Although Amazon's Kindle e-reader has become the first major hit in its category -- and the best-selling product in Amazon's entire store this year -- it does have its drawbacks. One of the biggest is that its wireless connection to the Kindle store works only in the U.S.
That changes on October 19, when Amazon begins shipping a new version of the Kindle that can be used to purchase and download books in over 100 countries. The new version, with the snappy name of "Kindle with US and International Wireless," will sell for $280 and can be pre-ordered now.
The current version will still be for sale, and Amazon is dropping the price from $300 to $260. The bigger Kindle DX is unchanged.
As Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos explains it in a phone interview with Wired, "The two Kindles are identical, except for the radio." The new device does not sync with Sprint, which was previously the exclusive supplier for Amazon's Whispernet technology. Instead, it works with AT&T's wireless network, which has the global reach that Amazon needs for its international plans.
This seems to push Sprint out of the long-term Kindle picture. Won't everybody want to spend 20 bucks more on the AT&T version that that works all around the world, even if a cross-border trip isn't on the immediate horizon? "I would!" says Bezos. Indeed, having a Kindle that downloads from overseas means you can get your favorite newspapers and magazines delivered instantly, at the same cost you pay at home.
It makes the Kindle a travel guide, too: If you want the lowdown on a Kyoto temple, or are wondering where to get the best fries in Amsterdam, you can download a relevant guide on the spot. And for the first time, the Lonely Planet series will be sold on Kindle, along with the previously available travel books from Frommer, Rick Steves and Michelin. No wonder the Amazon press release has an ecstatic quote from AT&T's CEO Randall Stephenson and not a word from Sprint honcho (and vanity TV pitchman) Dan Hesse.
Other unhappy people may include owners of current Kindles who travel internationally: Their gadgets can't be switched to AT&T versions. Bezos suggests that they give away or resell their Kindles (first-gen Kindles are currently going for around $190) and buy new ones. Those who bought a Kindle in the last 30 days can exchange them for the international version. Maybe the biggest gripes will come from those who bought the most expensive Kindle, the supersized DX. Imagine sitting in a Paris bistro with your US-download-only $490 DX and watching some tourist with a puny $280 Kindle filling up with newspapers, Michelin guides and the latest Michael Connelly thriller.
The international Kindle is not just for Americans traveling abroad. Bezos says that Amazon's sales patterns show a sizable demand for English language books in countries that speak other languages. Until now, readers in those countries have found such books to be expensive and hard to find, not to mention slow to arrive after being ordered. The global Kindle will make the process cheap and instant.
Amazon staved off copyright problems by negotiating an arrangement with English language publishers that pays royalties depending on the territory of purchase. (If you buy a copy of The Perfect Thing in London, for instance, the UK publisher Ebury press gets the sale, instead of US publisher Simon & Schuster.) Still, the rights clearances aren't yet comprehensive; of the 350,000 books in the Kindle store, only around 200,000 will be available in some countries.
While I had Bezos on the phone, I asked him about some other e-book issues. He wouldn't comment on Amazon's filing against the the Google Books settlement. Nor would he respond to Google's comment that Amazon was being hypocritical in its objection. He also had nothing to add to the apology he gave to Kindle users for the company's abrupt and scary retraction of copies of a Orwell's 1984.
But he did have a response to a recent strategy employed by publishers of books expected to be mega-sellers, like Teddy Kennedy's True Compass and Sarah Palin's upcoming memoir, Going Rogue. The respective publishers think that withholding lower-cost Kindle versions for a few months will boost hardcover sales. Bezos believes this is short-sighted, and that offering a book on Kindle increases the total sales. He notes that when an author comes out with a new book, he or she will do publicity or get reviews. "When you're on NPR and someone goes on their Kindle to look for the book, it's your chance to make that sale," he said. "They won't remember in a month or two."
As proof of the way that the Kindle has changed reader habits, Bezos brings up an amazing statistic. Earlier this year, he startled people by revealing that of books available on both Kindle and paper versions, 35 percent of copies sold by Amazon were Kindle versions. Now, he says, the number is up to 48 percent. This means that a lot of people have bought Kindles (Amazon won't reveal the figures) and that Kindle owners buy a lot of books.
Bezos hasn't missed the buzz about upcoming digital tablets. He says that Amazon is hard at work making software apps (like the one already available for the iPhone) that will extend the Kindle system to other devices. He's also still open "in principle" to rival e-reader manufacturers who wish to use the Kindle store to provide content. But he feels that while people may read on phones and web-surfing tablets, the dedicated e-reading device will keep improving.
"We want Kindle to be the best way to read," Bezos says. And now, people can read books that they download outside the US.
Photo: Jonathan Snyder/Wired.com
