, there are two ereaders worth adding to your shopping list if you are getting up early on November 26, 2010 to go shopping. Both of these ereaders can get books from Kobobooks, which is one of the best ebook retailers around.
Go to Best Buy on Black Friday for a Nook
On November 19, 2010, Chris Matyszczyk reported on CNET that one Florida family is already camping out at Best Buy, but they are an extreme case. Matysczyk writes that "if you are, say, the second person to launch yourself into Best Buy on Black Friday morning, you might still be able to avail yourself of spectacular purchases." For audiobook and ebook gadgeteers, the Best Buy "spectacular purchase" will be the Barnes and Noble Nook wi-fi for $99.
The fine print on the Best Buy Black Friday ad scan says that the store will start passing out tickets for after Thanksgiving sale doorbuster items up to two hours before the store opens at 5 a.m., and that there will be a minimum of 10 Barnes and Noble Nooks per store. Of all the portable ebook readers advertised as Black Friday sales, the Nook is the best deal. It has wi-fi access, connects directly to the Barnes and Noble bookstore, and can handle Google Book downloads natively. Unless Amazon has a Kindle 3 for $99, the Nook is the ereader of Black Friday, 2010.
Go to Walmart on Black Friday for a Sony Reader
The Sony Reader PRS-300 is Walmart's $99 Black Friday ereader. Sony Readers are good ebook readers, and if the PRS-300 was wi-fi, it would be a great ebook reader. The Sony can handle Google Books, EPUB, PDF, and .doc files, and the Sony Reader store has a great selection of books.
The Walmart Black Friday ad says that all items in the advertisement will be available in limited quantities, but the Sony Reader is listed as "available in stores and online beginning Friday, November 26." If the Nook is not available and wi-fi is not an issue for you, the Sony Reader is a good buy. It is a very user friendly ereader, and the lack of internet connectivity would make it a good choice of an ereader for kids.
Black Friday often has a few retailer surprises with unadvertised deals, so be sure to follow Amazon in case Black Friday deals are announced on Twitter. If TJ Maxx can sell an iPad for $399, there is hope that the Kindle will have a Black Friday or Cyber Monday price drop.
Sources
"First Black Friday Desperadoes in line at Best Buy" was written by Chris Matyszczyk and published on CNET on November 19, 2010.
The Best Buy Black Friday 2010 ad scan is from bfads.net, which was accessed November 20, 2010.
The Walmart Black Friday 2010 ad is from Walmart.com, which was accessed on November 20, 2010.
TLE101
Alex Sharp - Alex Sharp is a teacher who has been keeping Suite101 readers up to date with the latest in audio- and e-book gadgetry since 2008.
