Kindle to come to Blighty on 19 October

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. ®