Amazon Kindle Stays Hot, Though Not In Germany

Amazon Kindle Stays Hot, Though Not In Germany

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By Chad Berndtson, ChannelWeb

8:25 AM EDT Mon. Jun. 29, 2009

Amazon's garnered buzz lately with its hot-topic Kindle e-readers, including the large-screen Kindle DX, which has sold out for the second time since it began shipping earlier this month. But if you live in Germany and want a Kindle or a Kindle DX, let the waiting game begin: A German news service reports that Amazon has been as of yet unable to reach an agreement over pricing with local wireless carriers T-Mobile and Vodafone.

Amazon's Kindle was to begin shipping in Europe this month. But the German news site WirtschftsWoche published a report quoting an unnamed Amazon manager, who told the news site Amazon views the carriers' price demands for Kindle -- that is, the price they want to charge for the Kindle's wireless connection -- as excessively high. Phone carriers in Germany who were in talks with Amazon about Kindle pricing also confirmed to the news site that those discussions have broken down.

Europe is a newer frontier for Amazon and Kindle, especially since other e-reading devices, such as the Sony Reader, are already established there. Sony's Reader is one of many devices, services, applications and other e-reading content delivery vehicles set to challenge the Kindle's market and mindshare dominance.

As for Amazon's Kindle DX, the news remains rosy. The Kindle DX was unveiled in May, and sold out three days after it started shipping in mid-June. A second batch has already sold out as well. Given the DX's not-exactly-recession-friendly $489 price tag, that has to be encouraging for Amazon.