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Amazon's Kindle DX, the e-book reader tailored for textbooks, non-fiction titles and newspapers, will not be launched internationally until next year, a spokesperson has told The Bookseller.
While Amazon.com launched its Kindle reader internationally this morning (7th October), there was no mention of the DX device, which sells for $489 (£307). Its screen is two and a half times the size of the Kindle and it holds more than twice as many e-books. It also has a PDF reading capability as well as auto-rotate facility. A spokesperson for Amazon.co.uk said: "We expect to add a Kindle DX family member with international roaming sometime next year."
Publishers meanwhile have welcomed the arrival of the Kindle as a "serious" entrant into the UK e-book market, even though its UK shop will not be available until next year.
When asked about how significant a step it was, Faber chief executive Stephen Page said: "We will wait and see. Everything about the e-book market is comparitively new and there will be new opportunities because of it. Clearly because of the Kindle's success in the United States, it's a very serious entry into the UK e-book market."
Hachette c.e.o. Tim Hely Hutchinson told The Bookseller: "It is our strategy to offer books in all digital formats and at the right price. The Kindle is a great innnovation and we are pleased to be participating."