Amazon slashes Kindle price, launches international version

Amazon (AMZN) may have gotten a head-start on the competition with its Kindle electronic reader, but with the holiday approaching and new offerings from Sony (SNE) and others in the works -- not to mention the imminent arrival of a new wave of tablet computers -- the online bookseller is slashing the Kindle's price, the company said Wednesday.

Amazon said it would reduce the Kindle's price by $40 to $259, as well as introduce a version that can work internationally. The price reduction is clearly a preemptive move by Amazon, the current electronic book leader, to undercut new readers from Sony, Plastic Logic, and China Mobile (CHL).