10/5/09 Monitor books podcast
Kindle goes international
By Marjorie Kehe | 10.07.09
Taking a trip overseas anytime soon? One thing you don’t want to pack is your Kindle – at least, not unless you’re buying the brand new international version, due to hit stores next week on Oct. 16.
Up until now, Amazon.com’s Kindle e-reader has worked only in the United States. As of next week, the new Kindle (at a cost of $279) will allow English-language readers in more than 100 countries to download books wirelessly. (Although the universe of books available to international Kindle users is a bit smaller than that accessible to US-only readers: 200,000 volumes now in the library for the global version compared with 350,000 volumes available to users of the US version.)
At the same time, Amazon is dropping the price on its entry-level US-only Kindle to $259. It’s hard to imagine, however, that most US readers won’t want to spend the extra $20 for the global version. Apart from the thought of the thrillers you can devour on trains and in hotel rooms, there’s also the guide book universe to consider. Imagine having 3 or 4 guide books at your disposal – together weighing no more than several ounces. That will certainly be one of the joys of the international e-reader: no more bulky Lonely Planet books shoved in your bag up against the Michelin guides. Now all of these can be exchanged for a slim Kindle.
Amazon, however, is not aiming just at US travelers. “We have always had customers in countries all over the world buying English-language books from us,” Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos told the press. “Now those customers can get English-language books in 60 seconds wirelessly, instead of waiting two or three weeks.”
The new global Kindle should be good news for Amazon this holiday season. According to research cited in the Wall Street Journal, Amazon accounts for 60% of the US market for electronic readers. Sony, the nearest competitor, controls about 35 percent. The WSJ forecasts that three million e-book readers will be sold in the US in 2009 – with as many as 900,000 of them likely to sell during the coming holiday season.
Comments
2. Abdi Jama | 10.07.09
Where is the list of the countries in which the International version of Amazon’s e-reader could be found?
Thanks.
Abdi.
3. Blog Kindle | 10.07.09
I’ve put together a table that lists every country in which Kindle is available along with number of books, their pricing, wireless availability etc at http://blogkindle.com/2009/10/international-release-of-kindle-2/
4. Kindle Kevin | 10.07.09
If you are traveling, the older Kindles still “work” overseas - you can read any book you’ve already bought. You just can’t connect wirelessly to purchase new books. So just buy your Lonely Planets and Michelin Guides before you leave. The new Kindle is mostly aimed at people outside the US. There’s not much reason for someone in the US with an earlier Kindle to buy the new one, unless they are moving out of the U.S., or if they travel out of the US very frequently for long periods.
All that being said, I’m a big fan of the Kindle, and if you don’t have one, and read regularly, go get one.
5. barbara fromsydney | 10.08.09
Kindle’s biggest drawback is it’s fragility. My brand new Kindle dropped and that was the end of it. Amazon has no repair department so your only option is to buy another one, used, at cost (1/2 the price of regular retail)from Amazon. And if you’ve downloaded a ton of books you’re out of luck. You will have lost all of them. In one of my letters to Jeff Bezos about my sad situation I suggested he put a wrist strap on his new generation Kindles. The thing is as slippery as a wet fish and it has no protection whatever. A jacket for your Kindle is extra. I understand Apple is to come out with an e-reader one day soon. At least the customer can try it out before he buys.
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1. Bryan | 10.07.09
Until the Kindle drops it’s propriety format, I’m staying far away