The Kindle can now be bought in 100 countries for a price of US$279 - $20 more than the e-reader sells in its native United States. Books sold internationally are also offered for a steeper price, for an average $11.99 compared to $9.99 in the US, all purchased through local credit cards.
In Asia, some Kindles offer wireless and blog support via its 3G GSM technology, provided across the world through local partners of AT&T. Wireless and blog capabilities are available in the region in Hong Kong and Japan, while the Kindle in Australia, India, Macau, Philippines and Taiwan only offers wireless connection to a handful of text-heavy websites, all in English language.
Following the official release of its international Kindle, Amazon will bank on word-of-mouth to market its product in the region, excluding the handful of key counties in Asia-Pacific where the device is still unavailable.
According to Charlie Tritschler, the director of product management and interaction design at Lab126, the Amazon-owned company that developed the Kindle, because the device has generated buzz worldwide, and is the most popular e-reading gadget currently on the market, Amazon will continue to bank on viral buzz to gain traction in Asia, as well as circulating informational videos and testimonials of the product on the web.
He adds that the Kindle is being marketed in Asia to the same crowd targeted worldwide: avid, tech-savvy readers looking for an easy way to get content.
And this content includes international newspapers, including titles such as The New York Times, Le Monde and Shanghai Daily, for reduced subscription prices. He added that these publications do not support advertisements but would not rule out the possibility of ads in the future if “that’s what the readers want”.
He does add, however, industries including film and television have capitalised on getting their brands and shows out on the medium, by offering their scripts to readers for free.
Yet, international readers will not see pictures in their newspapers, because the wireless cost of supporting the data would make the Kindle substantially more expensive, Amazon notes on its Kindle blog.
Mark Cripps, regional digital director of MRM, said he was so excited when the pre-international Kindle came out that he bought one as soon as he could. “It’s quite expensive for the average user in Asia and I don’t think it’s fair that international users have to pay a premium,” he said. “But the only complaint is that I just think it’s pricy and expensive. It is definitely a product for the early adopter and Apple’s new product might change the game slightly and eventually drive down prices.”
