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UK Kindle Touch

Feb 092012

uk kindle touch The Kindle Touch is now available in the UK…

As you can see from the original article below – we just knew it was coming, and now Brits can buy the Kindle Touch in the UK. Available as both a wi-fi only model (my preferred option) and with both 3G and wi-fi for those that need to get their ebook purchasing done on the go!

You can order both at amazon today – click for pricing.

Please note the article below was written before the UK Kindle Touch release on 28th March 2012…

Early in February the touch-screen Kindle started shipping internationally (yes about time I know!). BUT currently the gadget is not shipping to Spain, Italy, Germany or the United Kingdom. Why? Well, it seems pretty obvious that this is great news as it means British buyers should be able to order from their own local amazon store imminently. After all, why ship to France, but not to the UK, unless the Kindle touch will be selling in Blighty in the next few weeks!

The touch-screen Kindle’s UK release date comes several months after its foray into the US market. But it seems that now stocks are stable after the holiday buying frenzy British buyers will be able to order their own for next day delivery in February 2011.

One of the biggest concerns is likely to be over price. Well with the US version selling for $139 (for wi-fi and $189 for 3G + wi-fi British customers can expect to be paying around £159 for the 3G version and perhaps only £119 for the wi-fi only model. I know there will be same old hubub about pricing, since in truth US customers can actually pay less than those prices BUT that is only if they order models that feature adverts and special discount promotions and sadly for some those subsidised versions are still not on offer in the UK most probably because advertisers are not willing to pay enough to bring the price down significantly whilst the market is so much smaller than in the States.

Whatever the price of the Kindle Touch it seems likely we shall be seeing at least the wi-fi Touch-screen Kindle reader sold in the UK within weeks if not days! And, after comparing the latest models with the clunky old keyboard version I for one think its about time!

Kindle Spain

Kindle Ebook Readers No Responses »

Sep 162011

If you’re living in Spain and would like to buy the Kindle reader you have come to the right place! We have been asked countless times whether it is possible for Spanish residents to order the Kindle online.

The official line is that to order an ebook reader delivered to your Spanish address you will need to order from Amazon.com. That’s fine in theory since their delivery is pretty swift and the charges are very good. However, having experienced the delays possible in the Spanish postal system, and the horrendous duty that can be charged by the Spanish authorities this is a route most would-be Kindle owners are unlikely to follow.

The current unofficial (and far easier) way to get your hands on the reader is to order from Amazon.co.uk and select a UK delivery address. You’ll then of course need a trustworthy friend or family member to forward the shiny new gadget to you Spanish address. This isn’t really what Amazon want you to do, but it works!

Buy a Kindle in Spain

Thankfully this pretty daft situation is about to be changed. A new Spanish bases site “amazon.es” has opened its virtual doors. This is great news for ex-pats since it stocks a useful range of English language books. More importantly for us though, it has been widely reported in the Spanish press that the store will also stock the Kindle reader later in the year. This means you will be allowed to buy a Kindle in Spain easily for the first time.

About time too! Of course it isn’t all the store’s faults. Every country has different publishing rules, and book pricing to contend with. But knowing that we will soon be able to order a Kindle for delivery to Spain easily is great news.

New Ebook Reader From Waterstones

Small Ebook Readers No Responses »

Sep 122011

As more “bricks and mortar” book-stores struggle to survive Waterstones appears to be using electronic books as a way to stay ahead as technology steals sales from real paper books. The store has been selling ebook readers for the last few years, and ebooks too. Now though, it seems that a new Waterstones Ebook Reader is in the makings.

Thought to be released in spring of 2012 the Waterstones Reader might just do for the store, what the Nook reader has done for Barnes & Noble; ie allow it to compete with the might of Amazon and its Kindle. As much as we are fans of Amazon’s ebook reader, the thought of more competition in the growing UK eReader market has to be a good thing. If nothing else it is sure to keep prices down, and innovation high. Whilst the store will need to improve its ebook range, plus allow wireless instant downloads of new titles to really compete, a new way to keep as many real book shops open can’t be a bad thing.

So, as much as we doubt we’ll be leaving the Kindle behind just yet, a new Waterstones ebook reader should be welcomed. It will be interesting to see just how they differentiate their eReader though. The store will need to offer something unique to get buyers interested, so perhaps a low priced touch-screen reader and mini tablet would be a good range to start with. After all its working for Barnes & Noble, so why not the UK’s favourite book shop?

