Amazon.com said this week that it planned to make the Kindle e-reader available on a global basis, but in the U.K., initial enthusiasm has given way to downright annoyance, with local carriers saying they’ve been left in the dark as to whether they’ll play a role in the Kindle model. The device is set to launch internationally on Oct. 19.
Chalk it up to a lack of communication, but at issue is the fact that Amazon has not been very clear as to how the public can purchase and use the e-reader, and it has yet to make an outreach to the 3G carriers that presumably would be carrying the over-the-air book download traffic.
In the United States, consumers can buy the device via local outlets, and Amazon has a deal with Sprint-Nextel Corp. to be the silent, built-in wireless partner for the device. Consumers have only to buy the hardware and the rest is taken care of.
However, Amazon is not selling the Kindle via local outlets in Britain, meaning that U.K. e-reader fans must buy it via the U.S. Web site, pay in U.S. dollars and pay additional shipping and handling costs, for a total premium of about £50 over the U.S. pricing.
Meanwhile, the international version also apparently does not have Wi-Fi, so the only way to download books over the air is via 3G. Amazon has partnered with AT&T Inc. as its global wireless partner, with the assumption that AT&T will work with a range of local partners for roaming to provide seamless coverage. That saves Amazon from having to ink individual deals with individual providers in 100 new countries.
Here’s the rub: local British mobile operators Vodafone and O2 told the Daily Telegraph that they pitched Amazon on plans to be a part of the global initiative (Vodafone in particular, as the world’s largest mobile carrier with various network footprints around the globe, would have a case to make). But then, have been in the dark until Amazon made its announcement this week that named AT&T as its wireless partner. This, they told the Telegraph, was “puzzling,” considering that AT&T would need their networks to fulfill Amazon’s Jeff Bezos’ vision of anyone being able to “think of a book and download it wirelessly in less than 60 seconds.”
It could be that AT&T expects the traffic to act like any other roamed traffic—transparent to the local carrier in terms of which device is generating it. Regardless, the arrangement has carriers and customers in the U.K. not a little confused.
Some consumers are concerned too, wondering if they have to bring their own connection to be able to use the device (answer: no). This is clearly a new wireless model for carrier and consumer alike in that market, but it remains to be seen whether Amazon will provide additional guidance there.
