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Try and draw another conclusion from their behavior today.

Barnes & Noble struck first, announcing that it was dropping the price of its less-than-impressive Nook device from $259 to $199 while introducing a WiFi-only model selling for $149.

I hadn't thought of Amazon's Kindle as being particularly threatened by the Nook, but somebody at its Seattle headquarters must think differently. Only about six hours later, Amazon announced its response: a drop in the Kindle's price from $259 to $189. (That device, known as the Kindle 2 when it arrived in February 2009, first sold for $359 but dropped to $299 last July and then again to $259 in October.

The most obvious threat to the Nook, the Kindle and other upcoming e-readers -- all essentially single-function devices -- is Apple's iPad. That device not only presents e-books on a responsive, sharp color screen (whether you use Apple's iBooks or install Amazon's Kindle software) but also can serve as an effective laptop replacement.

Price cuts are one way to remedy the gap that's opened up between e-readers and general-purpose tablets. Another logical option would be an upgraded version of the Nook and the Kindle's display technology, capable of displaying colors and turning pages without a distracting flashing effect, that would retain such e-reader advantages as long battery life and readability in direct sunlight. There's some interesting work being done there, but I don't know if it will arrive soon enough to make a difference.

(Me, I just want to see an e-book retailer adopt a file format that was not locked down with "digital rights management" restrictions and which allowed me to read a title using the software and hardware of my choice. But I've been saying that since 2007 without effect; why would the booksellers heed my advice now?)