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Barnes & Noble cuts prices on Nook tablets

The $20 to $50 price reductions position the bookseller's e-readers to better compete with Google's $199 Nexus 7.

Steven Musil Night Editor / News
Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. He's been hooked on tech since learning BASIC in the late '70s. When not cleaning up after his daughter and son, Steven can be found pedaling around the San Francisco Bay Area. Before joining CNET in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers.
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Watch this: Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet

Barnes & Noble announced a price cut this morning for its line of Nook tablets in an apparent attempt to better compete with the Nexus 7.

The bookseller's 16GB Nook Tablet is now priced at $199, a $50 price cut from its previous $249 price tag, while the 8GB model's price was dropped $20 to $179. The Nook Color's price was also cut $20 to $149.

While the move better positions Barnes & Noble's tablets to compete with Google's Nexus 7, which sells for $199 for the 8GB model and $249 for the 16GB version, the price cuts also come in the face of increased speculation that Amazon will soon release new Kindles.

Amazon recently started offering a 40 percent discount on the entry-level, non-touch-screen Kindles to holders of the Amazon.com Rewards Visa credit card. Until August 15, card holders can pick up the ad-supported Special Offers version for $47, while the ad-free version goes for $65.

The Internet retail giant is expected to soon bring out three Kindle Fire 2 tablets, which like the Nexus 7, will have displays that boast pixel densities of 216 pixels per inch.