In its attempt to make its popular e-reader Kindle a mainstream blockbuster and to entice more book-lovers, Amazon. com Inc. has announced a 17 percent cut in the device's price - as such, the Kindle will now cost $299, which is $60 less than the May 2008-set price, and $100 less than the device's initial launch price of $399!

Announcing the Kindle price-cut on Wednesday, Amazon - which has likely projected a burgeoning digital book market which intense competition - said that those customers who had ordered their Kindle electronic reader that had shipped within the past one month would get a $60 credit on the cost variation.

Though a price cut in the electronics marketing is essentially a move to boost sales, Amazon spokeswoman Cinthia Portugal said that in the case of the Kindle, it is not a mere short-term promotion. Portugal added: "We've been able to increase the volume of Kindles we're manufacturing and decrease the cost of doing so."

Commenting on the Seattle-based Amazon's move, supposedly based on the growing economies of scale, NPD Group's consumer technology analyst, Ross Rubin, said that a $60 slash in Kindle's price is a "significant drop." Rubin added that the move, aimed at getting the e-reader below the $300 mark, clearly indicates that Amazon has a "greater than usual incentive."