There is no official line from the store yet, but James Daunt, the company’s MD talked to Radio 4 (reported by the BBC) suggesting that the future involved the store selling an ebook reader better than Amazon’s current readers. Perhaps they will follow their American counterparts by allowing users to read in store for free. Tying the electronic device with real stores has been a unique selling point for the Nook, and is said to be inspiring Mr Daunt.

Colour Kindle Tablet Release Date

Kindle Ebook Readers, Tablet PCs 1 Response »

Sep 052011

Update: Well the Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet has been released. But so far it is only available for US purchases – boo! We have had no news from Amazon when or indeed if the tablet will arrive in the UK, but rumours so far are suggesting UK buyers will need to wait until 2012 if they want a true colour Kindle.

It seems that the gadgets use of cloud computing to do much of the processing of the web browser will mean a US company has some of your web history stored on its own servers. Whilst that might not be considered any kind of issue for most of us, it does go against some technical rules allowed by the EU concerning internet privacy. It will be interesting to see how Amazon get around this.

Back to our original article:

Sept 25th Newflash! Amazon are holding a press conference in New York on Wednesday 28th. This is something of a rarity and we expect the reason is that it has at last become time to unve

As can be seen in the comments on our Kindle 4 and Colour Kindle posts, colour is something that many Kindle owners would like. It is a very divisive issue though. Those that use their ebook readers simply as a great tool to read for pleasure often don’t see any need for a colour display at all. Others though, do see the benefits of being able to view reference material, magazines and like in full colour.

One thing a lot of people love about the current reader is its ability to make reading pleasurable, and completely unlike using a computer. So what would those same folks think of Amazon creating colour based on LCD? Well, we won’t have long to wait since it looks like the Colour Kindle release will be in October or November this year.

The possible snag is that this colour reader will in all likelihood actually be a Kindle tablet!

It looks like we’ll have to wait another year or so before e-ink in colour is good enough to be included in your favourite ebook reader (unless this new rumour is true of course!). My gut feeling is that people just won’t be impressed quite enough by subdued colours in e-ink to pay the extra. However, a future LCD/e-ink hybrid display certainly would grab people’s attention. We believe Amazon are working on it, but don’t count on anything quite that exciting arriving till 2012 or 2013.

For now, colour will come in the form of an Android based tablet – yeah I know, that means much shorter battery life and eye-strain. But this won’t be a device just for reading like the current generation (which if the rumours are true will hang around for a good while yet). Instead Amazon are banking on grabbing a whole new audience; those that want multi-functionality but aren’t willing to pay Apple’s huge prices for it. The tablet is likely to be branded as simply the Colour Amazon Kindle, and it will be priced accordingly, at around $250 (so about 155 quid which is a bit different to Apple’s prices!).

It may or may not be the Kindle in colour you hoped for, but it is coming soon!

Kindle For Movies – Amazon Tablet With Video Streaming

Kindle Ebook Readers, Tablet PCs No Responses »

Jun 202011

Well it is looking ever more likely that Amazon will release two tablet devices this year. The first is likely to be simple 7″ tablet device that will become the slightly more advanced colour Kindle, competing with the color Nook ebook reader in the US, and simple tablets such as the new range of budget tablet computers running Google’s Android operating system.

What is more exciting for many though is the possibility of a Kindle for Movies. Admittedly it won’t really be a Kindle ebook reader since it will do a whole lot more than just allow you to view books. The big thing that is expected is that the larger Amazon tablet will be designed with video streaming in mind.

It makes sense. After all in the States Amazon does have its own branded video download and video streaming service. And here, you may or may not realise that LoveFilm is actually an Amazon owned company, and it is in the business of selling live video streaming too.

With 2011 looking set to be the year that everyone wants a tablet computer for Christmas, it makes sense for the Amazon tablet release date to be around September time. That way we can enjoy our Christmas films on our new tablets!

With a quad core processor and being based on NVIDIA T30 Kal-El, the Hollywood looks set to be a real contender against Apple’s iPad. With 500% better performance than the smaller Coyote, this will be a tablet for those that actually understand, and care about technical specs and real performance, rather than simple look and feel of tablet PCs.

The rumour mill is pretty convinced that (in the States at least), the Hollywood tablet will come with free video streaming, at least for a limited time. Since American Prime customers already get free video streaming this seems like a sensible offer. Whether UK customers will get such a good deal remains to be seen. After all, as of yet we don’t get free LoveFilm streaming when we sign up for Amazon Prime. But from time to time, you can get Amazon vouchers if you sign up to LoveFilm, so only time will tell what kind of incentive British buyers are offered.