Kindle launch could bring e-book market maturity

27.08.10 - Graeme Neill - The Bookseller

The launch of the new Amazon Kindle in the UK could help the British e-book market reach the same maturity of that in the United States, the Publishers Association president has claimed.

Customers across the UK have already began receiving their Kindles, two days after Amazon.co.uk started sending out the devices. A wi-fi model is on sale for £109 and a 3G device for £149. The launch of the new device and a UK specific e-book store has led to a e-book price war.

Commenting on the launch, PA president Victoria Barnsley, c.e.o. and publisher of HarperCollins, said: "Publishers will always be keen to find new ways to get more people reading and if the US market is anything to go by, where ebooks now make up 15% of overall sales, the launch of new
products such as the Kindle in the UK will help achieve that. E-readers allow us to give something extra to existing readers and also to attract a new audience who like the experience.

"The digital market is expanding rapidly in the UK and as e-readers become ever more user friendly, publishers can be more ingenious in providing enhanced content for consumers."