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Huzzah, dear international book lovers looking to make the digital transition to Amazon’s Kindle but hitherto restricted by its exclusive availability across the U.S. market. Yes indeed, exclusivity be damned, because you too can now enjoy E-Ink reading courtesy of Amazon’s groundbreaking device.
Prepare yourselves, Europe... it\'s coming! Image: madaise/Flickr.
Officially announced today by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the svelte and appealing Kindle reader is now capable of functioning in more than 100 countries and can be purchased directly from Amazon.com without any fear of region-specific blockades during the checkout process.
“Kindle is the most wished for, the most gifted, and the #1 bestselling product across all the millions of items we sell on Amazon.com, but prior to today it has been available only to U.S. customers,” outlined Bezos in an official announcement.
“Now, for the first time, our Kindle wireless reading device is available to customers around the world,” he added.
However, while prospective Kindle buyers can order the device immediately via Amazon.com for $279 USD (175GBP / 190 Euro), a report published by The Times warns that those within the European Union may face additional taxes as the electronic reader will be shipped from North America.
According to a spokesman for HM Revenue and Customs, UK buyers could be liable to pay 15 percent VAT on the Kindle, while packages arriving from outside the European Union are generally subjected to a customs clearance charge of eight pounds, which combine to take the Kindle’s price point to around 210GBP.
If the pricing doesn’t put you off, then the (U.S.) Kindle Store has more than 250,000 books available to European users and also supports UK and international newspapers such as the The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mail and The New York Times.
“In the future, we plan to introduce a UK-centric Kindle experience, enabling you to purchase Kindle and Kindle [download] books in sterling from our Amazon.co.uk site,” promised Bezos.
Although the Kindle is currently only dispatched from Amazon.com, consumers can use their existing Amazon.co.uk account to purchase on Amazon’s flagship store without any need to set up a brand new account.
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