For quite some time now there has been a good deal of conjecture as to when, exactly, Amazon might release its Kindle reader in the world marketplace. The original Kindle debuted in November 2007 with the Kindle 2 and the large screen Kindle DX being released in February and June of 2009 respectively.
A year and a half and two hardware revisions later there seems to be no sign of an imminent worldwide launch in the offing. US sales of the reader are strong – demand frequently outstrips supply and the device is out of stock quite often. Kindle book sales are also excellent (making up 35% of total sales when there is a Kindle alternative on offer alongside the conventional printed versions) and the market for Kindle accessories is increasing on a daily basis.
However, as good as current sales figures are, it seems improbable that a company like Amazon would be satisfied with dominating the North American market whilst ignoring the possibilities available in the global arena. The fact that the Kindle’s only serious rival, (for the moment at least) the Sony PRS reader, is available worldwide and is capitalising upon the opportunity to build brand loyalty in countries where the Kindle is unavailable must be a matter of some concern for Amazon.
Part of the problem seems to be the method of connection to the Amazon store. In the US, Amazon furnish a fee free 3G download service – named “Whispernet” and provided by Sprint. It’s an attractive choice for consumers who feel less committed – albeit the cost of this service is reflected in the initial price of the hardware, the reader itself.
Recent discussions involving Amazon and European telecoms service providers – T-Mobile and Vodafone – broke down with Amazon suggesting that the service provider’s demands were “unreasonable”.
Bearing in mind that Sony have recently got into bed with Google to make the search engine giant’s vast library of public domain electronic books available free to Sony PRS customers, and also bearing in mind that Apple will be launching a tablet based notebook (ideal for reading ebooks) – it does seem reasonable to ask how much longer Amazon can afford to drag its feet before entering the global marketplace with its Kindle ebook reader.
On the other hand, it’s probably worth remembering that the Kindle was a pretty late edition to the ebook reader scene – the devices have been available since 1999 in a variety of formats. It doesn’t seem to have done Amazon any lasting to date and they may feel that the time will be right when they say so and not before.