Barnes & Noble Launches $149 WiFi Nook and Drops 3G Version to $199

Barnes & Noble (BKS) will introduce a WiFi-only version of its Nook e-reader on Wednesday, and it will price this new model -- available in B&N and Best Buy (BBY) stores -- at $149. The company is also lowering the price of its original 3G Nook from $259 to $199, which the company touts in a statement released Monday morning as "the first under-$200 dedicated full-featured e-book reader that offers both free 3G wireless and WiFi connectivity."

Engadget first leaked the news of a WiFi e-reader after posting a screenshot of the device's availability and price from B&N's internal database. The news also comes as a report from Digitimes Research indicates that 740,000 e-readers shipped globally from manufacturers. B&N's Nook accounted for 37% of those shipments, compared to just 16% for Amazon's (AMZN) Kindle.