Amazon’s Kindle eBook reader is now on sale in the UK and Europe, shipped with a US power adaptor supporting voltages of between 100V and 240V so that it can be used anywhere in Europe. Amazon began offering the Kindle to Europe in late October 2009, thus breaking down the one barrier to its potential domination of the e-reader market.
It is not, however, sold from local Amazon sites such as Amazon.co.uk, but only from the American main website Amazon.com. It is sold in American dollars, and shipped from the US, although it is ordered by Europeans using their regular accounts. So what benefits does the Kindle offer over the other e-readers that have been available in Europe for some time and that most people interested in eBook readers now own. Examples include the Sony PRS, Cool-er and iRex, though there are several others against which the Kindle now has to prove itself.
It is being offered globally on the 3G network with no charges for the wireless connectivity that is used to download eBooks directly to the Kindle. However, blogs and the web browser they are experimenting with will not be available.
Is it too late for Amazon to enter the European market? Initial signs are no. Sales have been strong, particularly in the UK and Western Europe, where it appears that intelligent consumers are going for the Kindle’s range of features rather than looks. However, the strength of the iPhone in Europe could be serious competition once this has been modified to a fully featured e-reader. Apple is not known for being left behind in any technology. Furthermore, as it was noted in the article “Is the Future of Books in Mobile EBook Reading?“, the future likely lies in a portable digital reader that downloads and plays music, offers internet access, incorporates a digital camera and can be used as a mobile phone (Digital Book Readers).
The electronic libraries available to Kindle users are vast, with Amazon offering over 200,000 titles in the English language, and publishers such as Penguin, HarperCollins and Faber and Faber signing up to offer Kindle-compatible titles. To date only US newspapers and magazines are available, but it should not be long before the top UK and European newspapers are added to the list.
As stated, prices are in US dollars, and a Kindle currently sells to the UK from Amazon.com for $259 plus local customs, taxes and other charges, although accessories such as a charger, leather case cover and users guide are available from local Amazon sites in local currencies. In the UK that price equates to £157 UK – compared to the Sony PRS-505 at £225, the BeBook at £240 and the Cool-er at £190 (all to the nearest pound), then the Kindle appears to be the best deal.
You can get the Sony e-book Pocket for under £160 if you know where to look, and all of these products can be purchased at lower prices elsewhere using internet price comparison websites, but these are the basic prices on Amazon and a brief survey has indicated that they differentials are generally maintained elsewhere.
However, buying from the US site, it is not possible to find the actual price including duty and delivery until you actually provide your payment details. On doing that the price is £202.63: It still beats the Sony PRS and BeBook price, and given the limitations of the Cool-er and the size of the Sony Pocket that is cheaper still, there appears to be no reason why the Kindle should not be as successful in Europe as it is in the USA.
So what benefits does the Kindle offer over these competitors? Probably the backing of Amazon, the largest eBook distributor on the planet, is sufficient reason in itself. Add to that the amazingly clear screen with its e-ink technology, and everything that anybody could want in an e-reader, and then you have your answer. Add to that the 3G, that means you don’t have to dock your reader to anything, and it doesn’t even have to come within a 100 miles of a computer to work, then its competitors are dead in the water.
The battery has the longest life ever, and everything about it is about ease of use, ease and speed of download and storage capacity for 200 books, this has everything. Add to that the MP3 player that plays through built-in speakers or headphones that it shares with iRex (the Sony needs headphones), then you have a machine that is top of the class, and for which only the price was not right.
Now that the price is right in Europe compared to that of the competition then there should be no holding the Kindle back. At least not until Apple find a competitor to 3G to enable rapid downloading of eBooks, and then the world of e-readers will come alight again with a battle royal that Amazon might not relish – but knowing Apple, they will love!
