Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch

Barnes & Noble has dropped the price of its back-lit Nook e-reader to $119 from $139 at several retailers to prepare for Amazon’s upcoming Kindle Paperwhite, which also retails for $119.

The Nook Simple Touch with “GlowLight” technology launched in April and received beaming praise from critics. But Amazon is poised to challenge Barnes & Noble with the Kindle Paperwhite, which looks like it will blow away previous Kindle e-readers with a higher resolution screen and adjustable lighting.

Nook’s Simple Touch with GlowLight is now available online and in Target and Walmart stores for $119.

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The $119 Kindle Paperwhite was originally supposed to ship to prospective customers on Oct. 1, but now anyone who wants to pre-order one will have to wait until the week of Oct. 22. Amazon claims “popular demand” has pushed back the date.

In the e-reading tug-of-war between Barnes & Noble and Amazon, B&N also recently announced the Nook HD and HD+ tablets. They will compete with Amazon’s Fire and Fire HD tablets.

Photo credit: Devindra Hardawar/VentureBeat

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