Kindle hits a German wall as Euro talks stall

by Stevie Smith - Jun 29 2009, 15:30

Having already made its mark in the United States, Amazon’s groundbreaking Kindle electronic book reader and its E Ink technology has encountered a potentially problematic speed bump concerning regional expansion into the European market.

While it remains to be seen whether the Kindle finds a place in major European regions such as the UK and France, it would appear hopeful consumers in Germany will miss out on the device after talks between the retail giant and leading wireless providers collapsed.

According to German magazine Wirtschaftswoche, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos has failed in his attempts to find common ground with T-Mobile and Vodafone, who apparently want to charge more money for wireless network access to the Kindle than Amazon is willing to shoulder.

The Kindle, already available in three separate hardware guises, has thus far been inaccessible for those outside the United States as its content delivery system is provided on Whispernet, a network exclusive to users based within the states.

The Sony Reader, a direct rival to Amazon’s platform, was embraced by the German market three months ago. However, it lacks the overall appeal of the Kindle insofar as users need to connect to the Net via a computer each time they wish to update its content.

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