Kindle to come to Blighty on 19 October
Amazon to export e-book reader
Kindle will come to the UK on 19 October, Amazon has said.
It's not a formal, British version. Rather, the online retailer's US wing will now take orders from overseas buyers and ship the e-book reader out for an all in price of $279 (£175/€190) plus shipping and import taxes. These extras takes the total to $344.98 (£217) for Brits.
Amazon's Kindle: Britain bound
The device's built-in 3G and Wi-Fi networking will both operate over here, though Amazon didn't say which UK carrier's SIM is embedded in the device. In a sense it doesn't matter, since there's no ongoing cost for cellular access - Amazon covers the cost out of the money it makes from e-book sales. Bulk-buying connectivity will also keep its wireless costs down.
It also charges 99c per megabyte if you want to transfer your own files wirelessly.
Amazon's UK wireless coverage map shows an extensive 3G reach in lowland and metropolitan areas, with Edge and even GPRS in upland areas.
Kindle itself has 2GB of book storage space - enough for 1500 books, Amazon said - and a 6in e-ink display that only uses power when it changes, allowing the battery to last for two weeks if you turn the wireless off, falling to just four days if you keep it on.
Being a US product, Kindle comes with a US power supply, Amazon admitted. But Brits baffled by two-pin plugs can charge the device using a USB port or USB power adapter. ®
COMMENTS
@James 5
> Being a US product
And that's the key. ISTM that all Amazon are doing is looking for a market where they can (cheaply) dump unsold stock. Whether they are truly ignorant of the UK market, presuming we're just a 51st state as we speak a language with a lot of the same words they have - or whether it's a genuine feeling that we'll lap up their out of date (this thing was released in america in Oct 2008) tech I don't know. Either way they're in for a shock - especially if they think we use 110Volts, too!
Limited Books Pt 2
There are 116828 fiction books for US customers, but only 88856 for UK customers.
You can bet most of the missing books are new releases too! The 4 newly released books I was after are not available to UK customers, popular authors too (Terry Pratchett, Iain Banks, Audrey Niffeneger, etc).
I guess the UK publishers don't want Amazon interfering with their riduculous ebook pricing structure!
OMG
Just looked at the book prices. And felt abused just by LOOKING. And the fact that you have to PAY to transfer otherwise free content. There is only one icon for it!
Still AT&T
"The device's built-in 3G and Wi-Fi networking will both operate over here, though Amazon didn't say which UK carrier's SIM is embedded in the device."
It doesn't, if this is the US & International Wireless version they posted about on Engadget. It uses AT&T roaming, and has a premium of $1.99 per item downloaded internationally.
It's probably better to wait for a proper UK version.
