Amazon's Kindle Store opens digital doors in UK
Amazon has just announced the launch of its UK Kindle Store, furnishing UK netizens with a localized storefront from which to browse and purchase their ebooks. It starts life with an imposing 400,000 book collection, and is claimed by Amazon to offer the lowest prices "of any e-bookstore in the UK." Guess that gives price comparison sites a new avenue to branch out into. More than 170 magazines and newspapers are also available, for one-off purchases or on a subscription basis, while the new lighter, better, cheaper Kindle is up for pre-order and set to ship at the end of the month. Good to see that Amazon isn't neglecting its extra-American markets.
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AMAZON.CO.UK LAUNCHES KINDLE STORE WITH THE BIGGEST SELECTION AND LOWEST PRICES
Over 400,000 books available including 84 of the 100 Nielsen UK Bestsellers
August 5, 2010
LUXEMBOURG-5th August 2010 - Amazon.co.uk today launched the UK Kindle Store (www.amazon.co.uk/kindlestore) with the biggest selection and lowest prices of any e-bookstore in the UK. Over 400,000 books are now available from the UK Kindle Store, including 84 of the 100 Nielsen UK Bestsellers. On 29th July, Amazon.co.uk started taking pre-orders for the all-new Kindle featuring a new electronic-ink screen with 50 percent better contrast than any other e-reader, a new sleek design with a 21 percent smaller body while still keeping the same 6-inch-size reading area, and a 15 percent lighter weight at just 8.7 ounces (247 grams). The all-new Kindle with free 3G wireless is available for £149 and Kindle Wi-Fi for only £109.
The UK Kindle Store features a vast selection of titles, including New Releases and Bestsellers, from UK authors including Terry Pratchett, Ian Rankin, Martina Cole, Sophie Kinsella and Ken Follett. The selection includes exclusives to the Kindle Store such as contemporary classics from the Wylie Agency's new Odyssey Editions imprint including Salman Rushdie's "Midnight's Children," John Cheever's "The Stories of John Cheever," Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita," Norman Mailer's "The Naked and the Dead," and Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man." The Kindle Store also features a host of top titles not available at other leading e-bookstore stores such as BBC Samuel Johnson Prize winner "Nothing to Envy" by Barbara Demick, "Family Ties" from Danielle Steel and "Broken" by Karin Slaughter, and over 1 million free titles are available to download and read on Kindle.
Customers can pre-order their Kindle today and any books that they purchase from the Kindle Store will be available to read on the device the moment it arrives.
"The Kindle Store offers the largest selection of the most popular books people want to read at low prices," said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President of Kindle Content, Amazon.com. "The all-new Kindle will begin shipping at the end of the month, but customers can start reading books from the massive UK Kindle Store today by downloading any of our free Kindle apps for the most popular devices."
Kindle lets you buy your books once and read them everywhere-on Kindle, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC, and Android-based devices. Amazon's Whispersync technology syncs your place across all devices, so you can pick up where you left off. With Kindle Worry-Free Archive, books you purchase from the Kindle Store, and any notes or annotations you create, are automatically backed up online in your Kindle library on Amazon.co.uk where they can be re-downloaded wirelessly for free, anytime.
Below are Kindle book prices for a selection of Amazon.co.uk's current Bestsellers:
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest Stieg Larsson £2.70
The Help Kathryn Stockett £2.79
One Day David Nicholls £2.79
The Lost Symbol Dan Brown £3.41
The Legacy Katherine Webb £3.35
Eclipse Stephenie Meyer £3.14
I Shall Wear Midnight Terry Pratchett £8.54
Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex Eoin Colfer £5.84
Eat, Pray, Love Elizabeth Gilbert £3.58
The Third Man Peter Mandelson £11.25
"Amazon.co.uk has been a destination for millions of book customers since 1998 and our new Kindle Store introduces another way for passionate readers to take full advantage of our vast selection and great prices," said Greg Greeley, Amazon Vice President, European Retail. "The opening of the UK Kindle store allows customers to buy content in pound sterling and offers a great shopping experience including UK customer reviews, recommendations, bestseller lists and customer service."
Over 170 top UK and international newspapers and magazines are also available in the UK Kindle store for single purchase or subscription. UK titles in this selection include The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The Economist, The Independent, The Financial Times and The Evening Standard. Kindle customers can also subscribe to over 9,000 blogs. All subscriptions are auto-delivered wirelessly to Kindle and start with a free 14-day trial.
Customers can visit the new UK Kindle Store now at www.amazon.co.uk/kindlestore.
Customers can discover full details and pre-order the new Kindle and Kindle Wi-Fi at www.amazon.co.uk/kindle3G and www.amazon.co.uk/kindleWi-Fi.
For new high-resolution images of the new generation Kindle, visit www.amazon.com/pr/kindle/images.
