News

« Headlines

No UK Kindle launch before Xmas

17.10.08 Sarah Butler

Amazon will not launch its Kindle e-book reader in the UK until after Christmas as it attempts to sign up Wi-Fi partners around Europe, it has been revealed.

Rumours that Amazon.com was poised to launch the device in Europe—with the Frankfurt Book Fair the launch venue—have been circulating. However, fair-goers hoping for an early sighting of the popular device will be disappointed.

In an interview with The Bookseller, Brian McBride, managing director of Amazon in the UK, said it was not yet clear when the Kindle would launch in the country. He said it was likely to be some time next year, given the complexity of signing up the many partners needed to support Europe-wide Wi-Fi access. “The Kindle is based on wireless technology. If you need agreement with carriers in the US, there is one carrier. In Europe it is a minefield as there are so many operators. If you buy a Kindle in the UK and want to read it on the beach on holiday in Spain, unless we have signed deals in Spain it is not going to work on that beach,” he said.

The Kindle, which enables the download of books wirelessly from the internet, uses a free wireless service called whispernet provided by the Sprint EVDO network. The device has become popular in the US, and is expected to sell around 380,000 units this year. Sony launched its e-reader in the UK in an exclusive deal with Waterstone’s last month.

However, McBride was sanguine about the competition. He said the e-book market remained small and he was not concerned about losing first-mover advantage. “This is us building long-term business growth routes in the UK and it is not that important for us to enter a green field,” he said.

At a seminar held in Frankfurt yesterday Amazon.com promoted the Kindle device to international publishers, saying they could use it to get their books to US users. When asked about a European version, the e-tailer declined to comment on the “speculation”.

amazon Home digitisation Sarah Butler

Add comment

By posting on this website you agree to the Bookseller Comments Policy. Comments go direct to live, please be relevant, brief and definitely not abusive. Report any "unsuitable" comments by clicking the links.

Name

Comment

Email

Comments on this article

By Mickey Goldwill

'Kindle'?

16 Oct 08 13:52

Unsuitable?

By Jimmy

My favourite portable reading device is this thing called a book... Fits in your bag, use anytime, quiet and does not need batteries. Call me old fashioned, but I like my reading matter EMP proof. Just another disposable gadget that we are being told we need even though nobody can afford to buy it. I hate the thought of creativity being reduced to a simple download...A book carries the weight of its ideas, and establishes a unique and tactile connection with the author and their ideas. I worry for the Playstation generation... I wish IT jockeys would stop trying to sell us the concept that real life is in some way a poor second to cyber life.

17 Oct 08 09:21

Unsuitable?

By regional europe

Amazon is thinking right.Amazon.com promoted the Kindle device to international publishers, saying they could use it to get their books to US users. When asked about a European version, the e-tailer declined to comment on the “speculation”.http://find.com/regional/europe

13 Mar 09 10:07

Unsuitable?

By Kalam

I'm considering embarking on a postgrad philosophy study, and one of these would be incredibly useful. Most of what a philosophy researcher reads is in pdf format from online journals. Reading them on a computer screen gives you eye strain. Printing them all out is expensive and environmentally unfriendly. An ereader with a sufficiently large screen would be the perfect solution.

01 Jun 09 01:44

Unsuitable?

By fiona MacKay

I am anxious to find out when Kindle will reach U K I am 34 yrs old and blind. It would be a brilliant reader for me as I enjoy listening to my books.

29 Jul 09 19:05

Unsuitable?

See Also