Media News - Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Amazon.com takes Kindle global

Amazon.com Inc is introducing Kindle, its wireless electronic reader, for over 100 countries, including China and most of Europe, intensifying a battle for the burgeoning digital book market. The move, announced on Tuesday, gives the world's largest online retailer the widest global reach among its competitors, including chief rival Sony Corp. The Kindle will sell for USD 279 in other countries. Amazon also said it would cut prices for its U.S.-only Kindle by 13 percent to USD 259 from USD 299, bringing its cost closer to its rivals. The new price is USD 100 lower than it was a year ago. Amazon - which regards the Kindle as a pivotal growth driver - said over 200,000 English-language books from a host of publishers as well as more than 85 international and U.S. newspapers and magazines would be available on the international device, which begins shipping October 19. Analysts have pondered the likelihood of Amazon developing the Kindle into a tablet-like device for tasks like emailing, texting and surfing the Web, thus competing with devices reportedly being developed by Apple Inc. But Bezos reiterated his intention to optimize the reading experience, saying the company rejects compromise, whether it be a touchscreen that affects legibility or computer displays that eat up too much power. At the same time, Amazon is working on making Kindle digital books available on more devices. Besides the Kindle, those books can now be accessed on the iPhone or iPod Touch. (Reuters)

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