back to article UK to get Kindle in Christmas stocking?

Amazon's Kindle e-book reader will apparently be launched in the UK by Christmas, complete with a virtual network operator and GSM compatibility. The news comes from Mobile Today, who reckon Amazon is about to finalise a launch date, but has been having trouble finding a network operator prepared to host the Kindle's …

COMMENTS

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  1. Graham Marsden
    Pirate

    In the US...

    ... it seems the Kindle 2 costs $299

    What's the betting that here it will cost £299??

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    kindle dx?

    hopefully this is kindle dx. HTC Touch HD has been great with 800*480 resolution and i was planning to upgrade to Asus T91.The resolution of T91 put me off.

    If we are talking about kindle dx, it will be worth the wait as it gives 9" e-ink experience.I certainly would not need the radio and amazon shop though.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    They've taken note of those 3G coverage maps from Ofcom then?

    Probably not.

    Shame as I'd like to see it work here.

  4. Nomen Publicus
    FAIL

    A year too late?

    Last year the kindle made some sense, but this year with at least two "pads" with 8" or better colour screens already announced and widely reported rumours of a similar Apple device to be announced soon, what is the point of a dedicated hardware ebook?

  5. Glen 1
    Thumb Down

    re: stuff

    for it to be even considered, it needs to be cheaper than a ninty ds. This is so it can compete in the "expensive gift for elder relative" bracket.

    How many people have bought one of these for themselves vs present for someone else?

    (goes for both ds and kindle)

    Stupid prices aside...

    The main thing stopping me from taking this seriously is the same reason i dont want an ipod. Namely being forced to use 1st party drm out of the box. No randomly downloaded pdfs viewable on the ebook reader? Nah. Required software on computer? Depends if i like the software.(i really hate itunes)

    If it was user customisable from the start, it would still be too expensive, but i would be more inclined to add it to my christmas list for someone else to pay for.

  6. Dabooka
    WTF?

    Good grief...

    just buy a paper

  7. John Bailey

    @Graham Marsden

    Unlikely. Other e-book readers are around the £200 mark, so Amazon is unlikely to try and sell one for half as much again.

    The exclusive modified .mobi format might also cause them problems.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Pirate

    Huge drop in e-book prices needed

    Before the e-book business shoots itself in the foot like the music business does, it needs to consider a dramatic reduction in prices. With an e-book depriving the purchaser of a physical medium that can be lent to friends, sold in the second-hand market, etc. and costing the seller vastly less to distribute, how can the current prices be justified? It is obviously a lot more effort to generate a pirate copy by scanning a printed work than it is to rip a CD, but once done, the digital version can spread quicker than a virus. The yohoho bookshelf industry is very limited at the moment, then again the number of e-book devices is tiny compared with the number of MP3 players out there.

    Will the publishing industry get it right? I suspect greed will once again overcome long-term sense and fuel an increased demand for wooden legs and shoulder-mounted parrots.

  9. Martin 6 Silver badge

    @John Bailey

    Like Apple wouldn't sell an iPod for 50% more than another MP3 player and lock you into an exclusive drm'ed format.

    My bet is at least £299 and only available on one network, with a >>£299/year contract.

  10. Damien Thorn
    Paris Hilton

    tomorrow never dies.

    The kindle is grossly underestimated, there a news story yet to happen.

    Amazon should have asked me, just put it free on a 2 year contract, carphone warehouse will do the rest to get it on 2 year contracts.

    Simples.

    Paris - because she knows what she wants and how to get it.

  11. CJ 1
    Coat

    HHGttG

    may as well be the first to post this

    http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/kindle.png

  12. Bilgepipe

    @Martin 6

    "Like Apple wouldn't sell an iPod for 50% more than another MP3 player and lock you into an exclusive drm'ed format."

    Apple don't lock you into an exclusive drm'ed format.

  13. Ascylto

    @Martin 6

    It's the record companies, not Apple, that insisted on DRM.

    Do your homework again or it's Detention for you.

  14. Ben Lovell

    @Glen 1

    "The main thing stopping me from taking this seriously is the same reason i dont want an ipod. Namely being forced to use 1st party drm out of the box."

    1) The iPod doesn't require you to use 1st party drm out of the box. You can use non-drm'd formats too, from the get go.

    2) Your moral complaint about iTunes has hardly stopped the iPod's success, so there's little reason to think why it would stop the Kindle's success...

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