By next year, the Kindle will be free (chart)

Despite my best intentions, I let myself get talked into buying a Kindle Fire. My ancient bedroom-reader iPhone is finally giving up the ghost and I really do enjoy reading using the Kindle format. I don't like e-ink, but I thought the Fire might both let me read my novels and have some other uses.

This, despite my own set of well-thought-out reasons not to buy a Fire:

See also: 12 reasons you might NOT want to buy a Kindle Fire

I guess I am a tech junkie after all. But pulling the trigger on the Fire got me thinking. Kindle prices have dropped a lot. After all, the Fire was $199, and the original Kindle was twice that. How far have they dropped?

This chart shows it all:

Notice the trend line for the blue bars, representing the base Kindle model. It's almost undeniable. By next year, it looks like -- for at least one model -- the Kindle will be free.

Have a great weekend!