Amazon: Kindle Fire Not Coming to UK Just Yet
Come on baby, light my fire.
Amazon had a massive day yesterday. The company launched three new Kindles and a Kindle tablet at an event in New York City on Wednesday morning. However, while we know we're getting the new, entry-level Kindle (at a higher price than American customers), we don't know when the Kindle Fire will hit the UK.
"The Fire is only in the U.S. today," a spokesperson is quoted by CNet as saying, "but stay tuned for information about a UK launch."
So the Fire is definitely coming to Blighty, but we don't know when. The device is already up for pre-order in the U.S., but it won't actually be going on sale until November 15. With Amazon's confirmation that the Fire is 'only in the U.S. today,' we assume that that means we might have to wait until after it actually launches before Amazon turns its attention to the United Kingdom.
However, this may be a blessing in disguise. Earlier this week, Ryan Block of GDGT reported in a blog post that Amazon's got a second, 'better' tablet coming at the beginning of 2012. The company has long been rumoured to be planning a 10-inch model and a 7-inch model of the Fire, but according to Block, the Fire we met yesterday is nothing more than a stopgap until Amazon can get the 10-inch model out the door. If this is the case, early adopters will likely be peeved that the tablet they bought is surpassed by a supposedly superior product so soon. So, perhaps it's not such a bad thing that the Fire is taking a bit longer to arrive in the UK.
Yesterday, it was revealed that we in the UK will have to pay more than U.S. customers for the cheapest Kindle going. The new, budget Kindle is available to U.S. shoppers as an ad-supported model for $79. Skipping out on ads means you'll pay $109 for the entry-level model. However, here in the UK, such things as ad-supported Kindles do not yet exist. This, along with 'higher operating costs,' means that we'll be paying £89 for the budget Kindle. This translates to $139, or the price of the ad-free Kindle Touch WiFi. No word on pricing or launch for the Kindle Touch in the UK, but we'll keep you posted.
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Not to mention that at the moment they're happily flogging us the older version for £109, which is what? $170, it took me 10 seconds to convert that so I'm sure Amazon have no issues correctly converting currency.
$109 = £69 Not £89. I'd like to know what these £20 higher operating costs are.
Some US ones have adverts which lowers their price.
A big chunk of it could be sales tax. Remember ours is 20% and is included in the price, whereas in the US it's more like 5% and typically added afterwards. Without tax, the £89 price is only £74...