San Francisco (CA) - Amazon has lowered the price point of its original Kindle to $300. The Kindle - which debuted in 2007 - was initially priced at $400 and subsequently reduced to $360 in May 2008.

Amazon Spokeswoman Cinthia Portugal told the Associated Press that the reduction was "not just a short-term promotion."

"We've been able to increase the volume of Kindles we're manufacturing and decrease the cost of doing so," explained Portugal.

Nevertheless, the above-mentioned price cut does not apply to Amazon's recently unveiled widescreen Kindle DX which is still priced at $489.

The higher-end DX features a large 9.7-inch electronic paper display, a built-in PDF reader, auto-rotate capability along with storage for up to 3,500 books.